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If political book sales are any indication, Barack Obama is in for a tough ride this November.

That鈥檚 according to a new heat map of political books sold, which suggests more Americans are buying 鈥渞ed鈥� books than 鈥渂lue鈥� books.

Amazon鈥檚 new Election Heat Map 2012 uses a rolling 30-day average of book-buying data to classify a state as red or blue depending on whether it has higher liberal or conservative book sales. For politicos and bibliophiles alike, it鈥檚 a fascinating geographic glimpse into Americans鈥� bookshelves 鈥� and political reading habits. (Amazon released a similar heat map four years ago in the run-up to the 2008 elections; see our blog on that here.)

But, Amazon is quick to point out, 鈥渂ooks aren鈥檛 votes, so a map of book purchases may reflect curiosity as much as commitment.鈥�

Currently some 56 percent of political book purchases are 鈥渞ed,鈥� or conservative-leaning, according to Amazon鈥檚 heat map, which is updated daily. (Amazon noted that it classified books as red or blue 鈥渋f they have a political leaning made evident in book promotion material and/or customer classification, such as tags.鈥�) Bestselling 鈥渞ed鈥� titles include 鈥淭he Amateur,鈥� 鈥淜illing Lincoln,鈥� 鈥淟eading from Behind,鈥� and 鈥淎tlas Shrugged.鈥� (See our recent post on the Ayn Rand-Paul Ryan connection for more on that.)

By comparison, 44 percent of book purchases are 鈥渂lue,鈥� with top liberal titles including 鈥淎 People鈥檚 History of the United States,鈥� 鈥淭he New Jim Crow,鈥� 鈥淭he New New Deal,鈥� and 鈥淭hat Used to be Us.鈥�

鈥淏ook sales by geography always have interesting things to say about our states, and an election season is a particularly good time to use this data to help customers follow the changing political conversation across the country,鈥� Chris Schluep, a senior editor at Amazon, told Politico.

Perhaps most striking is that the heat map is awash with red, indicating that conservative-leaning books are outselling liberal-leaning books in the overwhelming majority of states, coast to coast. Only six states 鈥� Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, and DC 鈥� are selling more liberal books than conservative. Pennsylvania is the bibliophilic equivalent of neutral Switzerland, exactly equally split 50-50 between red and blue reading. The rest of America, including traditionally liberal California, is buying red.

Does the crimson map reflect how Americans will vote this November? Not necessarily. Instead, say industry watchers, it indicates the relative superiority of conservative imprints in seeking out right-leaning books and connecting with readers.

鈥淚 can tell you that there are conservative imprints and conservative publishers that are just brilliant at figuring out what kind of books their audience wants to read,鈥� publishing industry analyst Michael Norris, of Simba Information, told Wired. 鈥淭here just aren鈥檛 aggressively left-leaning imprints like that.鈥�

In fact, Amazon鈥檚 heat map told a similar story four years ago, when conservative books like 鈥淪arah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Alaskan Political Establishment Upside Down鈥� were top of the list and the map was similarly awash in red.

Wrote Books Editor Marjorie Kehe last election season, 鈥淚t might be that publishers of politically 'red' books are scoring big in general. According to a new barometer devised by Amazon.com, books from America鈥檚 political right get much wider exposure than those from its left.鈥�

Among Amazon鈥檚 findings:

鈥� DC was the 鈥渂luest鈥� state, selling the most liberal books at 78 percent liberal, 22 percent conservative.

鈥� Mississippi was the 鈥渞eddest鈥� state, with 72 percent of purchases coming out 鈥渞ed鈥� and 28 percent 鈥渂lue.鈥�

鈥� In a head-to-head race, however, Obama still comes out on top. Some 64 percent of Americans are buying 鈥淭he Audacity of Hope,鈥� compared to 36 percent purchasing GOP contender Mitt Romney鈥檚 鈥淣o Apology.鈥�

鈥� In the veep race, though, Republican Paul Ryan is trouncing Joe Biden. Some 94 percent of Americans are purchasing Ryan鈥檚 co-authored 鈥淵oung Guns,鈥� compared to just 6 percent buying Biden鈥檚 鈥淧romises to Keep.鈥�

We鈥檙e enjoying this glimpse into Americans鈥� political reading habits, but we鈥檙e not reading too much into it. After all, four years when Amazon鈥檚 heat map was cloaked in red, a decidedly blue candidate won the majority of Americans鈥� votes.

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.