This Week's Bestsellers: September 1, 2014

D&D Rolls the Dice on New Rules

A half-elf, a cleric, and a wizard walk into a bookstore and demand their copies of the new Dungeons & Dragons: Player’s Handbook—22,316 of them, according to Nielsen BookScan. The fifth edition of the rule book landed at the top of our Hardcover Nonfiction list (and hit #7 on our overall bestseller list). D&D also took #7 on our Hardcover Nonfiction chart with a new adventure, Hoard of the Dragon Queen.

News of version 5.0 of the rules created a stir among gamers when it was announced earlier in the year, and the system, which eases up on what was seen as excessively restricted play in version 4.0, seems to have drawn many stragglers back. (The fourth version, a 2008 release, debuted with about half the sales of the latest handbook, though it went on to sell nearly 115K units in hardcover). A free downloadable “basic version” (a mere 100 pages or so) has helped get newbies on board. D&D, created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, first appeared in 1974, and its rules for combat and character creation—and vaguely Tolkienesque world of elves, dwarves, and halflings—influenced every fantasy role-playing game since. Bestselling novelizations of the stories, a cartoon, and other media spin-offs carried it through the 1980s, when video games pushed D&D into the background. There’s more to come for version 5.0: the Monster Manual will be out in October, and the Dungeon Master’s Guide is slated for November.—Heidi MacDonald

The Two Languages Of ‘Adultery’

Although Paulo Coelho’s newest novel, Adultery, has received mixed reviews, the Brazilian author pulled off a double this week, placing two editions of his book on our Hardcover Fiction list. Knopf’s English translation (from the author’s native Portuguese) landed at #8, selling more than 7,100 copies, while the Spanish-language version, Adulteria, was not too far behind, debuting in 14th place with a little less than 4,400 copies sold in its first week. A Knopf spokesperson credited strong word of mouth for the good showing by the Spanish-language edition, noting that many of Coelho’s readers “are great ambassadors for his work.” Last July, Inquebrantable, the Spanish-language memoir of the late singer and actress Jenni Rivera, managed a similar feat, hitting our Trade Paperback list with 9,000 copies sold; Unbreakable, the English edition, also made it onto the list, tallying 4,000 copies sold.—Jim Milliot

Modest Debut for ‘The Way Forward’

If book sales are any indication of future success for possible presidential candidates, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan has food for thought regarding a possible 2016 run. His memoir, The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea, which critiques both President Obama and the GOP while laying out Ryan’s own political vision, lands at #4 on our Hardcover Nonfiction list. According to BookScan, it sold 6,266 copies its debut week, out of an announced 150,000-copy first printing. (For those keeping score, all-but-announced presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s latest memoir, Hard Choices, sold 85,721 copies its first week in June and 3, 910 copies last week.)

On August 21, Ryan set out from Philadelphia on a national bus tour that stopped once in seven states, including Wisconsin, and nine times in Florida, reaching its final destination, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on August 28. Nationally, first-week sales were strongest in the tour’s kickoff city, Philadelphia, topping 1,000 units. According to the Federal Election Committee, Ryan plans to use funds in his campaign accounts to buy copies to send to political donors. That’s one way to jump-start sales.—Claire Kirch

Top 10 Overall