The most talked-about book in April was also the most talked-about book in May. According to our monthly chart on books trending in social media, provided by CoverCake, Dan Brown’s Inferno is again cropping up in the majority of online conversations centered on books. Jeff Costello, CoverCake’s v-p of client services, said he thought the novel got a boost from a public relations blitz at the beginning of the month, following its mid-month publication. While comments about Inferno have been mixed, Costello said that “people are definitely talking about this book.”

The top three ranked books on the chart, as it happens, are all the same as last month, with Max Brooks’s World War Z holding strong at #2. Anticipation is mounting for the film adaptation of the zombie apocalypse novel—the Brad Pitt–starrer hits screens June 21—and Costello thinks interest in the book will only “continue to grow” as marketing for the movie ramps up throughout June.

Coming in at #8 this month is Phil Jackson’s new book, Eleven Rings (co-written with Hugh Delehanty), which Penguin Press published on May 21. The former NBA coach’s title has, Costello said, been drawing “very positive comments” and is “pretty evenly split between people who love the details of the Bulls and Lakers championship runs, and people who love the leadership wisdom imparted by the ‘Zen Master.’ ”

Covercake's Top 10 Books in Social Media, May 2013

Rank Title Author Scale* Male Female
1 Inferno Dan Brown 10 51% 49%
2 World War Z Max Brooks 9 55 45
3 Lean In Sheryl Sandberg 6 32 68
4 And the Mountains Echoed Khaled Hosseini 4 42 58
5 Joyland Stephen King 4 55 45
6 Don’t Go Lisa Scottoline 3 37 63
7 Catching Fire Suzanne Collins 2 38 62
8 Eleven Rings Jackson/Delehanty 1 72 28
9 The 5th Wave Rick Yancey 1 34 66
10 Entwined with You Sylvia Day 1 35 65

* How many conversations took place about the book in question for every 10 comments about book #1