At outlets that report to NPD BookScan, unit sales of print books were 6% higher in the week ended Jan. 28, 2018, than in the comparable week in 2017. The increase was once again driven by the adult nonfiction category, where unit sales were 12% higher than in the week ended Jan. 29, 2017. Although Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury was by far the top title in the week, selling more than 234,000 copies, two new books also contributed to the increase in adult nonfiction sales. Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life sold nearly 58,000 copies in its first week, landing it in second place on the category bestseller list, and All American Murder by James Patterson and Alex Abramovich was #3 on the category list, selling more than 24,000 copies. Despite a lack of new titles high on the juvenile fiction bestseller list, units in that category were 6% higher than in the similar week in 2017. Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man and Cat Kid remained #1 on the category bestseller list, selling more than 28,000 copies, and Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time stayed in second place with more than 21,000 copies sold. Unit sales of print books in the juvenile nonfiction segment saw a 5% increase over the comparable week in 2017. Workman’s How to Ace series led the gains; its books on math, science, and English finished among the category’s top 10 sellers, with a combined 13,000 copies. Unit sales of adult fiction were 3% lower than in the similar week in 2017. Two new Danielle Steel books landed in the third and fourth spots on the category bestseller list: Fall from Grace sold more than 22,000 copies in hardcover and the paperback Against All Odds sold almost 16,000 copies. In the second spot on the bestseller list was Christine Feehan’s paperback, Judgment Road, which sold more than 22,000 copies.
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel (in thousands)
| Jan. 29, 2017 | Jan. 28, 2018 | Chge Week | Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 11,461 | 12,192 | 6% | 5% |
| Retail & Club | 10,136 | 10,935 | 8% | 6% |
| Mass Merch./Others | 1,325 | 1,257 | -5% | -3% |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Category (in thousands)
| Jan. 29, 2017 | Jan. 28, 2018 | Chge Week | Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Nonfiction | 5,357 | 5,981 | 12% | 8% |
| Adult Fiction | 2,317 | 2,256 | -3% | -3% |
| Juvenile Nonfiction | 861 | 902 | 5% | 5% |
| Juvenile Fiction | 2,515 | 2,662 | 6% | 5% |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Format (in thousands)
| Jan. 29, 2017 | Jan. 28, 2018 | Chge Week | Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 2,824 | 3,292 | 16% | 12% |
| Trade Paperback | 6,725 | 6,953 | 3% | 2% |
| Mass Market Paperback | 1,007 | 944 | -6% | -5% |
| Board Books | 526 | 582 | 11% | 11% |
| Audio | 58 | 49 | -15% | -20% |
Source: npd BookScan and Publishers Weekly. Npd’s U.S. Consumer Market Panel covers approximately 80% of the print book market and continues to grow.
