John Grisham's aptly titled Appeal had the most of it, as far as the novel-buying reading public went, earning the #1 slot on our hardcover fiction list last year—just enough to beat out the beloved Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, which sold 1.3 million. Our top 15 fiction titles this year look much like last year's, with the notable absence of Khaled Hosseini, who was top dog in '07. The prolific James Patterson racked up three in the top echelon, and Nicholas Sparks, Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koontz and David Baldacci made returns. The new kids on the block, in addition to Wroblewski, were Stephenie Meyer, seamlessly crossing over from the YA genre with The Host, and Glenn Beck, whose Christmas Sweater apparently warmed the hearts of his faithful.
In nonfiction, per usual, the top spots went to heart-string tuggers (Randy Pausch, Rick Warren), humor (Sedaris) and self-empowerment (Roizen & Oz)—but Pausch's The Last Lecture outsold the next bestselling book 4 to 1. Of course, the power of television and celebrity was obvious: of the top 15 authors, seven have prominent regular media exposure: Warren, Bill O'Reilly, Barbara Walters, Ina Garten, Jon and Kate Gosselin, Chelsea Handler and Maria Shriver. Together the media seven sold a remarkable 4,800,000 books.
Going deeper into the nonfiction list, one must conclude that Americans are fixated on Barack Obama, cooking and money. Obama, the leader of the free world, might also be the world's most charismatic figure. (Paris Hilton, to whom Obama was derisively compared by the McCain camp, should be so lucky.) Books by, for and against the 44th president—it hardly mattered—did very well in 2008. First were Obama's own memoirs, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope, which together sold just over 239,000 copies. The anti-Obama forces did well with Obama Nation by Jerome R. Corsi and The Case Against Barack Obama by David Freddoso, which together sold just over 470,000 copies. There were also a couple of Obama photography books: The American Journey of Barack Obama by the Editors of Life Magazine and The Rise of Barack Obama by Pete Souza (now the official White House photographer). Together they sold more than 325,000 copies.
Food had a place at the table, too. The Food Network is well represented with Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen and Ina Garten. Also prominent were Martha Stewart, Jessica Seinfeld, Phyllis Pellman Good and Trisha Yearwood.
And with the United States facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, it's not too surprising that people turned to two of the most trusted financial advisers in America—Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman. Ramsey's Total Money Makeover sold 252,000 copies and Orman's Women & Money weighed in at 179,396.
The Usual Disclaimer
As in previous years, all the calculations on the following pages are based on shipped-and-billed figures supplied by publishers for new books issued in 2007 and 2008 and reflect only 2008 domestic trade sales. Figures for all books listed below with a number symbol (#) were submitted to PW in confidence, for use only in placing titles on the lists. Numbers are rounded down to indicate their sales relationship to other titles.
