Posted on Sat, May 28, 2011 : 12:29 p.m.
Ann Arbor ranks No. 4 on Amazon.com's most well-read cities list
By Cindy Heflin
Statistics compiled by Amazon.com back up Ann Arbor’s already well-established reputation as a book-loving town.
Ann Arbor ranks No. 4 on Amazon’s list of the 20 most well-read cities in America. Amazon developed the list by compiling all its book, magazine and newspaper sales data in both print and Kindle format since Jan. 1, 2011, and then ranking cities with more than 100,000 residents on a per-capita basis.
Cambridge, Mass., came in at No. 1 on the list. Alexandria, Va., and Berkeley, Calif., came in at 2 and 3 respectively, with Boulder, Colo. Rounding out the top 5.
Comments
bedrog
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 11:28 a.m.
If online reading of conspiracy theory websites was included A2 might be even higher, based on the comments of some this sites regulars.
Ignatz
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 9:57 a.m.
I wonder where AA would rank if reading texts was included.
Jeff Renner
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:35 p.m.
And yet Booth Newspapers decided we didn't deserve a real newspaper.
Andy
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 11:43 p.m.
Oh, we have one, it's known as the Ann Arbor Chronicle.
Peregrine
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 10:46 p.m.
Did they decide that or did the residents of Ann Arbor, by not subscribing, decide that? And if you've decided that we do need one, please start it!
David Cahill
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 7:32 p.m.
We beat out Boulder...
BikerMatt
Sat, May 28, 2011 : 6:05 p.m.
You know what's sad about this? This is a ranking based on Amazon's sales "of all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle format since Jan. 1, 2011." Seattle, home of Amazon, is ranked ninth highest in sales, while Ann Arbor, home of Borders, is ranked fifth.
BikerMatt
Sun, Jun 5, 2011 : 2:42 p.m.
.. er, fourth. Ann Arbor is fourth. Carry on.
jrigglem
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
@KJMClark Everyone has to pay sales tax on purchases made on Amazon. That's what 'use tax' is for. From Wikipedia- "Purchases made over the Internet and out-of-state are the most common type of transactions subject to a use tax." Whether or not you claim it is technically up to you.
KJMClark
Sun, May 29, 2011 : 12:01 p.m.
It's sad, but Seattle isn't a good example. They *do* have to pay sales tax on purchases they make at Amazon. So in Seattle, Amazon's prices are effectively 6.5% higher than out-of-state internet sales. Still, your point is right. Apparently Ann Arbor residents don't care all that much about our home-grown bookstore chain. Or, put another way, maybe people in Ann Arbor *really* like using the internet, and Borders largely conceded that battlefield to Amazon a decade ago.