Behind the Bestsellers

Bestsellers
Behind the Bestsellers Daisy Maryles -- 10/9/00 Three Years+ with Morrie This month, *Tuesdays with Morrie* by Mitch Albom (Doubleday) marks three years on the national hardcover bestseller charts. While its length of stay on the list ranks the book up there in terms of longevity, just as remarkable is the fact that most of its bestselling tenure has been spent in the top third of the chart. For week #151, Morrie is #4; back on November 3, 1997, it made its first PW appearance, in the #14 spot, and never climbed past #9 for the rest of that year. In 1998, except for three weeks in the #4 spot, the book was always in the top three, including 12 weeks at #1. In 1999, Morrie never slipped below the #5 spot and spent half the year at #1 or #2. So far this year, there was a two-week stint in the #6 position; the rest of the time, it's been at #5 or higher. There are now five million copies in print, a long way from the first printing of 25,000 and also a long way from the one-million mark it hit about two years ago. Kudos for Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver's most successful book, *The Poisonwood Bible, marks one year on PW's trade paper charts. It's currently #2, and Harper Perennial reports 2.5 million copies in print. The book hit the list last October, with 275,000 copies in print, and got an boost when Oprah chose it as one of her Book Club titles. The hardcover had a 30-week run on PW's weekly charts; that edition has about half a million copies in print. Her new book, Prodigal Summer, got a starred PW review and will be landing in stores in a few weeks with a 400,000-copy first printing. Feat of Clay* And quite a feat it is. Michael Chabon's *The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay* has, in the words of Random House publicity manager Alexa Cassanos, received "rave reviews in every major publication"--a perfect example, she added, of the theory that "great review coverage can still sell books."And selling they are: after four printings, RH reports 60,000 copies in print. PW's boxed, starred notice called this latest novel by the author of Wonder Boys and Mysteries of Pittsburgh "rich, expansive and hugely satisfying." And Daniel Mendelsohn in New York magazine said, "I'm not sure what the exact definition of a 'great American novel' is, but I'm pretty sure that Michael Chabon's sprawling, idiosyncratic, and wrenching new book is one." It looks as though these Amazing Adventures will become even more so, as Chabon sets out this week on a 13-city coast-to-coast tour. Fiction Finalists (Almost) While Chabon's latest finishes off PW's top 15 fiction, there are several commercial and literary novels selling very well and jockeying for a spot on our chart. At least five are right below the 15, all with print figures higher than Chabon's. This week, his sales velocity at retail outlets was ahead of the competition. Next week, the story might be different. At #16 is Christopher Rice's *A Density of Souls* from Talk Miramax, with 78,000 copies in print after three trips to press (first printing was 48,000). This is Anne Rice's son's debut novel and he is just finishing a 19-city tour. A People feature on October 13 and another in November for a "sexiest sons" piece will bring him more attention. Knopf's *When We Were Orphans* by Kazuo Ishiguro had a first printing of 100,000; the author just came over from London and is on the first leg of a nine-city tour. Armistead Maupin's *The Night Listener* is already on the San Francisco Chronicle list and HarperCollins reports 80,000 copies in print after four trips to press; it's the author's first book since his 1992 Maybe the Moon, and the stellar reviews will keep the books moving briskly. Some say this is the golden age of Gore Vidal. *The Golden Age, the final installment in his bestselling American Chronicles series, was launched by Doubleday with a 120,000-copy printing. His political satire The Best Man* is in revival on Broadway and his cousin Al is running for President. Vidal just turned 75 and is currently on a cross-country tour for the book. A novella (all of 130 pages) by Steve Martin is also beginning its climb on the charts. *Shopgirl, from Hyperion, has 90,000 copies in print after three trips to press. This actor/comedian has already placed several books on the charts, so expectations are high that this one is also headed for that direction. With reporting by Dick Donahue*

Bestsellers

Behind the Bestsellers
Daisy Maryles -- 10/9/00

Three Years+ with Morrie
This month, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (Doubleday) marks three years on the national hardcover bestseller charts. While its length of stay on the list ranks the book up there in terms of longevity, just as remarkable is the fact that most of its bestselling tenure has been spent in the top third of the chart. For week #151, Morrie is #4; back on November 3, 1997, it made its first PW appearance, in the #14 spot, and never climbed past #9 for the rest of that year. In 1998, except for three weeks in the #4 spot, the book was always in the top three, including 12 weeks at #1. In 1999, Morrie never slipped below the #5 spot and spent half the year at #1 or #2. So far this year, there was a two-week stint in the #6 position; the rest of the time, it's been at #5 or higher. There are now five million copies in print, a long way from the first printing of 25,000 and also a long way from the one-million mark it hit about two years ago.

Kudos for Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver's most successful book, The Poisonwood Bible, marks one year on PW's trade paper charts. It's currently #2, and Harper Perennial reports 2.5 million copies in print. The book hit the list last October, with 275,000 copies in print, and got an boost when Oprah chose it as one of her Book Club titles. The hardcover had a 30-week run on PW's weekly charts; that edition has about half a million copies in print. Her new book, Prodigal Summer, got a starred PW review and will be landing in stores in a few weeks with a 400,000-copy first printing.

Feat of Clay
And quite a feat it is. Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay has, in the words of Random House publicity manager Alexa Cassanos, received "rave reviews in every major publication"--a perfect example, she added, of the
theory that "great review coverage can still sell books."And selling they are: after four printings, RH reports 60,000 copies in print. PW's boxed, starred notice called this latest novel by the author of Wonder Boys and Mysteries of Pittsburgh "rich, expansive and hugely satisfying." And Daniel Mendelsohn in New York magazine said, "I'm not sure what the exact definition of a 'great American novel' is, but I'm pretty sure that Michael Chabon's sprawling, idiosyncratic, and wrenching new book is one." It looks as though these Amazing Adventures will become even more so, as Chabon sets out this week on a 13-city coast-to-coast tour.

Fiction Finalists (Almost)
While Chabon's latest finishes off PW's top 15 fiction, there are several commercial and literary novels selling very well and jockeying for a spot on our chart. At least five are right below the 15, all with print figures higher than Chabon's. This week, his sales velocity at retail outlets was ahead of the competition. Next week, the story might be different. At #16 is Christopher Rice's A Density of Souls from Talk Miramax, with 78,000 copies in print after three trips to press (first printing was 48,000). This is Anne Rice's son's debut novel and he is just finishing a 19-city tour. A People feature on October 13 and another in November for a "sexiest sons" piece will bring him more attention. Knopf's When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro had a first printing of 100,000; the author just came over from London and is on the first leg of a nine-city tour. Armistead Maupin's The Night Listener is already on the San Francisco Chronicle list and HarperCollins reports 80,000 copies in print after four trips to press; it's the author's first book since his 1992 Maybe the Moon, and the stellar reviews will keep the books moving briskly. Some say this is the golden age of Gore Vidal. The Golden Age, the final installment in his bestselling American Chronicles series, was launched by Doubleday with a 120,000-copy printing. His political satire The Best Man is in revival on Broadway and his cousin Al is running for President. Vidal just turned 75 and is currently on a cross-country tour for the book. A novella (all of 130 pages) by Steve Martin is also beginning its climb on the charts. Shopgirl, from Hyperion, has 90,000 copies in print after three trips to press. This actor/comedian has already placed several books on the charts, so expectations are high that this one is also headed for that direction.

With reporting by Dick Donahue