| *All sales figures reflect books sold in calendar year 2008. # Sales figures were submitted to PW in confidence, for use in placing titles on th lists. Numbers shown are rounded down to indicate relationship to sales figures for other tles. Note: Rankings are determined by sales figures provided by publishers; the numbers generally reflect reports of copies “shipped and billed” in calendar year 2008. Publishers were instructed to adjust sales figures to include returns through January 31, 2009. Publishers did not at that time know what total returns would be—indeed, the majority of returns occur after that cutoff date—so none of these figures should be regarded as final net sales. (Dates in parentheses indicate month and yar of publication.) | |
| Fiction | |
| 1 | The Appeal.John Grisham. Doubleday (11/08) ## |
| 2 | The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.David Wroblewski. Ecco (9/08) 1,320,000 |
| 3 | The Host.Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown (5/08) 1,240,005 |
| 4 | Cross Country.James Patterson. Little, Brown (11/08) 1,181,458 |
| 5 | The Lucky One.Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (9/08) 1,150,023 |
| 6 | Fearless Fourteen.Janet Evanovich. St. Martin's (6/08)1,058,427 |
| 7 | Christmas Sweater.Glenn Beck. Threshold (11/08) 900,800 |
| 8 | Scarpetta.Patricia Cornwell. Putnam (12/08) 800,000 |
| 9 | Your Heart Belongs to Me.Dean Koontz. Bantam 784,645 (11/08) |
| 10 | Plum Lucky.Janet Evanovich. St. Martin's (1/08)748,414 |
| 11 | 7th Heaven.James Patterson. Little, Brown (2008) 700,313 |
| 12 | Sail.James Patterson. Little, Brown (1/2008) 665,358 |
| 13 | A Good Woman.Danielle Steel. Delacorte (10/2008) (636,375) |
| 14 | Divine Justice.David Baldacci. Grand Central (11/2008) (633,607) |
| 15 | The Gate House.Nelson DeMille. Grand Central (10/2008) 606,845 |
| Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Last Lecture.Randy Pausch. Hyperion (4/08) 4,388,137 |
| 2 | The Purpose of Christmas.Rick Warren. Howard (11/08) #1,290,000 |
| 3 | You: Being Beautiful.Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz. Free Press (11/08) #910,000 |
| 4 | Outliers.Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown (11/08) 821,721 |
| 5 | A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity.Bill O'Reilly. Broadway (9/08) 776,608 |
| 6 | Dewey.Vicki Myron with Brett Witter. Grand Central (9/08) 758,931 |
| 7 | Audition.Barbara Waters. Knopf (1/08) 702,000 |
| 8 | Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.Ina Garten. Clarkson Potter (10/08) 641,741 |
| 9 | The Snowball.Alice Schroeder. Bantam (9/08) 634,546 |
| 10 | Hot, Flat and Crowded.Thomas L. Friedman. Farrar, Straus & Giroux (9/08) 625,363 |
| 11 | When You Are Engulfed in Flames.David Sedaris. Little, Brown (6/08) 621,873 |
| 12 | Multiple Blessings.Jon and Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson. Zondervan (10/08) 523,000 |
| 13 | American Lion.Jon Meacham. Random (11/08) 463,678 |
| 14 | Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.Chelsea Handler. Simon Spotlight (4/08) #460,000 |
| 15 | Just Who Will You Be?Maria Shriver. Hyperion (4/08) 418,721 |
