Late last month, I had the honor of rambling in front of the sociology class of USC professor Jody Agius Vallejo, the Placentia native and Dana Point resident who's making waves in academia with her study of non-cholo, non-dropout Mexis via her excellent book Barrios to Burbs: The Making of the Mexican-American Middle Class. The tome is that rare academic effort that has crossed over into the mainstream, with Vallejo appearing on public-radio shows and in newsprint–but it's one thing to get media attention, quite another to sell books, especially in the stultifying world of academia.
Well, whoever her Trojan handlers are, they better get ready to give the profe a pay raise: Barrios to Burbs has done the unthinkable and sold out of its print run. OH DEAR…
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This doesn't mean that Vallejo's in the territory of 50 Shades of Grey, mind you. Print runs for books released by academic publishing houses are notoriously small, because the sales of those books are ridiculously anemic (but they STILL sell more than my books haha!). But not only did Barrios to Burbs exceed expectations, it's left Stanford University Press with something unheard of in modern-day publishing: it's not only planning a second hardcover run, but also a paperback edition!
Congrats, profe! The Weekly is going to host a public lecture with Vallejo later this year to discuss her work. In the meanwhile, Jody: can you tell your publishers to get your fine effort a book jacket? 'Cause the current cover is kinda wabby, and it deserves better…
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