How They Landed On Top

This is a good time to reflect on changes in the bestseller arena over the last decade of the 20th century. Who were the star players? What nonfiction categories caught the imagination of the consumer? And what rate of sales were necessary to land on an annual top-15 list and how has that shifted in the last 10 years?

The More Things Change…

Back in 1990, the top-selling fiction title was Jean M. Auel's The Plains of Passage (Crown), which sold more than 1.6 million copies. That year, four other novels sold one million or more. The novelists that placed in the top 15 included Stephen King, Scott Turow, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Robert Ludlum, Jackie Collins, Anne Rice, Rosamunde Pilcher, Judith Krantz, Dean Koontz, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Colleen McCullough and Clive Cussler. Cussler, at #15, achieved that rank with sales of about 300,000 for Dragon. All but Auel and Krantz continue to enjoy bestseller status, albeit at different levels. The second annual bestseller tier, #16 to #30, also featured many list veterans—Dick Francis, Michael Crichton, Robin Cook and Terry Brooks. The sales for this group ranged from 300,000 to about 174,000. There were 24 other novels with sales of 100,000 or more that did not place in the top 30.

Skip to 1995, and certain elements change radically. John Grisham led with The Rainmaker; sales of which topped 2.3 million. Six other novels sold one million or more copies in the course of that year. The authors on the top-15 list were Michael Crichton, Danielle Steel, Richard Paul Evans, James Redfield, Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark, James Finn Garner (holding positions #9 and #11, with two politically correct collections), Nicholas Evans, Anne Rice, Pat Conroy, Patricia Cornwell and Sidney Sheldon. Sheldon's Morning, Noon and Night was #15, with sales of about 705,000. The next 15 bestsellers included a third Garner title, and among the more familiar names were Amy Tan, Rosamunde Pilcher, Robert James Waller (he had three bestsellers in this group), Sue Grafton, Robert Ludlum, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Ken Follett, Dick Francis and, at #30, Johanna Lindsey, with sales of about 319,000 for Love Me Forever. There were 67 books with sales of more than 100,000 that did not make our top-30 charts.

…The More They Remain the Same

In 2000, John Grisham led the pack again, this time with The Brethren, with sales of more than 2.8 million copies. In fact, Grisham has held the lead position on these annual charts each year since 1994. Two other novels went over two million: The Mark by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye and Tom Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon. Another Jenkins/LaHaye collaboration, The Indwelling, is #4, with sales of more than 1.9 million. Two other authors, Patricia Cornwell and Danielle Steel, boast bestsellers with sales of more than one million; Steele also has two other books in the top 15, with sales around 750,000, and she has placed between one and three books on these annual charts since 1983 (that year, sales of fewer than 200,000 copies for Crossings got her to #13 on the annual list). The other authors in the top 15 last year were James Patterson (he's been a regular on these lists since 1997; this time he has two top-15 bestsellers), Nicholas Sparks (his first novel, The Notebook, published in 1996, had a 54-week run on PW's weekly charts and racked up sales of about 800,000 over two years) and Mary Higgins Clark (she had two this year; the second was a first-time collaboration with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark). Two new names on the list are Christina Schwarz, at #12, with her debut novel, Drowning Ruth, and at #15, Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, who rounds off the list with sales of about 650,000. Both are beneficiaries of an Oprah programming enhancement that began in November 1996, when TV's premier talk show host launched her on-air book club. Authors lucky enough to be chosen have seen their sales numbers explode. Pre-Oprah, Morgan had sold less than 12,000 copies; post-Oprah, about 638,000.

