Maybe you can't judge a book by its cover. But can you judge a community by the books they're snapping up faster than the general population? Thanks to top-10-style shipping statistics available on Amazon.com's Web site, we checked out the titles the online book retailer ships with above-average frequency to you and your neighbors. Here's what our search discovered about your ZIP code.
Akron — LeBron Town
No. 1: "LeBron James: The Rise of a Star" by David Lee Morgan Jr.
Leans right or left: Left. The sixth-best-selling book was "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" by Al Franken.
Bay Village — Mystics on the Lake
No. 1: "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini, the fictional account of a boy and his magical dragon
Further proof: Dan Brown's two best sellers, "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons," made the top five.
Chagrin Falls — Animal Lovers
No. 1: "The Lady and the Unicorn" by Tracy Chevalier
Other top-10 animal titles: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: A Novel" by Mark Haddon and "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Euclid — Slim City
No. 1: "The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom" by Dr. Phil McGraw
Further proof: The No. 2 slot was held by Arthur Agatston's "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss." The seventh-most-ordered book was "500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love" by Dana Carpender.
North Olmsted — Living Liberal
No. 1: "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" by Al Franken
They really don't like Bush: "Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America" by Molly Ivins held the sixth slot.
We mean really: Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's My Country?" finished in ninth place.
Rocky River — A Curious Town
Curious about the world: "The 1,000 Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz held the third position on the list.
Curious about their existence: "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" by Rick Warren finished fourth.
Curious about nearly everything: "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson rounded out the top 10.
Westlake — Republicanville
Conservative tendencies: "Who's Looking Out for You?" by Bill O'Reilly held the third slot.
The other politico to make the list: "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" by Walter Isaacson finished a position higher at No. 2.
Willoughby — The Good Wife Club
Beware of spoiled spouses: "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura Schlessinger was the fifth-place book.
A good reason to stay healthy: The eighth slot was held by "The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich" by David Bach.
Hitting the Books
Aside from helping us reach the conclusion that author Dan Brown must have enough cash by now to purchase his own tropical island, our search of local Amazon.com order habits also uncovered the titles that are selling better than the national average at a trio of local colleges:
Case Western Reserve University
No. 1: "The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth" by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor — we're guessing this one's on a Weatherhead School of Management syllabus somewhere.
A bit of a downer: "The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century" by Paul Krugman held fifth place.
Mainstream picks: Dan's Brown's pair of best sellers, "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons" finished in the No. 3 and 7 slots, respectively.
Kent State University
No. 1: "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Yeah, you really should be reading that economics chapter, but we understand.
Leaning left: "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" by Al Franken rounded out the top five.
Way left: "American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush" by Kevin Phillips held eighth place.
Oberlin College
No. 1: "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" by Al Franken — no surprise there.
Big surprise: Food Network star Rachael Ray's homey "30-Minute Meals 2" was the runner-up.
Mainstream pick: "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by humorist David Sedaris charted at No. 3.
Now you're just trying to show off: "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes snuck in at No. 10.
