News

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to NYT, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon

Danika Ellis

Associate Editor

Danika spends most of her time talking about queer women books at the Lesbrary. Blog: The Lesbrary Twitter: @DanikaEllis

I visited my local bookstore this past weekend, and I can tell you that holiday shopping has officially begun, regardless of how you feel about it. If you have people on your gift list you want to get books for, you might be interested in knowing what the big buzzy books of the moment are. It’s not always easy to tell, though. Every bestseller list uses its own criteria and data, and Amazon won’t share its numbers with anyone else.

That’s where this combined bestseller list comes in. Every week, I compile the bestsellers on four of the most popular lists: the New York Times, both Combined Print & E-Book Fiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction lists; Amazon Charts, both Fiction and Nonfiction; USA Today; and Publishers Weekly. I note the titles on multiple lists in the hopes that it will give us a broad overview of the bestselling books of the moment. New additions to the list this week are bolded.

Colleen Hoover’s reign continues unabated, and the only new additions to the list this week are either celebrity memoirs or new releases in long-running series (#29 in the Stephanie Plum series and #30 in the Alex Cross series). I noticed that there are several nonfiction titles on the New York Times bestseller list that weren’t on any other lists, which makes me wonder if those are more editorially chosen than strictly sales numbers.

This bestseller list continues to be overwhelmingly (entirely?) white. For some new releases that deserve more reach, also pick up Bloodmarked (Legendborn #2) by Tracy Deonn and Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk.

Books on All Four Bestseller Lists:

cover of Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry; full color photo of Perry's face

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover (NYT #1, USA Today #1, Publishers Weekly #1, Amazon #1)

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (NYT #1, USA Today #2, Publishers Weekly #3, Amazon #1)

Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich (NYT #2, USA Today #3, Publishers Weekly #8, Amazon #5)

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (NYT #3, USA Today #5, Publishers Weekly #4, Amazon #2)

The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham (NYT #5, USA Today #6, Publishers Weekly #7, Amazon #4)

Verity by Colleen Hoover (NYT #6, USA Today #9, Publishers Weekly #10, Amazon #3)

Surrender by Bono (NYT #2, USA Today #8, Publishers Weekly #5, Amazon #2)

Books On Three Bestseller Lists:

No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child (NYT #7, USA Today #10, Amazon #6)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney (USA Today #4, Publishers Weekly #2, Amazon #8)

Books On Two Bestseller Lists:

Triple Cross cover

Triple Cross by James Patterson (NYT #4, USA Today #7)

Fairy Tale by Stephen King (NYT #10, Amazon #7)

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (NYT #4, Amazon #4)

And There Was Light by Jon Meacham (NYT #6, Amazon #10)

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk (NYT #7, Amazon #7)

Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten (Publishers Weekly #6, Amazon #8)


Go beyond the bestseller lists with made-for-you book recommendations from TBR, our book recommendation service!

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.