Former VP's and First Lady's books hit the market

Nov. 26—Nov. 15 saw the release of books by the two political parties' heaviest hitters: Mike Pence's "So Help Me God" and Michelle Obama's "The Light We Carry."

Both highlight their responses to the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.

Obama's first book, the memoir "Becoming," broke a sales record — in its first 15 days of release, it sold two million copies on the way to moving 14 million copies worldwide. Pence previously wrote "Where You Go: Life Lessons from My Father" with his daughter Charlotte and "Celebrate Freedom Sunday" with Dr. Robert Jeffress.

Obama's book is generally being received as a slightly tonier self-help book. Pence's effort has been relatively well-received, though some critics find his assessments of Donald Trump on the circumspect side.

On the other hand, Washington Post book critic Ron Charles wrote in his weekly newsletter, "Despite protecting the Union from its greatest threat in 160 years, Pence describes that calamity with all the verve and insight of a man telling us how he loads the dishwasher."

Both books are doing solid business on Amazon, with "The Light We Carry" debuting at No. 1 on its list of bestsellers since becoming available and Pence's book at No. 2. Obama's book is currently at No. 3, while "So Help Me God" is No. 76.

Locally, they're neck and neck in terms of popularity. Books-a-Million manager Betsy Verseman said, "They're both selling pretty decently. One is not sticking out more than the other."

On the store's bestseller list, Obama's book is ranked 11th, Pence's, 12th, both well behind the top books by John Grisham, Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks and Lee Child.

At the Vigo County Public Library, Pence's work is slightly more popular.

Elizabeth Scamihorn, the library's strategic communications manager, reported that four copies of each book will be coming soon; Pence's book has seven holds while Obama's has one hold on a large-print version.

Two Pence eBooks are checked out with four people awaiting its availability and no holds at this point for the audio books. Two Obama eBooks are checked out with one hold request. There are four holds on Obama's audio book formats.

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.