What were the most popular books at the Google Play store this year? The data team crunched the numbers and announced that E.L. James claimed the number one spot.
In total, James captured five slots on this year’s list. Some of the other titles on the list include Paper Towns by John Green, Allegiant by Veronica Roth, and The Giver by Lois Lowry.
James, Green, and Roth were all featured on the 2014 list. Below, we’ve collected free samples of all the books from the 2015 top ten for your reading pleasure.
1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
2. Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E.L. James
3. Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
4. Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
5. American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, and Jim DeFelice
6. The Girl on the Train: A Novel by by Paula Hawkins
7. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
8. The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir
9. Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle by E.L. James
10. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
When American Sniper opened in theaters last week, I started to see reviews that pointed out Kyle's use of the word savage to describe Iraqis. That word has been used to describe American Indians. I wondered if Kyle made any connections between "savage" and American Indians in his book. The answer? Yes.
In his autobiography, Kyle uses "Injun" in two places. Here's what he said on page 267:
Or we would bump out 500 yards, six or eight hundred yards, going deep into Injun territory to look and wait for the bad guys.
And here's what he said on page 291:
Our missions would last for an overnight or two in Injun country.
See? He made connections between "savage" Iraqis and "savage" Indians. In his book, he used the word "savage" several times. Here's page 4 (the book uses caps as shown):
SAVAGE, DESPICABLE EVIL. THAT'S WHAT WE WERE FIGHTING in Iraq. That's why a lot of people, myself included, called the enemy "savages."
Later on that same page, he says that when people asked him how many he's killed:
The number is not important to me. I only wish I had killed more. Not for bragging rights, but because I believe the world is a better place without savages out there taking American lives.
On page 147:
THE BAD GUYS THE ENEMIES WE WERE FIGHTING WERE SAVAGE AND WELL-armed
On page 173:
It was near a hospital the insurgents had converted into a headquarters before our assault, and even now the area seemed to be a magnet for savages.
On page 219:
I hated the damn savages I'd been fighting.
On page 228:
They turned around and saw a savage with a rocket launcher lying dead on the ground.
On page 244:
They had heard we were out there slaying a huge number of savages.
On page 284:
There was a savage on the roof of the house next door, looking down at the window from the roof there.
On page 316:
"...after we killed enough of the savages out there," I told him.
On page 338:
I'd have to wait until the savage who put him up to it appeared on the street.
Of course, Kyle is not the first person to equate American Indians with Iraqis. In 2008, Professor Steven Silliman of the University of Massachusetts did a study of the use of "Indian Country." His article,
The "Old West" in the Middle East: U.S. Military Metaphors in Real and Imagined Indian Country includes a chart of how it was used in the Middle East, by media and soldiers.
And, anyone who has paid attention to the use of "savage" or "Injun" in children's literature will be able to list several books that use either word to dehumanize American Indians. Here's a few examples:
- Laura Ingalls Wilder used "savages" in her Little House on the Prairie.
- Carol Ryrie Brink used "savages" in Caddie Woodlawn.
- Lois Lenski used "savage" in Indian Captive.
- Elizabeth George Speare used "savages" in Calico Captive and "savage" in Sign of the Beaver.
- Eoin Colfer used "savage Injun" in The Reluctant Assassin.
When we share books with the dehumanization of American Indians, do we inadvertently put people on that road to being able to dehumanize "other" in conflicts, be the conflict that takes place in war or on the streets of any country?
Former wrestler Jesse Ventura is suing publisher HarperCollins for defamation of character.
Ventura asserts that the memoir American Sniper by the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle contains a derogatory story about the former Minnesota Governor that Ventura claims never took place. He’s already won a lawsuit against Kyle’s estate.
The StarTribune has more:
The new lawsuit says the publicity and controversy “generated by the false and defamatory story about Ventura substantially increased sales of ‘American Sniper,’ thereby generating millions of dollars in revenues and profits for Harper Collins.”
“American Sniper” has been turned into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper with a limited release in theaters on Dec. 25. There has been no indication that the incident involving Ventura is included in the movie.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Warner Brothers has unveiled the official trailer for American Sniper. The video embedded above offers glimpses of lead actor Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.
The screenplay is based on Kyle’s memoir. According to Deadline, the story “follows Kyle’s journey from rodeo cowboy to SEAL Chief with the highest number of sniper kills in U.S. military history.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
