In a nonelection year that saw politics leap even more to the forefront of public discourse than the year prior, 2017’s biggest books were, for the most part, nonpolitical. It was a year heavy on backlist bestsellers, with the #1 print bestseller slots at both NPD BookScan and Amazon, as well as in Amazon’s Kindle e-books rankings, going to backlist titles.
In print, R.J. Palacio’s 2012 middle-grade novel Wonder topped both BookScan’s and Amazon’s lists, buoyed by the film adaptation released last November. Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey was second on both print lists, and Jeff Kinney’s latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid novel, The Getaway, was #3 on NPD’s list and #5 on Amazon. Among the Amazon bestsellers that didn’t hit the top of the BookScan list were Giraffes Can’t Dance, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook, Hillbilly Elegy, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, First 100 Words, and The Whole30.
The big news in Kindle e-book bestsellers top 10 list was that all but three are from Amazon publishing imprints. Margaret Atwood’s backlist title turned runaway bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale was the year’s #1 Kindle e-book, and a Pottermore title (the first Harry Potter novel) and a Kindle Direct Publishing title were in third and 10th place, respectively. The rest of the list is populated by books published by Amazon imprints, continuing a trend that began in 2016. Amazon’s e-books bestseller lists include sales made through Kindle Unlimited, Amazon First Reads, and Prime Reading.
Top 10 Kindle Bestsellers, 2017
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood | HMH |
| 2 | Beneath a Scarlet Sky | Mark Sullivan | Lake Union |
| 3 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | J.K. Rowling | Pottermore |
| 4 | Stillhouse Lake | Rachel Caine | Thomas & Mercer |
| 5 | Everything We Keep | Kerry Lonsdale | Lake Union |
| 6 | A Criminal Defense | William L. Meyers Jr. | Thomas & Mercer |
| 7 | In Farleigh Field | Rhys Bowen | Lake Union |
| 8 | When I’m Gone | Emily Bleeker | Lake Union |
| 9 | Silent Child | Sarah A. Denzil | Self-published |
| 10 | I Am Watching You | Teresa Driscoll | Thomas & Mercer |
Top 10 Amazon Print Bestsellers, 2017
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wonder | R. J. Palacio | Knopf Young Readers |
| 2 | Milk and Honey | Rupi Kaur | Andrews McMeel |
| 3 | Giraffes Can’t Dance | Giles Andreae | Cartwheel |
| 4 | The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck | Mark Manson | HarperOne |
| 5 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway | Jeff Kinney | Abrams |
| 6 | The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook | Laurel Randolph | Rockbridge |
| 7 | Hillbilly Elegy | J. D. Vance | Harper |
| 8 | Astrophysics for People in a Hurry | Neil DeGrasse Tyson | Norton |
| 9 | First 100 Words | Roger Priddy | Priddy Books |
| 10 | The Whole30: The 20-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom | Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig | HMH |
Top 10 Print Bestsellers, 2017
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint | Total Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wonder | R. J. Palacio | Knopf Young Readers | 1,118,925 |
| 2 | Milk and Honey | Rupi Kaur | Andrews McMeel | 1,032,494 |
| 3 | The Getaway | Jeff Kinney | Amulet Books | 992,416 |
| 4 | Origin | Dan Brown | Doubleday | 746,813 |
| 5 | You are a Badass | Jen Sincero | Running Press | 648,015 |
| 6 | A Man Called Ove | Fredrik Backman | Atria | 634,137 |
| 7 | Oh, The Places You’ll Go! | Dr. Seuss | Random House | 608,985 |
| 8 | The Woman in Cabin 10 | Ruth Ware | Gallery | 597,445 |
| 9 | The Rooster Bar | John Grisham | Doubleday | 594,557 |
| 10 | Camino Island | John Grisham | Doubleday | 573,458 |
This article has been updated for clarity.
