If the New York Times were to compile a “Most Stolen Books” list, up near the top would be the Beat Generation classics “Howl,” by Alan Ginsberg, and “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac. Also up there, not surprisingly, would be “Steal This Book,” the popular ’70’s hippie guide on how to live for free, by Abbie Hoffman.
And topping the list, in some cities at least, would be none other than the Holy Bible itself.
“It’s true, it’s absolutely true,” says Kevin Finn, the manager at Book People, an independent bookstore in Austin, Texas. “The most shoplifted book is the Bible.”
It actually makes sense…
“The most shoplifted book is the Bible.”
It actually makes sense, considering I heard once that most books aren’t shoplifted to keep, but to re-sell. A high-quality Bible is probably one of the best price-to-wight/size ratio books; the person who ends up buying it to keep may not realize that they are purchasing stolen material.
where stolen books end up…
I bet a good many stolen books end up on e-bay, Amazon and many of the smaller online and home-based booksellers. Some probably end up at the library booksale too (those that couldn’t be fenced).