*Pre-orders for the O.J. Simpson book “If I Did It” on the Barnes & Noble Web site are higher than the chain expected, but its decision not to carry the book in its stores still stands.
"We still have no plans to stock it in our stores," spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Last week, Barnes & Noble said it did not expect the book to sell well and would only offer it through their Web site, Barnes & Noble.com, or by special order at a Barnes & Noble store. Since then, the book has jumped into the top 50 on the Web site and ranked No. 48 as of Sunday night.
Due in the fall via Beaufort Books, the tome features Simpson’s hypothetical account of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
Interest in the book has been fueled by last week’s announcement that Oprah Winfrey would feature Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister; and Goldman's parents, Fred and Kim Goldman on a show scheduled to air Sept. 13.
Brown has accused the Goldmans of hypocrisy for publishing a book that he had called "disgusting and despicable" when Simpson first planned to publish it through HarperCollins.
After public outrage led HarperCollins to cancel the release, a federal bankruptcy judge eventually awarded the book rights to Goldman's family to help satisfy a $38 million wrongful death judgment against Simpson. The Goldmans decided to release the book after all through New York-based Beaufort Books, and promote it as a confession with extensive commentary added to the original manuscript.