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The financial crisis is having some unexpected effects on the American people, but now things are getting disturbing: Instead of doing the sensible thing and searching for answers at the bottom of a glass, people are turning to reading, of all things. Both Borders and Amazon, reports Reuters, continue to see a trend towards finance books "from biographies of key players to books about past financial crises."

One of the biggest sellers is The Snowball, the first authorized biography of billionaire Warren Buffett. Depressingly for restaurateurs, books like The 99 Cent Only Stores Cookbook: Gourmet Recipes at Discount Prices have become popular, as have escapist mysteries and thrillers. Now, if we could just finish our book proposal about a rogue trader who solves murders and whips up delicious yet low-cost recipes in his spare time...

Cooking to thrillers: a crisis inspires book trends [Reuters]