The Fiction Runners-Up16.Tribute. Nora Roberts. Putnam (600,005)17.#Duma Key. Stephen King. Scribner (595,000)18.Arctic Drift. Clive Cussler with Dirk Cussler. Putnam (588,247)19.Sundays at Tiffany's. James Patterson. Little, Brown (581,250)20.#Just After Sunset. Stephen King. Scribner (565,000)21.The Front. Patricia Cornwell. Putnam (529,200)22.Extreme Measures. Vince Flynn. Atria (454,543)23.#Dashing Through the Snow. Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. S&S (450,000)24.Love the One You're With. Emily Giffin. St. Martin's (442,046)25.The Brass Verdict. Michael Connelly. Little, Brown (439,007)26.Phantom Prey. John Sandford. Putnam (423,687)27.The Whole Truth. David Baldacci. Grand Central (420,724)28.The Hour I First Believed. Wally Lamb. Harper (411,460)29.#Where Are You Now. Mary Higgins Clark. S&S (410,000)30.Tailspin. Catherine Coulter. Putnam (408,904)400,000+
Strangers in Death. J.D. Robb. Putnam (403,000)
Odd Hours. Dean Koontz. Bantam (401,522)
300,000+
Plague Ship. Clive Cussler. Putnam (387,480)
Change of Heart. Jodi Picoult. Atria (378,857)
Salvation in Death. J.D. Robb. Putnam (378,500)
A Lion Among Men. Gregory Maguire. Morrow (377,458)
Honor Thyself. Danielle Steel. Delacorte (375,509)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Dial (368,288)
Rogue. Danielle Steel. Delacorte (362,237)
Remember Me? Sophie Kinsella. Dial (336,870)
Heat Lightning. John Sandford. Putnam (324,935)
200,000+
One Fifth Avenue. Candace Bushnell. Voice/Hyperion (290,004)
A Mercy. Toni Morrison. Knopf (284,000)
Moscow Rules. Daniel Silva. Putnam (282,047)
#Grace. Richard Paul Evans. S&S (280,000)
Dark Summer. Iris Johansen. St. Martin's (274,586)
Unaccustomed Earth. Jhumpa Lahiri. Knopf (274,000)
Bones. Jonathan Kellerman. Ballantine (269,856)
#Chasing Harry Winston. Lauren Weisberger. S&S (265,000)
#Smoke Screen. Sandra Brown. S&S (255,000)
The Given Day. Dennis Lehane. Morrow (250,716)
The Art of Racing in the Rain. Garth Stein. Harper (250,412)
A Cedar Cove Christmas. Debbie Macomber. Mira (250,000)
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Sanction. Eric Van Lustbader. Grand Central (244,229)
Twenty Wishes. Debbie Macomber. Mira (242,000)
Quicksand. Iris Johansen. St. Martin's (238,554)
Nothing to Lose. Lee Child. Delacorte (237,120)
Hot Mahogany. Stuart Woods. Putnam (236,704)
The Private Patient. P.D. James. Knopf (235,000)
Acheron. Sherrilyn Kenyon. St. Martin's (232,027)
#Devil Bones. Kathy Reichs. Scribner (230,000)
The Charlemagne Pursuit. Steve Berry. Ballantine (229,074)
Married Lovers. Jackie Collins. St. Martin's (228,395)
#The Other Queen. Philippa Gregory. Touchstone (225,000)
Blood Noir. Laurell K. Hamilton. Berkley (216,121)
Hold Tight. Harlan Coben. Dutton (214,159)
People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks. Viking (212,498)
The Last Oracle. James Rollins. Morrow (210,231)
A Wolfe at the Table. Augusten Burroughs. St. Martin's (208,869)
A Prisoner of Birth. Jeffrey Archer. St. Martin's (207,441)
Fire and Ice. Julie Garwood. Ballantine (203,984)
Santa Fe Dead. Stuart Woods. Putnam (200,716)
125,000+
Compulsion. Jonathan Kellerman. Ballantine (199,774)
Silent Thunder. Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. St. Martin's (198,755)
Black Ops. W.E.B. Griffin. Putnam (198,586)
Book of Lies. Brad Meltzer. Grand Central (198,036)
The Last Patriot. Brad Thor. Atria (197,462)
Stranger in Paradise. Robert B. Parker. Putnam (194,847)
Knit Two. Kate Jacobs. Putnam (194,057)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Stieg Larsson. Knopf (192,000)
Belong to Me. Marisa de los Santos. Morrow (185,751)
#A Most Wanted Man. John le Carré. Scribner (185,000)
Certain Girls. Jennifer Weiner. Atria (184,792)
