Smolin's book first appearance on UK amazon physics bestseller list

[marcus]

UK amazon just started direct sales of Smolin's book today.

In the morning it had sales rank round 50,000
this jumped to 12,659 some time in the middle of the day (pacific time)
and just now as of 4:30 PM pacific it had risen to 4328

the book made its first appearance on the "physics" bestseller list today
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278409/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag=

currently it is #24 on the "physics" list
this is apt to fluctuate a lot---it's very early days for that book in the UK market

 

[marcus]

as of 10 AM pacific this morning (Wednesday 4 Oct)

the UK amazon "physics" list showed

12. Not Even Wrong (overall sales rank #2919)

20. The Trouble with Physics (#4310)

I see that UK amazon still does not have Trouble with Physics IN STOCK
but instead is acting as a relay, so that filling orders takes "one to two weeks".
Normally, the titles it sells are in stock and shipping occurs in one or two days. The delay, in this case, may discourage some potential customers.

Not Even Wrong, which was first published in the UK, was extensively and very favorably reviewed in UK media. I see no indication that Smolin's book has been reviewed or promoted in the UK.

So one can't expect a lot to happen saleswise, at least for now. Still, UK amazon is now filling orders for the book and including it on the "physics" list.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278409/ref=pd_ts_b_ldr/026-8303087-5718006&tag=

to check availability in UK, see:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0618551050/?tag=pfamazon01-20
(it currently says :"Availability: usually dispatched within 1 to 2 weeks. Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.")

 

[marcus]

one can expect a bumpy trajectory for Smolin's book in UK all the more because it is early---UK amazon just started selling it---and because UK amazon does not have it in stock but is getting copies from elsewhere so it take 1 or 2 weeks for them to fill an order, they say.

but all the same the book has risen sharply in the past day or so.

as of today Wednesday 4 October at 7:30 PM pacific
salesrank had climbed to #2988
and the book was #13 on the broad category PHYSICS bestseller list, and it was also #3 on the narrow category GENERAL physics bestseller list.

UK amazon general physics bestseller list:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278431/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag=

all-physics list:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278409/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag=these standings are volatile especially since the book just started being sold. so they could be way different in a couple hours.
but I thought it was doing pretty good for the second day the store is selling it

====================

Peter reports that Lee has made a surprising offer to emphasize that he's serious about wanting string theorists to read his book and respond to the arguments.

he has said publicly to the effect: I want you to read this. If you don't want to buy it, then write to me and I will SEND YOU A FREE COPY. Great.
Here is the quote, it comes from the 4 October issue of Nature magazine, the article by Geoff Brumfiel with the title "Theorists snap over string pieces: Books spark war of words in physics."
http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=469
Brumfiel quotes Smolin saying:


If they don’t want to buy it, tell them to get in touch with me and I’ll send them a copy.

 

[marcus]

#10 physics bestseller still not "in stock" at UK amazon

UK amazon general physics bestseller list:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278431/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag=

all-physics list:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278409/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag=


as of 9:40 AM pacific on Thursday 5 October, the third day of sales at UK amazon,
The Trouble with Physics was #10 on the broad "physics" bestseller list,
and #3 on the narrower "general physics" list.

As of this morning, the book's overall UK amazon sales rank was #2954.
It's interesting that until 3 October, UK amazon was NOT EVEN SELLING the book, they just referred potential customers to some overseas suppliers. then on 3 October they began taking orders directly, but they still don't have the book in stock. They are shipping copies out as fast as they get them in, with an estimated 1 or 2 week delay. So presumably they did not expect the volume of orders they are getting.

========update=============
this is incredible
as of 11:40 AM today, Smolin's book was #4 in the PHYSICS bestseller list at UK amazon
with a salesrank of #1659

Three days ago it had rank around 50,000 when I looked and was on none of the lists.
Now it is near the top among the broad category of all physics books

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278409/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag=

======update==========

UK amazon heard me complain and was offended by my rudess, sorry amazon!

Suddenly today, just now, they STOPPED selling Smolin Trouble with Physics!

they went back to just having a line "AVAILABLE FROM THESE SUPPLIERS" and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618551050/?tag=pfamazon01-20
the suppliers are all in the USA!
so if you live in UK you cannot buy Smolin's book from amazon. they tell you to order from those USA suppliers.

Perhaps the simplest explanation was that they were getting too many orders for the book and they could not handle it because they didnt have it in stock. So after trying to be a relay for 3 days, they gave up and went back to Square Zero.

here is their page for the book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0618551050/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[marcus]

Trouble with Physics is again in stock at UK Amazon, and for sale there.

Earlier this month, for a three day period, they had it for sale. then on 5 October they went back to not giving a price and just giving links to foreign (US) distributors. Presumably they ran out of stock and saw no way to keep up with orders.

Now they have it for sale again. I don't know when this happened. I just looked today 22 October, for the first time in at least a week.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0618551050/?tag=pfamazon01-20
they are offering a 2-day service, so they are clearly shipping to customers from UK and not from some off-shore.

so we can see how it does this time. Right now it is #8 on the UK Amazon physics list.
=====================

here is what the field looks like as of 7 PM pacific Sunday:
(doesn't #1 have a fetching title? "the Goldilocks Enigma"---how can buyers resist that one?!)1. The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life?
by Paul Davies

2. The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World
by Amit Goswami

3. GCSE Double Science: Physics Revision Guide - Higher Pt. 1 & 2
by Richard Parsons

4. The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality (Penguin Press Science)
by Brian Greene

5. The Science of Discworld
by Terry Pratchett

6. Fundamentals of the Physical Environment
by Peter Smithson

7. Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Continuing Challenge to Unify the Laws of Physics
by Peter Woit

8. The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
by Lee Smolin

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0618551050/?tag=pfamazon01-20