Getting a book into Oprah Winfrey's hands—and an author onto her couch—has long been the wettest dream of publishers. But now Crown editor (and thriller author) Jason Pinter analyzes the first-week sales of Chris Bohjalian's The Double Bind, a Barnes & Noble pick from an author who'd been anointed the big O's coveted Book Club Pick status in the past and compares them to those of Starbucks selection A Long Way Gone, by former child soldier Ishmael Beah. Beah's book sold more at Starbucks alone than Bohjalian's sold in total. Of course, there are other factors at play here: Oprah didn't pick The Double Bind, and while both authors have been making the publicity rounds, Beah was kind of on the cover of the Times magazine a little bit more than Bohjalian was. Also, maybe people think former child soldiers are more interesting than Mom lit?

Could Starbucks Be More Influential Than Oprah? [Jason Pinter's The Man In Black via Galleycat]