Shadow of Power. Steve Martini. Morrow (181,993)
The Treasure. Iris Johansen. Bantam (180,839)
The Beach House. Jane Green. Viking (179,738)
Testimony. Anita Shreve. Little, Brown (178,093)
Foreign Body. Robin Cook. Putnam (175,460)
Rough Weather. Robert B. Parker. Putnam (172,978)
Dark Curse. Christine Feehan. Berkley (172,258)
Swine Not? Jimmy Buffett. Little, Brown (168,730)
Swallowing Darkness. Laurell K. Hamilton. Ballantine (167,958)
#The Bodies Left Behind. Jeffery Deaver. S&S (165,000)
The Killing Ground. Jack Higgins. Putnam (161,898)
What's Your Poo Telling You? Anish Sheth, M.D., and Josh Richman. Chronicle (161,000)
Careless in Red. Elizabeth George. Harper (160,697)
The Lace Reader. Brunonia Barry. Morrow (160,285)
Death and Honor. W.E.B. Griffin. Putnam (158,713)
Anathem. Neal Stephenson. Morrow (157,215)
The Mercedes Coffin. Faye Kellerman. Morrow (155,397)
Sizzle and Burn. Jayne Ann Krentz. Putnam (152,600)
The Miracle at Speedy Motors. Alexander McCall Smith. Pantheon (150,000)
#The Broken Window. Jeffery Deaver. S&S (150,000)
Silks. Dick Francis. Putnam (147,005)
Midnight. Sister Souljah. Atria (145,762)
From Dead to Worse. Charlaine Harris. Ace (145,000)
Dead Heat. Joel. C. Rosenberg. Tyndale (144,347)
Top Chef. The creators of Top Chef. Chronicle (144,000)
A Wallflower Christmas. Lisa Kleypas. St. Martin's (143,023)
Rough Justice. Jack Higgins. Putnam (135,795)
American Wife. Curtis Sittenfeld. Random (134,013)
Being Elizabeth. Barbara Taylor Bradford. St. Martin's (131,038)
Holidays on Ice. David Sedaris. Little, Brown (130,506)
The Fire. Katherine Neville. Ballantine (128,939)
Snuff. Chuck Palahniuk. Doubleday (126,842)
Bright Shiny Morning. James Frey. Harper (125,380)
First Patient. Michael Palmer. St. Martin's (125,016)
100,000+
Small Favor. Jim Butcher. Roc (124,188)
Say Goodbye. Lisa Gardner. Bantam (123,222)
The Keepsake. Tess Gerritsen. Ballantine (122,393)
The Senator's Wife. Sue Miller. Knopf (122,000)
Damage Control. J.A. Jance. Morrow (121,853)
Blood Sins. Kay Hooper. Bantam (121,510)
The Dark Tide. Andrew Gross. Morrow (121,162)
Bulls Island. Dorothea Benton Frank. Morrow (118,533)
World Without End. Ken Follett. Dutton (116,660)
#Swan Peak. James Lee Burke. S&S (115,000)
Death Angel. Linda Howard. Ballantine (114,947)
Off Season. Anne Rivers Siddons. Grand Central (113,372)
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana. Anne Rice. Knopf (112,000)
The Steel Wave. Jeff Shaara. Ballantine (111,187)
Sin No More. Kimberla Lawson Roby. Morrow (109,447)
Firefly Lane. Kristen Hannah. St. Martin's (109,156)
The Outlaw Demon Wails. Kim Harrison. Morrow (108,528)
Charm! Kendall Hart. Hyperion (108,000)
Ender in Exile. Orson Scott Card. Tor (107,792)
Blue Smoke and Murder. Elizabeth Lowell. Morrow (106,219)
Assassin. Stephen Coonts. St. Martin's (105,855)
The Gypsy Morph. Terry Brooks. Del Rey (105,838)
Just Too Good to Be True. E. Lynn Harris. Doubleday (104,046)
Lady Killer. Lisa Scottoline. Harper (103,933)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Sean Williams. Del Rey (103,232)
The Enchantress of Florence. Salman Rushdie. Random (102,512)
Blasphemy. Douglas Preston. ForgeTor (101,621)
Days of Infamy. Newt Gingich and William R. Forstchen. St. Martin's/Dunne (101,288)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Karen Traviss. Del Rey (101,146)
Sweetheart. Chelsea Cain. St. Martin's (101,042)
Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Invincible. Troy Denning. Del Rey (101,034)
Liberty. Garrison Keillor. Viking (101,000)
The Widows of Eastwick. John Updike. Knopf (101,000)
Blue-Eyed Devil. Lisa Kleypas. St. Martin's (100,826)
Pleasure. Eric Jerome Dickey. Dutton (100,210)
#Zapped. Carol Higgins Clark. Scribner (100,000)
Lost Souls. Lisa Jackson. Kensington (100,000)
Something on the Side. Carl Weber. Kensington (100,000)
#The Garden of Last Days. Andre Dubus III. Norton (100,000)
The Nonfiction Runners-Up
16.StrengthsFinder 2.0. Tom Rath. Gallup (399,473)
17.#Stori Telling. Tori Spelling. Simon Spotlight (375,000)
18.Against Medical Advice. James Patterson with Hal Friedman. Little, Brown (371,513)
19.#The War Within. Bob Woodward. S&S (345,000)
20.#Love Your Life. Victoria Osteen. Free Press (325,000)
21.Call Me Ted. Ted Turner with Bill Burke. Grand Central (322,117)
22.Too Fat to Fish. Artie Lange with Anthony Bozza. Spiegel & Grau (318,600)
23.Martha Stewart's Cooking School. Martha Stewart. Clarkson Potter (317,992)
24.Breakthrough. Suzanne Somers. Crown (311,274)
25.Obama Nation. Jerome R. Corsi. Threshold (310,575)
26.You. Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. Collins (306,000)
27.Giada's Kitchen. Giada De Laurentiis. Clarkson Potter (301,663)
28.What's Age Got to Do with It? Robin McGraw. Nelson (289,000)
29.Fleeced. Dick Morris. Harper (280,246)
30.The Taste of Home Cookbook (New Rev.). Editors of Taste of Home Magazine. Reader's Digest (264,343)
200,000+
Stolen Innocence. Elissa Wall. Morrow (259,186)
The Longest Trip Home. John Grogan. Morrow (258,025)
Secret Daily Teachings. Rhonda Byrne. Atria (253,812)
Total Money Makeover. Dave Ramsey. Nelson (252,000)
#Become a Better You. Joel Osteen. Free Press (250,000)
Letter to My Daughter. Maya Angelou. Random (247,584)
What Happened. Scott McClellan. PublicAffairs (247,183)
#The Post-American World. Fareed Zakaria. Norton (245,000)
#The Best Life Cookbook. Bob Greene. S&S (245,000)
Here's the Story. Maureen McCormick. Morrow (244,416)
Yum-O! Rachael Ray. Clarkson Potter (243,470)
#Life with My Sister Madonna. Christopher Ciccone. Simon Spotlight (235,000)
#Losing It. Valerie Bertinelli. Free Press (235,000)
#Mistaken Identity. Don and Susie Van Ryn et al. Howard (235,000)
Do the Right Thing. Mike Huckabee. Sentinel (232,357)
What in the World Is Going On? David Jeremiah. Nelson (223,000)
My Stroke of Insight. Jill Bolte Taylor. Viking (219,458)
The American Journey of Barack Obama. Editors of Life Magazine. Little, Brown (214,825)
Before You Do. T.D. Jakes. Atria (212,984)
Home. Julie Andrews. Hyperion (208,004)
Why We Suck. Denis Leary. Viking (207,437)
The Secret. Rhonda Byrne. Atria (201,141)
#No Limits. Michael Phelps with Alan Abrahamson. Free Press (200,000)
100,000+
The 4-Hour Workweek. Timothy Ferriss. Crown (193,368)
The Secret to True Happiness. Joyce Meyer. Faithwords. (190,851)
A Member of the Family. Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier. Harmony (184,921)
Women & Money. Suze Orman. Spiegel & Grau (179,396)
#Paula Deen's Kitchen Wisdom and Recipe Journal. Paula Deen S&S (170,000)
#You: Staying Young. Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. Free Press (170,000)
John Lennon. Philip Norman. Ecco (166,795)
Ladies of Liberty. Cokie Roberts. Morrow (166,657)
Liberal Fascism. Jonah Goldberg. Doubleday (163,010)
Freakonomics (Rev. Ed.). Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Morrow (160,653)
