Thoughts on Bestsellers

For the past week-and-a-half, I've been listing the ten books that sold the most copies through my Milk-Free Bookstore since the start of 2006.

For the record, here's the complete list.

• Milk Is Not for Every Body, by Steve Carper
• The Milk Free Kitchen, by Beth Kidder
• 101 Fabulous Dairy-Free Desserts, by Annette Pia Hall
• Secrets of Lactose Free Cooking, by Arlene Burlant
• Totally Dairy Free Cooking, by Louis Lanza with Laura Morton
• The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook, by Cybele Pascal
• The Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free Cookbook, by Nicola Graimes
• The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, by Jo Stepaniak
• The Complete Vegan Cookbook, by Susann Geiskopf-Hadler and Mindy Toomay
• Simple Treats: A Wheat-Free Dairy-Free Guide, by Ellen Abraham

OK, no surprise that my book came out on top. My site, after all. And not much of a surprise that the top five books were all lactose-free or dairy-free books. My site is a specialty lactose intolerance site, one of the first and one of the biggest.

No, what surprised me was that the books that made the list are so old. They're classics, and there are good reasons they're classics.

But where are the new books aimed at those of us who are lactose intolerant? We spent so many years being ignored. Have we returned to that era? Or is it just that all purpose allergy books fill the need as well if not better?

If you know of good new dairy-free or lactose-free cookbooks being published, send me an email at stevecarper . com.

In the meantime, congratulations to all those whose books made the list. You're the top of well over 100 titles sold over the last couple of years, and you appealed to a tough specialty audience. You most certainly did something right, and very well.

I'll change the Top Ten Bestsellers page on the bookstore site just as soon as possible.