The 2000 fiction runners-up include two other authors touched by Oprah—Tawni O'Dell and Elizabeth Berg; in both cases, sales that would have been in the low five figures ballooned to impressive mid-six figures. Other players in this group include Rosamunde Pilcher, David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille, Nora Roberts (she gets the prize for most prolific author for the fourth year in a row; her 2000 oeuvre consists of two hardcover and eight paperback bestsellers), Robert Ludlum, Anne Rice, Sandra Brown, Isabel Allende, Barbara Kingsolver (the last two were Oprah choices for earlier titles, and reaped some residual benefits), Sidney Sheldon and Dean Koontz (in 2000, he placed at #29, with sales of more than 450,000; in 1990, sales of about 387,000 got him #12). At #30 was John Sandford's Easy Prey, with sales for 2000 of about 447,000. In 2000, there were 82 novels with sales of more than 100,000 that did not make the top-30 list. That number breaks the record set in 1998, when 70 books with sales of 100,000-plus did not make the top-30 list.

Viva la One-Day Laydown!

The opening performance of the top players has changed considerably over the years. Back in 1990, 11 novels made it to #1; four of these made it to the top in their first appearance (recall bestselling authors Robert Ludlum, Scott Turow, Stephen King and Jean M. Auel). In 1995, 13 novels grabbed the lead spot, six in their first landing; this group included Michael Crichton, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice, Pat Conroy and John Grisham. In 2000, 21 books hit the #1 spot and an astounding 18 of them did so in their first week of sales. Among the ones that had to wait for #1 were two Oprah book club picks. So what changed over the decade? Publishers became very skillful in their publication scheduling and the development of one-day laydown tactics, which feature massive distribution nationwide, enabling all retailers to begin selling a book simultaneously; strong point-of-purchase displays; and aggressive print and broadcast advertising. These days, many more major titles get this treatment, betting all on their only shot at the #1 spot.

A Nonfiction Perspective

There are always more shifts and changes among the nonfiction titles, since politics, economics and social issues have a more immediate impact on this group of bestsellers. What's hot and what's not depends on which entertainment and sports personalities are in the news. And let's not forget the impact of the media, especially television. Yes, celebrity names often rule the nonfiction list, but unlike veteran bestselling novelists, the public taste in this arena is more fickle, and the 15 minutes of fame usually goes to new names.

In 1990, CBS News broadcaster Charles Kuralt led the nonfiction charts with A Life on the Road, with sales of about 602,000 copies. That figure was more modest than the #1 nonfiction bestseller for each year in the '80s, when an annual sales rate of at least 700,000 (and often into the multimillion range) was needed to garner the top spot. Three top-15 sellers—The Civil War, The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Heritag and Homecoming —all benefited from eponymous PBS programming. Another cookbook hit was a heavily revised Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Political top-sellers included Ronald Reagan's autobiography and Millie's musing about life in the White House (Millie who? That would be Barbara Bush's springer spaniel). International politics was represented by a book on Israel's Mossad. Sports and celebrity bestsellers included Bo Jackson (the first multiple-sport athlete), country-western singer Barbara Mandrell and a book on baseball by Newsweek columnist George Will. Economics titles included Financial Self-Defense and Megatrends 2000. And rounding off the list was popular raconteur Cleveland Amory; his The Cat and the Curmudgeon sold almost 290,000 copies that year.

The 1990s runners-up included names that still resonate 10 years later—Bob Hope, Donald Trump, Alvin Toffler, Dave Barry, Martha Stewart, Lewis Grizzard and Jane Brody. Rounding off the top-30 list was Robert Bly's Iron John, with sales of about 145,000. There were 29 more bestsellers that did not make the top-30 list.

The authors of the 1995 top-15 nonfiction titles were almost all personalities of celebrity status. In the lead was John Gray with Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, with sales of about 2.1 million; it was the book's third bestselling year and total sales at that time were closing in on 4.5 million. A second Gray top-seller, in the #7 spot, was Mars and Venus in the Bedroom, with sales of more than 680,000. Colin Powell, Howard Stern and Deepak Chopra all had million-copy-plus bestsellers. Bill Gates, Charles Kuralt, Newt Gingrich, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah chef Rosie Daly and O.J. Simpson all made it to the top 15. There were two books on virtue and morality by William J. Bennett, and Daniel Goleman scored with a book on Emotional Intelligence. Rounding off the top 15 was David Letterman's Book of Top 10 Lists, with about 400,000 sold.

