A controversial book about President Donald Trump’s first year in the White House has Lake County libraries and bookstores struggling to keep up with demand.
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“Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” was released on Jan. 5, and orders for the bestseller skyrocketed after the president blasted the book and author Michael Wolff on social media.
Barnes and Noble outlets across Lake County reported that they are sold out of copies, with a wait of possibly weeks before the publisher can fill shelves anywhere again.
Holds at Lake County libraries reached levels this week typically only seen for the likes of the latest James Patterson thriller, library officials said.
“We had placed an order for the book when there was a little bit of hoopla,” said Ellen Bassett, collections development manager for the Cook Memorial Public Library District, which serves Libertyville and Vernon Hills.
Bassett added that Cook library officials managed to get their hands on eight copies before Trump took to Twitter and denounced the book as a work of fiction. He has since threatened to sue for libel over the book’s content, which includes quotes from White House staffers suggesting the president is unfit for office.
Demand for the book at Cook jumped overnight, Bassett said, with more than 85 holds listed recently on the few available copies. The library has ordered more, but no one is certain when more copies will arrive.
“We’re no worse off than anyone else. It’s on back-order everywhere,” Bassett said.
“Fire and Fury” sold more than 29,000 copies and was the best-selling book in the country last week, according to the Associated Press. The publisher has increased its initial announced printing of 150,000 to more than 1 million.
While the fury of demand is great many places, it’s not as intense at some Lake County libraries.
“As far as I know, our desks haven’t received anything about and beyond the usual inquiry,” said Amanda Civitello, spokeswoman for the Waukegan Public Library.
Waukegan had about a dozen holds on three copies, according to its website. Civitello said there “definitely is demand,” but requests haven’t been anywhere near overwhelming.
Despite mixed desire for the book in some areas, many are searching anywhere they can to find a copy — including children’s outlets.
“Even for a youth bookstore, we had 10 people come in and ask for it,” Janet Elliot, owner of This Old Book in Grayslake, who added that they don’t plan to stock any copies.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.