‘Turtles’ Helps Lift Sales 8% In Early October

With three of the four major book segments posting double-digit gains, unit sales of print books were 8% higher in the week ended Oct. 15, 2017, than in the similar week in 2016 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The top-selling book in the week was John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, which sold more than 129,000 copies in two editions: a signed volume that sold more than 82,000 copies and a traditional hardcover, which sold more than 47,000 copies. The expected strong showing by Green’s newest book led to a 11% increase in unit sales in the juvenile fiction category from the similar week in 2016. The adult nonfiction category had another strong week, with units up 11% from the week ended Oct. 16, 2016. While Rupi Kaur’s The Sun and Her Flowers (almost 50,000 copies sold) and Killing England by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (more than 31,000 copies sold) remained in first and second places, respectively, on the category list, two newcomers helped to lift sales. Ron Chernow’s Grant landed at #3 in its first week, with more than 27,000 copies sold, and Rhett & Link’s Book of Mythicality by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal was #4, with nearly 26,000 copies sold. Two new releases contributed to a 12% increase in juvenile nonfiction unit sales for the week. Indescribable by Louie Giglio was second on the category list, with more than 6,000 copies sold, and Johanna Basford’s Ivy and the Inky Butterfly sold more than 5,500 copies, putting it at #3. The week’s unit sales in the adult fiction segment were flat with the previous year; Origin by Dan Brown remained the #1 book in the category, selling more than 88,000 copies, while Danielle Steel’s latest hardcover, Fairytale, sold more than 21,000 copies, good enough for second place on the category list.

Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category (in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format (in thousands)