This Week's Bestsellers: December 8, 2014

NBA Scores

In the first full week since the National Book Awards were announced on November 19, Redeployment by Phil Klay, which won for fiction, had its best weekly sales since its March publication. The short story collection returns to our Hardcover Fiction list with 3,933 units sold, a 143% jump over the previous week. Here’s how the 2014 NBA winners have fared in the weeks pre- and post-award.

Figures represent print unit sales

Source: Nielsen BookScan

Patterson in the ‘House’

James Patterson is no stranger to the bestseller lists, and this week, not only does he take the top spot in Hardcover Fiction with a new Alex Cross thriller (see “Bestseller Stat Shot,” p. 3), but House of Robots, which launches a new middle-grade series coauthored with Chris Grabenstein, debuts this week at #3 with 44,929 print units sold. Older Patterson titles cowritten with Grabenstein, as well as with Chris Tebbets and Julia Bergen, also had strong showings: in total, Patterson’s name appears eight times on the Children’s Frontlist Fiction list. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers attributes the uptick in sales to “holiday shopping and Black Friday retail activity.” Whatever the cause, we suspect it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Patterson household.

The Gift of Reading

The 2014 holiday season is off to a strong start. Print unit sales are up 5% this week compared to Thanksgiving week in 2013, with double-digit percentage gains in several categories.

In adult nonfiction, biography, autobiography, and memoir are up 43% over the same week in 2013; key titles include Killing Patton by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, 41: A Portrait of My Father by George W. Bush, and Yes Please by Amy Poehler.

Religion, typically strong at this time of year, is up 17% over this week in 2013. Sarah Young had the top two books in this category this week: Jesus Calling, with unit sales of almost 37K, and Jesus Today, with nearly 10K.

In fiction, graphic novels are up 21% over last year, led by Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1, followed closely by The Walking Dead Compendium (one and two) and The Walking Dead Vol. 22, all by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard.

Elf—and Other Children’s Books—on the Shelf

As the gift-buying ramps up, nine of 10 bestselling books across the country are kids’ titles. (#10? The ubiquitious Mr. Patterson.) Disney’s annual seasonal promotion meant six-figure print unit sales for several titles in its storybook collections. And Jeff Kinney, on top for the fourth week in a row, is clearly in it for the Long Haul, as is his colleague in middle-grade diary keeping, Rachel Renée Russell.

Top 10 Overall