Fame was also the name of the game for the nonfiction runners-up. The lineup included books by Erma Bombeck, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, James C. Dobson, Martha Stewart, Gail Sheehy, John Feinstein, Richard Preston and Andrew Weil. Rounding out the top 30 was Food by Susan Powter, with sales of about 275,000. There were 70 more nonfiction bestsellers with sales of 100,000-plus copies that did not make the top-30 list.

For the Attention-Deficit Crowd

Enter the 2000 group of books that caught the public's fancy. What pops out dramatically is that we have become a nation that loves its information brief, better yet in sound bites. Four of the top-15 titles are short books (or long magazine pieces), running from 100 to 125 pages in petite dimensions. In the #1 spot, with sales of more than three million, is the business parable Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson; first published in 1998, it had already enjoyed sales of about one million prior to last year. The book dominated the #1 spot, claiming it for 40 weeks in the course of the year; so far it has also enjoyed that rank for 11 weeks in 2001. Maria Shriver, religious leader Bruce Wilkinson and Anna Quindlen are crowd pleasers, too, with inspirational and/or religion advice in smaller-format bindings. An inspirational favorite for the last four years is Tuesdays with Morrie; since publication in August 1997, its sales total is more than 5.2 million. Self-help, a popular category of the '90s (not to mention the '80s) is represented by Body for Life, Relationship Rescue and Eating Well for Optimum Health (by Andrew Weil, who had many bestsellers in the '90s). Bill O'Reilly turned his popular talk show on the Fox News Channel into a popular book. Fiction megaseller Stephen King's first foray into nonfiction was a memoir on the writing life. The Beatles Anthology —one of five nonfiction books to rack up more than a million in sales last year—also scored impressively, considering the waning interest in books about performers. Tom Stanley told us more about millionaires. And the annual Guinness World Records continued to do well. History had its winners, with a WWII memoir, Flags of Our Fathers, and the prolific prize-winning historian Stephen Ambrose charmed readers with his book on the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. The latter rounded off the top 15, with sales of more than 475,000.

The 2000 runners-up include several subjects that gained popularity in the last decade. Religion and spirituality is one—authors like Max Lucado, Gary Zukav, Iyanla Vanzant, the Dalai Lama and Sylvia Browne were big hits, as were a book by Mormon leader Gordon Bitner Hinckley about virtue and a posthumous biography of Payne Stewart that dealt with the famed golfer's game and faith. The turn of the century made hay for several retrospectives, including one by NBC News broadcaster Tom Brokaw and another that culled LIFE magazine's impressive pictorial archives. Wrestling continues to be the sport when it comes to books, with two titles in this group. The aforementioned Stewart biography rounded out the top-30 nonfiction bestsellers, with sales of about 303,000. There were 87 more books with sales of 100,000 or more that did not make the top 30. That is also a new record.

The Net vs. Gross Issues

Every year we state the same disclaimers: all the calculations for this annual bestseller list are based on shipped and billed figures supplied by publishers for new books issued in 2000 and 1999 (a few books published earlier that continued their tenure on the 2000 weekly bestseller charts are also included). These figures reflect only 2000 domestic sales; publishers were instructed not to include book club and overseas transactions. We also asked publishers to take into account returns through February 1, 2001. None of the sales figures should be considered final net sales. For many of the books, especially those published in the latter half of last year, returns are still to be calculated. Also check out the charts "Who's on First?" and "What's on Second?" They show how different bestsellers fared at the national chains, the independents and on-line retailers.

The Fiction Runners-Up

Most of the authors in this second tier of top sellers are also veteran bestsellers. Only the authors of two Oprah book club picks—Tawni O'Dell and Elizabeth Berg—are new to these annual rankings. Eight of the books had double-digit weekly tenures. Length of time on the weekly charts ranged from 17 weeks, for Prodigal Summer, to seven weeks for From the Corner of His Eye.

16. Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell (Viking, 635,000)

17. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher (St. Martin's Press, 608,805)

18. Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan (Tor, 592,880)

19. Wish You Well by David Baldacci (Warner, 592, 370)

20. Open House by Elizabeth Berg (Random House, 581,715)

21. The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille (Warner, 564,283)

22. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende (HarperCollins, 562,672)

23. Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts (Putnam, 545,836)

24. The Prometheus Deception by Robert Ludlum (St. Martin's Press, 529,184)

25. Merrick by Anne Rice (Knopf, 527,237)

26. The Switch by Sandra Brown (Warner, 522,580)

27. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins, 513,917)

28. The Sky Is Falling by Sidney Sheldon (Morrow, 501,266)

29. From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz (Bantam,**450,000)

30. Easy Prey by John Sandford (Putnam, 447,046)

400,000+ Fiction Didn't Place

Nine novels with sales of more than 300,000 copies did not make the top 30, tying the record set in 1999. This group also includes three books with sales of 400,000-plus that did not appear among the top 30: Standoff by Sandra Brown (Warner), Dr. Death by Jonathan Kellerman (Random House) and Code to Zero by Ken Follett (Dutton). Code had a seven-week run on the weekly charts; the other two enjoyed five weeks each.

The 300,000-plus group all had tenures of more than four weeks. Two—Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding (Viking) and Omerta by Mario Puzo (Random House)—were on for nine weeks. Riptide by Catherine Coulter (Putnam) and Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood (Pocket) both lasted seven weeks. The Carousel by Richard Paul Evans (Simon & Schuster) and The Devil's Code by John Sandford (Putnam) were on for four weeks each.

At Fiction's 200,000+ Level

Seventeen books with sales at this impressive level did not make the top-30 fiction list, one more than in 1999. Only one book has yet to land on a weekly chart—Speaking in Tongues by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster). Only one book in this group had a double-digit weekly run: Shopgirl, A Novella by Steve Martin (Hyperion) logged 13 weeks on the charts.

Most of the books had bestseller runs from five to nine weeks. Not a Day Goes By by E. Lynn Harris (Doubleday) had a nine-week run. Dust to Dust by Tami Hoag (Bantam), The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Doubleday) and Hot Six by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press) each had an eight-week run. Seven others were on the list from five to seven weeks; they are The Constant Gardener by John le Carré (Scribner), The Attorney by Steve Martini (Putnam), Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson (Knopf), Star Wars: Rogue Planet by Greg Bear (Del Rey/LucasBooks), Secret Honor by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam), Shattered by Dick Francis (Putnam) and Day of Reckoning by Jack Higgins (Putnam).

Four books made brief appearances (less than a month) on the weekly lists: Home for the Holidays by Johanna Lindsey (Morrow), Killing Time by Caleb Carr (Random House), Where You Belong by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Doubleday) and Temptation by Jude Deveraux (Pocket Books).

A New Record for the 150,000+

Last year, 24 books with sales of more than 150,000 copies did not make the top-30 list. That is a new record and considerably ahead of the 1999 tally of 16. All but two—Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry (Simon & Schuster) and Gone for Soldiers: A Novel of the Mexican War by Jeff Shaara (Ballantine)—had runs on the weekly charts.

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf) was on the list for 11 weeks; Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) lasted for nine weeks; and The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster) was on for eight weeks.

Books with tenures of four to seven weeks are 4 Blondes by Candace Bushnell (Atlantic Monthly), Nora, Nora by Anne Rivers Siddons (HarperCollins), Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind (Tor), The Cat Who Robbed a Bank by Lilian Jackson Braun (Putnam), Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard (Pocket), The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch by Terry Brooks (Del Rey), Hugger Mugger by Robert B. Parker (Putnam), The Search by Iris Johansen (Bantam), Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough (Simon & Schuster), Stalker by Faye Kellerman (Morrow), Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Bantam) and The Fighting Agents by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam).

