Unit sales of print books rose 11.6% last week over the week ended May 30, 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan and through the first five months of 2021, sales were up 22.4% over the comparable period in 2020.
The adult fiction category had another big week, with sales up 25.8% over the week ended May 30, 2020. Legacy by Nora Roberts was the top-selling title in the category, selling nearly 33,000 copies in its first week on sale. Other new books that cracked the top 10 adult fiction bestseller list were Christine Feehan’s Shadow Storm, which sold more than 18,000 copies, and The Saboteurs by Clive Cussler, which sold over 14,000 copies. Through May 29, print unit sales were up 32.4% over the first five months of 2020.
Print sales increased 17.6% in the week over 2020 in juvenile fiction. With more in-person college graduations taking place this year compared to spring 2020, sales of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss have increased; the book was #1 in the category, selling over 50,000 copies in the week ended May 29 compared to about 33,000 copies a year ago. Kindergarten, Here I Come! by D.J. Steinberg sold over 12,000 copies in its first week on sale.
The young adult fiction segment managed to post an 8.4% increase in unit sales despite The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins selling more than 190,000 copies a year ago. The increase this year was driven by sales throughout the category, as the top seller in the segment in the most recent week, They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera, sold just under 14,000 copies.
Killing the Mob by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard was #1 in adult nonfiction, selling over 20,000 copies. Unit sales rose 3.8% in the category.
