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Updated Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:58 am TWN, AP

Alaskans eager for Sarah Palin book release

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Sarah Palin's book is highly anticipated in her home state — but she's no Harry Potter.

David Cheezem, co-owner of Fireside Books in Palmer, said people have been calling to make sure they'll be able to get the former GOP vice presidential candidate's memoir, “Going Rogue.” He's opening early with coffee and doughnuts to celebrate the Tuesday release.

“I'm excited about the event,” he said. “Am I as excited as I was for Harry Potter? No. That was huge.”

When the last three Potter books were released, the entire downtown area became a virtual Hogwarts, the boarding school for witches and wizards attended by the boy wizard. Merchants, including Cheezem, held trivia contests, and shoppers dressed up in character.

Palmer is adjacent to Wasilla, the hometown of Palin, who resigned as Alaska governor in July. Cheezem said he's hoping some of that regional connection spills over to people buying the book from his store — at the full US$28.99 price. So far, 23 of his 100-book shipment are spoken for.

“People are not just buying the book for political affiliations,” he said. “They're buying it because Sarah Palin grew up here and they know her children and they know her.”

Other sellers are offering discounts on the 413-page book, with some national retailers marking the book at about US$9.

Pandemonium Booksellers in Wasilla will knock off at least 20 percent, said storeowner Shannon Cullip. Her store has 100 copies available and has another 100 sold through pre-order, including 25 from just one customer.

But there are a few non-fans among the loving hometown crowd, too.

“It's always mixed,” Cullip said. “People either love her or they hate her. They either would rather die than read her book or they can't wait to read it and they think everything needs to read it, too.”

The Borders store in Anchorage is slashing the price by 30 percent for general customers and 40 percent for members of its Borders rewards program.

Rob Jack, the store's sales manager, said “Going Rogue” will be the first thing customers see when they walk in the door.

But he declined to discuss how many books are available or how fast they're selling, only that pre-orders are in the triple digits.

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November 18, 2009 cathythegreatest@

Well in Sitka, Alaska, demand was very low for the book. A local merchant purchased 30 copies and had only one "taker" at the beginning of the day. That copy was sold to a reporter from the local newspaper. The books were marked down 20% with the comment that all proceeds would go to a wildlife conservation fund as sort of a twist on Palin's support of aerial wolf killing. Residents are actually pretty appalled at Palin's performance in and out of office. She quit because she was no longer able to govern effectively. She was not working with democrats or republicans and most in the legislature were glad to see her go!


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