When I use my reader, it shows the description differently than on your website. What gives?

We have made use of an extension mechanisim available in RSS 2.0 to store additional metadata. Although this information is available in the description, it is also broken out into separate elements that most readers won't understand. If you are writing your own parser, and you wish to understand these components, you will need to be able to parse elements from the Dublin Core as well as specific Book Sense Bestseller List elements.

What are the differences between viewing the lists through "Live Bookmarks", Online Syndication, and the web page?

Online Syndication is a broad term, which usually indicates that the information (often from a web page) is being distributed to others who have subscribed to it. RSS is one such way that this information is distributed. While with web pages you must visit the page to see what has changed, with syndication the information is delivered to you. Syndicated feeds, however, tend to contain information about the page they are paired with, and not the full contents of the page.

The two work together - a syndicated feed can alert you when something has changed and brief information about the changes, while the page contains the full details.

"Live Bookmarks" are a feature introduced with the Firefox browser. It creates a bookmark category whose items are taken from a syndicated feed and is kept up to date through the feed. If you use your bookmarks to manage the sites you visit frequently, Live Bookmarks can help you determine which of those sites has new information.

Can I have the lists emailed to me weekly?

No. Our distribution of the bestseller lists is done using a web-pull of an RSS file. Using a news aggregator provides many of the advantages of email, and you may wish to look into this solution.

We don't use it, but you may wish to investigate an RSS to Email Aggregator.

Where do you get the book and sales information?

The book information comes from independent booksellers nationwide, and is collected by the American Booksellers Association. Objective Consulting has worked with the ABA and these independent booksellers to streamline the reporting process and compile this list.

Can I redistribute the bestseller lists?

With certain restrictions, yes, you can. For more details, see information for website administrators and the other links provided.

Are there any charges for reading the lists or accessing the site?

No, we are happy to make these lists available for free under the terms provided by the reprint guidelines.

What does the * mean under Weeks On List?

It means that the book has been at the top of this bestseller list for more than 52 weeks.

What does the -- mean under Last Week?

It means that the book was not at the top of this bestseller list for the previously reported list.

What are the Last Week and Weeks on List columns?

They indicate the position this book was ranked on the previously published list, and the number of times this book has been at the top of this list, respectively. It does not indicate how many consecutive weeks the book has been on the list.