Forest Service
Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees, which examines the ways that trees in the forest behave like social beings, debuts at #6 on our Hardcover Nonfiction list. The book has been a bestseller in the author’s native Germany since its May 2015 publication (in August, it was the #1 nonfiction book in that country, according to our International Bestsellers list) and is poised to be the biggest release yet for Canada’s Greystone Books, Wohlleben’s North American publisher.
In January, the New York Times profiled the author, and a spate of English-language print, broadcast, and online coverage followed. Amid the buzz, Greystone cited a widely read Guardian article and the book’s designation as a Powell’s Pick of the Month as having had a big impact, as did a timely tweet by Michael Pollan.
(See all of this week's bestselling books.)
Dead Reckoning
Eisner Award–winning graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier has earned acclaim for her realistic middle grade stories of family, friendship, and young love, which together have sold 1.85 million print copies. Her debut-week performance has strengthened with each book; her new title, Ghosts, which confronts fears about illness and death, lands at #2 in Children’s Frontlist Fiction, and #6 in the country overall.
Let’s Talk About Me
This week’s Hardcover Nonfiction debuts include several memoirs from the worlds of broadcast TV, sports, and music.
Between Breaths, at #8, is 20/20 coanchor Elizabeth Vargas’s account of her alcoholism, rehab, and first year of sobriety. One notch below, In Such Good Company by comedy legend Carol Burnett offers a behind-the-scenes look at her eponymous 1960s–’70s variety show.
U.S. soccer star Abby Wambach writes of achieving professional success amid personal struggles including prescription drug and alcohol abuse, and the marital problems that led to her recently announced divorce, in the #11 book, Forward. And at #16, founding Beach Boys member Mike Love reflects on his life in music in Good Vibrations, timed to the 50th anniversary of the song.
Election Countdown
Scorched Earth by Michael Savage debuts at #2 in Hardcover Nonfiction, and #10 in the country overall. The book, subtitled Restoring the Country After Obama, makes plain Savage’s ideological allegiance: “I’m going to take credit,” he writes, “for being the architect of Trump’s messaging.” At #25 in Hardcover Nonfiction, The Year of Voting Dangerously by Maureen Dowd collects the author’s New York Times op-eds covering this election season, and her observations on what the subtitle calls “the derangement of American politics.”
New & Notable
Killing the Rising Sun
Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
#1 Hardcover Nonfiction, #1 overall
The sixth title in the pair’s Killing series covers the last year of World War II—the escalation of the war in the Pacific, and the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.
Commonwealth
Ann Patchett
#1 Hardcover Fiction, #7 overall
Our starred review called Patchett’s novel, which begins in the 1960s and spans five decades, “a funny, sad, and ultimately heart-wrenching family portrait.”
Top 10 Overall
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Killing the Rising Sun | O’Reilly/Dugard | Holt | 144,657 |
| 2 | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | J.K. Rowling et al. | Scholastic/Levine | 64,309 |
| 3 | The Girl on the Train | Paula Hawkins | Riverhead | 44,478 |
| 4 | The Girl on the Train (mass market movie tie-in) | Paula Hawkins | Riverhead | 28,171 |
| 5 | Little Blue Truck’s Halloween | Schertle/McElmurry | HMH | 25,082 |
| 6 | Ghosts | Raina Telgemeier | Graphix | 24,766 |
| 7 | Commonwealth | Ann Patchett | Harper | 23,169 |
| 8 | Fall of Hades (Michael Vey #6) | Richard Paul Evans | Simon Pulse | 22,377 |
| 9 | The Girl on the Train (trade paper movie tie-in) | Paula Hawkins | Riverhead | 22,252 |
| 10 | Scorched Earth | Michael Savage | Center Street | 19,841 |
All unit sales per Nielsen BookScan except where noted
