Unit sales of print books slipped 0.9% last week compared to the week ended March 5, 2022, at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. The small decline came despite a 6.7% increase in adult fiction sales and a strong showing for The Courage to Be Free by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, which sold more than 94,000 copies in its first week on sale, making it the top-selling book for the week.
Even with the strong debut by the DeSantis title, unit sales in the adult nonfiction segment fell 2.1% from 2022. A second new title hit the category bestseller list, with Drama Free by Nedra Glover Tawwab selling nearly 13,000 copies, putting it in fifth place on the adult nonfiction list.
The increase in adult fiction was due in part to the success of three new titles. Colleen Hoover’s newest novel, Never Never, (written with Taryn Fisher) was #1 selling more than 68,000 copies in its first week on sale. Storm Watch by C.J. Box was #3 on the category list, selling over 33,000 copies, while A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon hit the category list in the 10th spot, selling almost 20,000 copies.
Sales in all other segments were down. Juvenile fiction sales dropped 6.1% as Penguin Random House launched its annual Dr. Seuss promotion. Seuss titles took five of the top 10 bestseller slots on the category list, selling a total of approximately 123,000 copies. Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish sold about 35,000 and 29,000 copies, respectively, putting the books on top of the segment chart.
Young adult fiction sales fell 6.8% despite a good showing for three new titles. The Island by Natasha Preston was in second place on the list, selling over 9,000 copies. Other new books in the top 10 were Kill Joy by Holly Jackson, which sold almost 7,000 copies, and Immortality by Dana Schwartz, which sold just over 6,000 copies.
Editor's Note: BookScan’s parent company has switched its name from NPD Group to Circana.
