Unit sales of print books dropped 9.6% last week compared to the week ended October 2, 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. It was one of the largest weekly declines in several months, coming as nonfiction sales fell across the board and adult fiction sales rose 3.6%, well below its typical weekly increase.
A new edition of Colleen Hoover’s Verity was #1 on the adult fiction list, selling just over 50,000 copies in its first week on sale. A year ago, The Wish by Nicholas Sparks sold more than 95,000 copies in its first week on sale. Perhaps the bad weather across many parts of the country had an effect on consumer activity, but sales of all of the most popular novels, including those of Hoover, were down significantly compared to the prior week.
Sales of adult nonfiction fell 12.7% despite a number of new releases. Live Wire by Kelly Ripa was the #1 seller in the category, selling over 35,000 copies in its first week on sale. Killing the Legends by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard landed in the third spot on the category list, selling just under 25,000 copies, followed by Steve Case’s The Rise off the Rest, selling nearly 18,000 copies. A year ago, Peril by Bob Woodward and Jim Costa was still selling fairly well, topping the adult fiction chart and selling about 59,000 copies.
Juvenile fiction sales fell 13.8% compared to last week as every subcategory except holidays/festivals/religion saw sales drop, including a 21.8% dive in the biggest subcategory, general fiction, where sales tumbled 21.8%. Juvenile nonfiction sales dropped 20% as every category had double digit declines, with the exception of holidays/festivals/religion, where sales rose 6.5%.
