At outlets that report to NPD BookScan, unit sales of print books were 1% higher in the week ended May 21, 2017, than in the similar week in 2016. In what was generally a quiet week, the most noteworthy shifts were in the way formats performed. Unit sales of hardcovers were 8% higher than in the week ended May 22, 2016, and the year-to-date numbers were up 5% from last year. Two formats that have struggled in the year had another difficult week: unit sales of physical audiobooks fell 15% from the comparable week last year, and mass market paperback sales dropped 10%. The juvenile fiction segment had the best week among the major segments, with units up 4%. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss was the clear #1 seller in the week, with more than 46,000 copies sold. In second place in the juvenile fiction category was Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, which sold more than 25,000 copies. Unit sales inched up 1% in the adult nonfiction segment, helped by a new top-selling title. Fat for Fuel by Joseph Mercola sold more than 34,000 copies in its first week, easily beating Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, which sold more than 23,000 copies and came in second on the category bestseller list. The adult fiction segment posted a slight gain from the previous year, with units up 0.8%. It was a good week for Lee Child, who had not only the top seller in the category—Night School, which sold more than 34,000 copies—but the #4 seller as well: No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories, which sold more than 20,000 copies in its first week. Juvenile nonfiction sales had a small decline in the week. There was little movement at the top of the bestseller list; The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney stayed at #1, with more than 8,000 copies sold.
Unit Sales of Print Books by Channel
(in thousands)
| May 22, 2016 | May 21, 2017 | Chge Week | Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 11,169 | 11,314 | 1% | 2% |
| Retail & Club | 9,681 | 10,022 | 4% | 4% |
| Mass Merch./Others | 1,488 | 1,292 | -13% | -8% |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Category
(in thousands)
| May 22, 2016 | May 21, 2017 | Chge Week | Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Nonfiction | 4,822 | 4,897 | 1% | 2% |
| Adult Fiction | 2,424 | 2,444 | 0.8% | 1% |
| Juvenile Nonfiction | 920 | 917 | -0.3% | 2% |
| Juvenile Fiction | 2,678 | 2,779 | 4% | 4% |
Unit Sales of Print Books by Format
(in thousands)
| May 22, 2016 | May 21, 2017 | Chge Week | Chge YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 2,938 | 3,184 | 8% | 5% |
| Trade Paperback | 6,447 | 6,444 | 0% | 1% |
| Mass Market Paperback | 1,053 | 941 | -10% | -7% |
| Board Books | 471 | 483 | 2% | 9% |
| Audio | 67 | 57 | -15% | -7% |
