Red books, blue books

Amazon.com has introduced an interactive map of the U.S. showing which states are "red" or "blue" based on their online book purchases.

According to the Seattle Times:

Although it's not meant to predict the next president, it suggests that the Right's slant on the Obama-McCain matchup is more widely read than the Left's.

For now, 36 states are pink or red. Six are blue. And eight, including Washington and Oregon, are purple, meaning residents are virtually split in their political book purchases between Republican and Democratic viewpoints.

The map, (click here) updated daily, is based on sales of books with a political perspective, as identified in promotional material and customer classifications.