Bestsellers with runs of three weeks or less are Vineyard by Barbara Delinsky (Simon & Schuster), Perish Twice by Robert B. Parker (Putnam), Lethal Seduction by Jackie Collins (Simon & Schuster), L.A. Dead by Stuart Woods (Putnam), Hong Kong by Stephen Coonts (St. Martin's), McNally's Folly by Lawrence Sanders (Putnam) and Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Balance Point by Kathy Tyers (Del Rey/Lucas Books).

Fiction's 125,000+ Group

This group included 10 books that did not make the top-30 list, five fewer than in 1999. All but three landed on the weekly charts.

Out of the seven that made the charts, one had a seven-week tenure—The Run by Stuart Woods (HarperCollins); and two were on the charts for six weeks apiece—Purple Cane Road by James Lee Burke (Doubleday) and Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins (Bantam). Other titles with appearances on the weekly charts are A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (Bantam), The Heir by Johanna Lindsey (Morrow), Off the Mangrove Coast by Louis L'Amour (Bantam) and Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs (Scribner).

The three that did not appear on PW's weekly lists are Sacred Sins by Nora Roberts (Bantam), The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings (Del Rey), and Disobedience by Jane Hamilton (Doubleday).

At the 100,000+ Level

In 2000, there were 19 books with sales of more than 100,000 did not make the annual top-30 list. That figure is higher than the 10 that did not make the same grade in 1999, but lower than the 23 titles in 1998. All but five made it onto the weekly charts.

The no-shows were Nightshade by John Saul (Ballantine), After the Fire by Belva Plain (Delacorte), The Golden Age by Gore Vidal (Doubleday), Paradise County by Karen Robards (Pocket) and Bump and Run by Mike Lupica (Putnam).

One book enjoyed an eight-week run on the charts—Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje (Knopf)—and two others lasted seven weeks—Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Dutton) and Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline (HarperCollins). Books with runs of three to five weeks were Liar's Game by Eric Jerome Dickey (Dutton), Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard (Delacorte), Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick (Bantam), On Secret Service by John Jakes (Dutton), White Teeth by Zadie Smith (Random House), The River King by Alice Hoffman (Putnam), The Patient by Michael Palmer (Bantam) and Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley (Knopf). Midnight in Ruby Bayou by Elizabeth Lowell (Morrow) had a two-week run; Ravelstein by Saul Bellow (Viking) and Deep South by Nevada Barr (Putnam) appeared for just a week.

The Nonfiction Runners-Up

The only book in this group that did not make PW's weekly bestseller list is Life: Century of Change. Nine books had double-digit weekly runs. The Greatest Generation and The Art of Happiness had a total of 66 and 53 weeks, respectively, on the charts over a two-year period. It's Not About the Bike had a 23-week run in 2000. The Rock managed seven weeks in the #1 spot before the Cheese moved in.

16. Soul Stories by Gary Zukav (Simon & Schuster, 463,511)

17. Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Home by Gordon B. Hinckley (Times Books, 455,463)

18. Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado (J. Countryman, 452,836)

19. It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong (Putnam, 400,198)

20. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (Random House, about 399,000 in 2000; a total of more than 3.7 million since publication in Dec. 1998)

21. Dr. Atkins' Age-Defying Diet Revolution by Robert Atkins, M.D (St. Martin's, 383,754)

22. Maestro: Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster, 370,034)

23. The Rock Says... by The Rock. (HarperCollins/Regan Books, sales of about 364,000 in 2000; total sales of about 907,000)

24. LIFE: Century of Change: America in Pictures 1900—2000, edited by Richard Stolley (Little, Brown, 360,309)

25. Until Today!: Daily Devotions for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind by Iyanla Vanzant (Simon & Schuster, 355,694)

26. Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin (Little, Brown, 333,824)

27. Have a Nice Day by Mankind (HarperCollins/Regan Books, sales of about 313,000 in 2000; total sales of about 955,000)

28. Life on the Other Side: A Psychic's Tour of the Afterlife by Sylvia Browne (Dutton, 307,495)

29. The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler (Riverhead, sales of about 303,000 in 2000; about 1,058,000 since publication in Oct. 1998);

30. Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography by Tracey Stewart and Ken Abraham (Broadman & Holman, 303,151)

The Lone 300,000+

While The Blue Day Book: A Lesson in Cheering Yourself Up by Bradley Trevor Greive (Andrews McMeel) did not make PW's weekly lists (it was a runner-up many times), it did enjoy a 12-week run on the New York Times' Miscellaneous list. The publisher reports sales of more than 300,000 copies in 2000.

Nonfiction's 200,000+

In 2000, 19 books with sales of more than 200,000 did not make the top-30 charts; last year the figure was 14 books. Only four of these books did not appear on a PW weekly list or monthly religion list: The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter), And the Fans Roared by Joe Garner (Sourcebooks), Who Wants to Be Me? by Regis Philbin (Hyperion) and In Tuscany by Frances Mayes (Broadway).

Sugar Busters! by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, M.D., Sam S. Andrews, M.D., and Luis A. Balart, M.D (Ballantine), sold about 285,00 copies in 2000 and total sales were more than 2.2 million; the book's total tenure on the weekly charts was a whopping 99 weeks. There were a number of others in this group that can boast of double-digit weekly tenures. They are How to Know God by Deepak Chopra (Harmony), Life Makeovers by Cheryl Richardson (Broadway), Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Little, Brown) and In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (Broadway).

All the rest of the 200,00-plus sellers enjoyed tenures of a month or more: Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer (S&S), I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan by Nancy Reagan (Random), In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking), The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivor by Trevor Rees-Jones (Warner), My Father's Daughter: A Memoir by Tina Sinatra with Jeff Coplon (S&S), LIFE: Our Century in Pictures, edited by Richard Stolley (Little, Brown), Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss by Howard M. Shapiro (Rodale) and The Darwin Awards by Wendy Northcutt (Dutton). The two others in this group—Night Light by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson (Multnomah) and Communion with God by Neale Walsch (Putnam)—appeared on our monthly religion list.

A Lower Tally for 150,000+

This year there were 16 books with sales of more than 150,000 that did not make the 2000 top-30 list; in 1999, there were a record 23 books that did make the cut at this level. That's the good news. The bad news is that nine of these titles did not land on PW's weekly lists or our monthly religion lists. Two had nice runs on the weekly lists—From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun (HarperCollins) was on for 10 weeks and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (S&S) appeared for nine weeks. Fair Ball by Bob Costas (Broadway) stayed on for four weeks.

Two books did quite well on our monthly religion lists—Are We Living in the End Times? by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye (Tyndale) was on for eight months and Maximize the Moment by T.D. Jakes (Putnam) had a four-month run. Landing on the weeklies just once were A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz (Harper Information) and The Camino by Shirley MacLaine (Pocket).

The nine books that did not make PW's list are Help Yourself by Dave Pelzer (Dutton), Jazz: A History of America's Music by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (Knopf), The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown), Blessings from the Other Side by Sylvia Browne (Dutton), I'm Next: The Strange Journey of America's Most Unlikely Superhero by Bill Goldberg with Steve Goldberg (Crown), First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.(Simon & Schuster), The Great Investment by T.D. Jakes (Putnam), Angry Blonde by Eminem (HarperCollins/Regan Books) and FISH!: A Remarkable Way to Catch New Energy and Release the Full Potential of Your Workplace by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen (Hyperion).

