He may be a literary rock star, but Dave Eggers is no Eminem. Check out sales of his new book, You Shall Know Our Velocity, at indie New York bookstores. Perhaps self-publishing -- and forgoing B&N -- wasn't such a staggeringly good idea after all?

St. Mark's
Ordered: 1,000.
Sold (as of 10/24): 250.

Community Bookstore
Ordered: 100.
Sold: 64.

Lenox Hill Bookstore
Ordered: 200.
Sold: 60.

BookCourt
Ordered: 350.
Sold: 96.

Labyrinth
Ordered: 1,000.
Sold: 54.

Read John Homans' Review

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• Archive: “Gotham”
• Articles by Matt Gross
• Table of Contents: Nov 4, 2002 issue of New York | Subscribe!