Well, that depends actually.

On how you calculate sales, how its distributed, the time period and if you consider bulk purchases from companies.

It really isn’t as simple as “how many books sold within a time period” anymore.

Because sales are online, there are so much going on that we can’t fathom.

Chris Dixon’s “Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet” just launched and it was on New York Times Best Sellers list.

But how it got there is a story worth telling in itself.

A quick peek into Dixon’s book reveals a tech utopia painted in the vivid strokes of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

“a16z’s Chris Dixon tops ‘Midas List’ by turning $350M into $6B in 2021.”

He made a huge bet on Coinbase and it paid off big time.

Since then, he has been a loud advocator and think tank for crypto and web3.

It is natural for him to write a book.

It’s an evangelist’s manifesto, promising an internet renaissance free from the clutches of the ‘Big Tech’ overlords.

But before you get lost in this digital dreamscape, let’s talk numbers — because numbers, or rather the manipulation of them, is where it gets fuzzy.

The entry of Dixon’s book into the revered NYT Best Sellers list comes with a curious companion — a small dagger icon.

Honestly, I never knew till I saw an article talking about it.

In the world of bestseller lists, this tiny symbol is the literary equivalent of a whisper, hinting that bulk purchases were part of the sales equation.

This isn’t your everyday reader rushing to the bookstore; it’s a calculated move by tech firms linked to Dixon and a16z, the venture capital firm he’s a part of.

Allegedly, of course.

They bought the book in droves, enough to nudge it into the limelight of bestseller fame.

Now, buying books en masse isn’t a new strategy.

Politicians and authors have long played this game to climb the bestseller ladder.

“For example, the Republican National Committee spent nearly $100,000 buying copies of Donald Trump Jr.’s 2019 book Triggered before it went on sale, giving it a spot on the Best Sellers list that was appended with a dagger icon.”

I just don’t think its perfectly fair, but that is the way the market works.

So companies linked to Dixon and a16z went ahead to bulk purchase chris’ new book.

“Want a free copy of @cdixon’s new book “Read Write Own”? [cofounder] @jubos, @ElectricCapital, and I are giving away 1401 books,” Garg wrote in a post on X on Februry 1. “Chris has done a lot for @ElectricCapital and the entire crypto ecosystem over the last decade,” he continued. “The previous highest bulk purchase at the distributor was 1400. Our small way of saying thank you was to buy more books than anyone else (so far).”

Open, candid, nothing to hide and perfectly ok, I guess?

Wonder how all the small authors and writers feel, knowing they would never have friends and companies like Chris, to help bulk purchase their work the first day it launches.

Let’s see.

An investor directly leads investments into companies he likes and knows, who in turn bought large amounts of their new book.

I wonder if that raises any flags.

The book’s ascent to bestseller status, thanks to strategic bulk purchases, is quite poetic.

I’m inspired to write a book now. =)

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Have you bought books online recently?

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