Decline in Fiction Leads to Drop in Total Units in First Week of October

Unit sales of print books fell 2.7% in the week ended Oct. 6, 2018, compared to the similar week in 2017, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The decline was due mostly to a 14.2% drop in sales of adult fiction. Dan Brown’s Origin sold nearly 145,000 copies in the week ended Oct. 7, 2017—its first week on sale. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult was the top adult fiction title in the week ended Oct. 6, 2018, it’s first week, selling almost 27,000 copies. Red War, the latest in the late Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, now written by Kyle Mills, was in second place on the adult fiction list, selling more than 19,000 copies in its second week. Juvenile fiction sales also fell, down 6.3% compared to 2017, despite The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith selling about 95,000 copies. At this time last year, The Prisoner of Azkaban: The Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay sold nearly 90,000 copies, while Rick Riordan’s The Ship of the Dead sold more than 57,000 copies in its first week, putting it in second place on the category list behind Potter. In second place last week was Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas, with about 31,000 copies sold. Unit sales of adult nonfiction rose 3.6% over 2017, as a host of new titles hit the category bestseller list. Ship of Fools by Tucker Carlson was #1, selling more than 82,000 copies in its first week. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis landed in fifth place, selling almost 24,000 copies in its first week, while Just Jessie by Jessie James Decker debuted at #6 with more than 23,000 copies sold.

Total Unit Sales of Print Books

(in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

(in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

(in thousands)