September means back to school and the beginning of election campaign season around the world, and these events are reflected on fall international bestseller lists.
On the French nonfiction bestseller list, eight of the top 10 titles in September were new, with politics dominating. The top title, Sexual Politics, explores the ability of French leaders to seduce both women and voters. The book was featured in the New York Times's October 17 "Paris Journal," which noted that Politics has 150,000 copies in print in France. Debuting at #3, The Bubblecrats argues that while the French Left and Right agree the country is heading toward political disaster, author Jean-Francois Kahn maintains that the only people headed toward a certain fall are media and political elites who are living in a bubble.
Five of the top 10 nonfiction titles in Spain were new in September, led by the biography of singer/songwriter Joaquin Sabina. Another biography, Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, landed at #4 on the list. In the Czech Republic, the top two nonfiction titles are tied directly to back to school topics, Do You Speak German? and Atlas of the World for School.
In fiction, the major news was in France, where the top seller was The Benevolent Ones, the novel by Jonathan Littell that was the hot book at Frankfurt.
International Bestsellers
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Benevolent OnesJonathan Littell Gallimard | Sexual PoliticsChristophe Deloire, Christophe Dubois XO |
| 2 | A Swallow's DiaryAmélie Nothomb Albin Michel | Witness AccountNicolas Sarkozy XO |
| 3 | My Friends, My LovesMarc Levy Robert Laffont | The BubblecratsJean-Francois Kahn Fayard |
| For week ending September 24, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo/Ipsos. | ||
| Spain | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Cathedral of the SeaIldefonso Balcones Grijalbo | Sabina in Vivid FleshJoaquin Sabina, Javier Menendez Flores Ediciones B |
| 2 | Ines of My SoulIsabel Allende Plaza & Janes | The War that Franco Has WonCesar Vidal Planeta |
| 3 | Pranks of the Bad ChildMario Vargas Llosa Alfaguara | A Writer at WarAntony Beevor Critica |
| For week ending September 24, used by arrangement with El Cultural. | ||
| Czech Republic | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Identity CardPetr Sabach Paseka | Do You Speak German?Doris Dusilova Polyglot |
| 2 | Until I Find YouJohn Irving Odeon | Atlas of the World for School- Kartografie Praha |
| 3 | Cry WolfWilbur Smith Alpress | School of Motoring, 2006Ondrej Wiegel Computer Press |
| For week ending September 24, used by arrangement with SCKN, Knizni Novinky. | ||