The Case Against Barack Obama. David Freddoso. Regnery (159,485)
Start Your New Life Today. Joyce Meyer. Faithwords (158,676)
Deceptively Delicious. Jessica Seinfeld. Collins (156,000)
The Reason for God. Timothy Keller. Dutton (155,104)
#Vindicated. Jose Canseco. Simon Spotlight (155,000)
#You: On a Diet. Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. Free Press (155,000)
The Revolution. Ron Paul. Grand Central (152,935)
Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys. Conn Iggulden. Collins (146,000)
Predictably Irrational. Dan Ariely. Harper (145,243)
#Real Life. Dr. Phil McGraw. Free Press (140,000)
The Way of the World. Ron Suskind. Harper (138,547)
Our Iceberg Is Melting. John Kotter. St. Martin's (137,708)
How Not to Look Old. Charla Krupp. Springboard (137,275)
Pieces of My Heart. Robert Wagner. Morrow (137,076)
Pocket Daring Book for Girls. Andrea J. Buchanan. Collins (137,000)
#Go Put Your Strengths to Work. Marcus Buckingham. Free Press (135,000)
The Road to Wealth (Rev.). Suze Orman. Riverhead (136,136)
Dreams from My Father. Barack Obama. Crown (134,877)
Real Change. Newt Gingrich. Regnery (134,129)
Jeff Foxworthy's Complete Redneck. Jeff Foxworthy. Villard (133,099)
Mother Warriors. Jenny McCarthy. Dutton (130,042)
#Michelle. Lisa Mundy. S&S (130,000)
Gorgeously Green. Sophie Uliano. Collins (129,000)
Joy's Life Diet. Joy Bauer. Collins (128,000)
Quantum Wellness. Kathy Freston. Weinstein (125,000)
100,000+
The Black Swan. Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Random (123,083)
The Monster of Florence. Douglas Preston with Mario Speci. Grand Central (121,779)
Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook. Phyllis Pellman Good. Good Books (121,433)
The Winners Manual. Jim Tressel with Chris Fabry. Tyndale (120,504)
#Now, Discover Your Strengths. Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. Free Press (120,000)
Anticancer. David Servan-Schreiber. Viking (118,989)
Goodnight Bush. Eric Origen and Gan Golan. Little, Brown (118,564)
Walking with God. John Eldredge. Nelson (118,000)
The Downhill Lie. Carl Hiaasen. Knopf (117,000)
Stop Whining, Start Living. Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Harper (110,860)
The Rise of Barack Obama. Pete Souza. Triumph (110,826)
Cast of Characters. Max Lucado. Nelson (110,000)
#The House at Sugar Beach. Helene Cooper. S&S (110,000)
The Greatest Stories Never Told. Rick Beyer. Collins (110,000)
The Third Jesus. Deepak Chopra. Harmony (109,153)
Armageddon in Retrospect. Kurt Vonnegut. Putnam (107,636)
Annie Leibovitz at Work. Annie Leibovitz. Random (107,531)
Escape. Carolyn Jessop. Broadway (106,769)
The Audacity of Hope. Barack Obama. Crown (104,205)
Looking for Lincoln. Philip B. Kunhardt III and Peter W. Kunhardt. Knopf (103,000)
Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. Trisha Yearwood. Clarkson Potter (102,856)
Made to Stick. Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Random (102,794)
Alex & Me. Irene Pepperberg. Collins (102,000)
The Forever War. Dexter Filkins. Knopf (102,000)
Me of Little Faith. Lewis Black. Riverhead (101,981)
Bad Money. Kevin Philips. Viking (100,543)
The Dark Side. Jane Mayer. Doubleday (101,520)
The Intelligent Investor (Rev.). Benjamin Graham. Collins (101,000)
Things I've Been Silent About. Azar Nafisi. Random (100,305)
Up Till Now. William Shatner. St. Martin's (100,232)
Ghosts Among Us. James Van Praagh. HarperOne (100,000)
