Lessons Learned

Debuting at #2 in hardcover nonfiction, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is the latest from Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari. Our starred review said the book seeks to “provoke debate without offering definitive solutions” to “problems associated with liberal democracy, nationalism, immigration, and religion.” Harari’s first book to be published in the U.S., 2015’s Sapiens, moves up one position to #9 in trade paper; that title and 2017’s Homo Deus have sold a combined 581K print units, and each book has enjoyed a stronger first week than the last.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

Three Lives

A trio of memoirs, all of which received starred reviews, debut in hardcover nonfiction.

#8 Every Day Is Extra by former secretary of state John Kerry “details a remarkable five-decade-long career in public service,” according to our starred review, and “reveals a man of quiet, passionate patriotism; immense intelligence; and thoughtfulness.”

#9 Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs, whose father, Steve Jobs, initially denied paternity, is “tinged with awe, yearning, and disappointment,” offering a “sincere and disquieting portrait” that “reveals a complex father-daughter relationship.”

#15 Fashion Climbing by the late New York Times street style photographer Bill Cunningham, is a “masterful memoir,” our review said, “both because of his exuberant appreciation for stylish clothes and his sharp assessment of those who wore them.”

Movie Watch

The 1973 middle grade mystery The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs, illustrated by Edward Gorey, heads to the big screen September 21, starring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, and child actor Owen Vaccaro. The tie-in edition debuts at #12 in children’s frontlist fiction.

The film adaptation of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, starring Amandla Stenberg (Rue in The Hunger Games), opens October 5. The tie-in edition lands at #16 in children’s frontlist fiction; the conventional edition is #10 in the country.

New & Notable

The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris
#2 Trade Paperback, #9 overall
Based on a true story, the novel offers a “powerful evocation of the everyday horrors of life as a prisoner in a concentration camp,” our review said, while delivering the message that “true love can transcend even the most hellishly inhuman environments.”

The Coddling of the American Mind
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
#10 Hardcover Nonfiction
The authors expand on their 2015 Atlantic article of the same name, calling out “the idea that all adverse experiences, from falling out of a tree as a child to experiencing a racial microaggression as a college sophomore, are equally dangerous and should be avoided entirely,” our review said.

I’d Rather be Reading
Anne Bogel
#11 Hardcover Nonfiction
Bogel, the What Should I Read Next? podcaster who blogs at Modern Mrs Darcy (52K Facebook followers), writes an ode to bibliophilia.

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units
1 Lord of the Fleas (Dog Man #5) Dav Pilkey Graphix 64,414
2 Girl, Wash Your Face Rachel Hollis Nelson 53,022
3 Crazy Rich Asians Kevin Kwan Anchor 33,521
4 Leverage in Death J.D. Robb St. Martin’s 28,002
5 In His Father’s Footsteps Danielle Steel Delacorte 20,774
6 China Rich Girlfriend Kevin Kwan Anchor 18,705
7 Rich People Problems Kevin Kwan Anchor 14,216
8 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Jenny Han Simon & Schuster 13,513
9 The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris Harper 13,199
10 The Hate U Give Angie Thomas HC/Balzer + Bray 12,658

All unit sales per Nielsen BookScan except where noted.