Both the fiction and nonfiction hardcover charts have new books in the #1 slot, and both got there after less than a week in the stores.
Book 10 in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series, Crossroads of Twilight, is the third book in the bestselling series to land in the top spot first week out. Tor Books launched it with a 500,000-copy first printing and had to go back to press a few more times; there are now 600,000 copies in print. Jordan began his fantasy series back in 1990 with The Eye of the World and first hit the hardcover charts about two years later with The Shadow Rising. Total in print for the hardcover series is about 2,787,000, with only the last four going over the 300,000-copy mark. Jordan is on a national 25-city tour that is being supported by a whopping $600,000 marketing campaign. Elements of the promotion include ads on local movie screens in New York City and L.A. plus national TV ads on CNN. There is an official international "meet up day" for fans on January 23 (the link is http://rjordan.meetup.com/). A few fans have already paid big bucks for Jordan's books on eBay, including a galley of Crossroads with a signed bookplate that went for $500 and a signed hardcover of the first book in the series for $550.
A word has been coined to describe Suzanne Somers's fitness plans—Somersizing. Her latest bestseller, Suzanne Somers' Fast and Easy: Lose Weight the Somersize Way with Quick, Delicious Meals for the Entire Family!, is her first to hit the charts at #1 in the first week; it is her fifth fitness bestseller. It comes at the perfect time—magazines and newspapers are headlining stories about the hefty number of Americans who are overweight (64.5% of American adults and 22 million kids under the age of five). Crown has already gone back to press once, for a total of 300,000 copies, and another reprint is in the works. The book was launched on January 6 with a spot on the Today Show, appearances on The O'ReillyFactor, Extra and Entertainment Weekly, and a radio satellite tour. A second round of media launched January 14 with a 20-city television satellite tour.
