With every category except adult nonfiction posting declines, unit sales of print books fell 5.7% last week from the comparable week in 2022 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. The week also saw a negative milestone: after a long run with sales running ahead of 2022, sales of adult fiction were down 0.2% in the year to date, as sales dropped 10.2% last week.
The number one adult fiction book last week was Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, which sold more than 31,000 copies, and the bestselling new title was Richard Osman’s The Last to Die, which sold almost 24,000 copies. A year ago, Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks was number one, selling about 76,000 copies, and Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us was in the second spot, selling about 54,000 copies. Hoover’s Maybe Now sold over 36,000 copies in its first week, putting it in sixth place on the list last year.
Adult nonfiction sales rose 1.5%, benefitting from solid showings for five new titles. Those were led by Mark R. Levin’s The Democrat Party Hates America, which sold over 129,000 copies. Gina Homolka’s Skinnytaste Simple was in third place on the list, selling over 27,000 copies, and Astor by Anderson Cooper was in sixth place, selling over 17,000 copies.
Sales of juvenile fiction and nonfiction both fell by just over 11%. You’re My Little Pumpkin Pie by Natalie Marshall was in the top spot on the fiction list, selling over 15,000 copies. Last year at this time, Alice Schertle’s Little Blue Truck’s Halloween was number one, selling more than 18,000 copies. In juvenile nonfiction, Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography by Wendy Loggia topped the chart, selling just over 7,000 copies.
