It looks like when faced with the prospect that the government has been monitoring our every chat, phone call, and e-mail for at least seven years, the American people cope by picking up books about dystopian future governments that monitor their citizens' every move. Go figure.
According to EW, sales of George Orwell's classics 1984 and Animal Farm have both been up over 300 percent on Amazon this past week since the NSA surveillance program scandal broke. It makes sense, when you think about it: Both books are about overbearing governments and a reality where citizens virtually have no privacy or freedom, two topics that have been in discussion a lot as of late. The Washington Examiner does point out that the spikes in sales might not be related—last week was 1984's 60th anniversary—but let's be real, no one's got that marked on their calendars.
As for how much sales have risen, specifically: Amazon reports that sales of a 1984/Animal Farm dual volume edition are up a whopping 392 percent, and sales of a cenntenial edition of 1984 are up a whopping 7,031 percent. So, a lot.
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[via EW]
