Nine of the 10 top titles on the French nonfiction bestseller list at the end of April were new, and with the country's presidential campaign reaching a climax during the month, it's no surprise that politics dominated the charts. A biography of runner-up Ségolène Royal was in the second spot at the end of the month, while the final edition of winner Nicolas Sarkozy's election program, Together, landed at #4. Little Nicolas, Ségolène and Their Friends, a portrait of all the presidential contenders, was at #5.
In Germany, Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth debuted in the top spot; it was published in the U.S. last week by Doubleday. A couple of American authors cracked the nonfiction list in Spain last month: Tim Harford's The Undercover Economist, published here by Oxford University Press, was at #3, while The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine debuted in the #8 spot. It was published in the U.S. by Broadway.
The French treat biographies as fiction, so that's why John Grisham's The Innocent Man landed in that column in the #4 spot last month. Events marking the 80th birthday of Gabriel García Márquez and the 40th anniversary of the publication of One Hundred Years of Solitude combined to put that classic in the second spot on Spain's fiction list in April.
International Bestsellers
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Oath of LimbsJean-Christophe Grange Albin Michel | A Sheep in the BathtubAzouz Begag Fayard |
| 2 | HuntersMaxime Chattam Albin Michel | Who Knows Madame Royal?Eric Besson/Claude Askolovitch Grasset |
| 3 | The Hedgehog's EleganceMuriel Barbery Gallimard | My Truth About the PlanetClaude Allegre Fayard/Plon |
| For week ending April 29, used by arrangement with Lives Hebdo/Ipsos. | ||
| Spain | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Pedestal of the StatuesAntonio Gala Planeta | Self-EsteemLuis Rojas Marcos Espasca-Calper |
| 2 | One Hundred Years of SolitudeGabriel García Márquez Alfaguara | 20 Steps ForwardJorge Bucay RBA |
| 3 | The Blood of InnocentsJulia Navarro Plaza & Janes | The Undercover EconomistTim Harford Temas de Hoy |
| For week ending April 29, used by arrangement with El Cultural. | ||
| Germany | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | TannodAndrea Schenkel Edition Nautilus | Jesus of NazarethPope Benedict XVI Herder |
| 2 | The Children of HúrinJ.R.R. Tolkien Klett-Cotta | I Am Off for a Little WhileHape Kerkeling Rowohlt Berlin |
| 3 | The Tender BarJ.R. Moehringer S. Fischer | Two Suitcases for an Entire LifeVeronika Peters Goldmann |
| For week ending April 29, used by arrangement with Buchreport | ||
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