The 125,000+ Level

This group includes 15 books that did not make our top-30 list, three fewer than in 1999. Only five books had a presence on last year's weekly charts: The Day John Died by Christopher Andersen (Morrow) had a five-week run; America's Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Sarah Bradford (Viking) was on for three weeks; Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury USA) for two; and Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus by John Gray (HC) and HookingUp by Tom Wolfe (FSG) were each on for one week.

The 10 that did not garner a weekly PW slot are Praying God's Word by Beth Moore (Broadman & Holman), Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison (Warner), Can You Take the Heat?: The WWF Is Cooking! by Jim "J.R." Ross (HC/Regan Books), Live Right 4 Your Type by J.D. D'Adamo (Putnam), Blackbird by Jennifer Lauck (Pocket), Cherry by Mary Karr (Viking), George Foreman's Big Book of Grilling Barbecue and Rotisserie by George Foreman (Simon & Schuster), Girlfriends Forever by Susan Branch (Little, Brown), Chasing Down the Dawn by Jewel (Morrow) and Mary Engelbreit's Leading the Artful Life (Andrews McMeel).

Nonfiction's 100,000+List

There were a record number of books with reported 2000 sales of more than 100,000 copies that did not make a top-15 list. In 2000 the number was 36 books, higher than last year's total of 28, and higher than the record 31 set back in 1996.

There were 18 books that appeared on PW's weekly charts or our monthly religion lists: An Invitation to the White House by Hillary Rodham Clinton (S&S), JonBenet by Steve Thomas and Don Davis (St. Martin's), My War by Andy Rooney (Public Affairs), Natural Blonde by Liz Smith (Hyperion), Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik (Random House), Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey (Zondervan), Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War by Bob Greene (Morrow), Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier (Harper San Francisco), Drudge Manifesto by Matt Drudge (New American Library), American Rhapsody by Joe Eszterhas (Knopf), The Case Against Hillary Clinton by Peggy Noonan (HarperCollins/Regan Books); Fresh Faith by Jim Cymbala and Dean Merrill (Zondervan), The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (Harper San Francisco), Healing Grief by James Van Praagh (Dutton), Papal Sin by Garry Wills (Doubleday), The Wrinkle Cure by Nicholas Perricone, M.D (Rodale Reach), A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer (Dutton also sold more than 400,000 in 1999), The Courage to be Rich by Suze Orman (Riverhead; sales in 1999 were 950,000), Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson (Scribner) and How to Behave So Your Children Will Too! by Sal Severe (Viking).

The 18 that did not show on the 2000 charts are Dave Pelz's Putting Bible by Dave Pelz (Doubleday), Hope from My Heart by Rich DeVos (J. Countryman), Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream by Celine Dion (Morrow), Start Something by Earl Woods and the Tiger Woods Foundation (S&S), The Pillsbury Complete Cookbook by Pillsbury editors (Clarkson Potter), Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture by Leigh and Leslie Keno (Warner), Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler and Jean Syswerda (Zondervan), Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot by J. Randy Taraborelli (Warner), If Success Is a Game, These Are the Rules by Cherie Carter-Scott (Broadway), The Greatest Player Who Never Lived: A Golf Story by J. Michael Veron (Sleeping Bear Press), Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty by Bobbi Brown and Annmarie Iverson (HC/Cliff Street), The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein (Little, Brown), Windows on the World Complete Wine Course 2001 Edition by Kevin Zraly (Sterling), Keep It Simple, Stupid by Judy Sheindlin (HC/Cliff Street, Mary Engelbreit's 'Tis the Season Cookbook (Andrews McMeel), Office Yoga by Darrin Zeer (Chronicle) and Hell's Angel by Sonny Barger (Morrow).

Publishers Weekly 2000 Bestsellers

Nonfiction

FICTION: Who's on First?
How Publishers Weeklys bestsellers compared with the rankings in major chains, wholesalers and independents

NONFICTION: What's on Second?
How Publishers Weeklys bestsellers compared with the rankings in major chains, wholesalers and independents