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 Weekly Words about Books
 January 13, 2013
WHAT PEOPLE ARE READING: BESTSELLING PAPERBACKS OF 2012 

Last week, I ran the lists of the year's bestselling hardcover books, compiled from sales figures reported weekly by more than 60 independent bookstores in the region. This week, it's time to take a look at bestselling paperbacks in both fiction and nonfiction. To be more accurate, the lists are for trade paperback books as opposed to the pocket-sized (or mass market) paperbacks.  

 

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James, Vintage

2. Fifty Shades Darker, E.L. James, Vintage

3. Fifty Shades Freed, E.L. James, Vintage

4. The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht, Random House

5. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett, Harper Perennial

6. The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach, Back Bay

7. The Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka, Anchor

8. The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes, Vintage

9. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell, Random House

10. Swamplandia!, Karen Russell, Vintage

11. The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Ballantine

12. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky, MTV Books

13. Life of Pi, Yann Martel, Mariner

14. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel, Picador

15. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern, Anchor

 

While it's true that independent booksellers pride themselves on stocking and recommending titles that are sometimes more literary or are good for book groups, the fact is that every general indie bookstore sells a wide range of titles and is in tune with customer demand. So it makes sense that the three books topping every other 2012 bestseller list also head the list here. And two older books, Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) and Life of Pi (2003), benefited from renewed interest driven by their movie versions. New editions with movie tie-in covers added to the appeal.  

 

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Bossypants, Tina Fey, Reagan Arthur Books

2. In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson, Broadway

3. Unlikely Friendships, Jennifer S. Holland, Workman

4. F in Exams, Richard Benson, Chronicle

5. The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, Harper

6. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, Broadway

7. The Hare With Amber Eyes, Edmund de Waal, Picador

8. Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon, Workman

9. Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay

10. Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin, S&S

11. Tiny Beautiful Things, Cheryl Strayed, Vintage

12. Born to Run, Christopher McDougall, Vintage

13. Turn Right at Machu Picchu, Mark Adams, Plume

14. Empire of the Summer Moon, S.C. Gwynne, Scribner

15. Blood, Bones & Butter, Gabrielle Hamilton, Random House

 

 This one of the most interesting lists, with books about life in Hitler's Berlin (#2), Japanese ivory carvings (#7), artistic creativity (#8), the world's greatest distance runners (#12), a novice adventurer's search for a lost city (#14), and a famous chef's unconventional journey (#15).

 

The appearance of Tiny Beautiful Things can be attributed in part to good timing. Author Cheryl Strayed was working under the pseudonym "Sugar" while writing a popular internet advice column. When her book Wild was published and became an overnight sensation, it probably seemed like a good time to reveal her alter ego and publish a collection of her columns. Yup, good call.    
SONIA SOTOMAYOR MEMOIR IN STORES THIS WEEK
Two weeks into the new year, and we have one of the year's first BIG books, an autobiography from the newest Supreme Court Justice, and the sonia s first Hispanic, Sonia Sotomayor. While the title - My Beloved World - seems a bit schmaltzy, early reviews of the memoir have used adjectives such as "graceful", "authoritative", and "inspiring". Sotomayor's life is a real American success story, replete with the struggles of living in a dysfunctional family, learning to deal with juvenile diabetes, a failed marriage, and other challenges that only served to make her stronger and more determined to succeed.
INDIE BOOKSTORES DEFY ODDS WITH STRONG 2012
If you are a fan of independent bookstores, you will be heartened by this information from the American Booksellers Association (ABA) about the performance of indies this past year.  Here's the news from ABA's CEO, Oren Teicher:

Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, sales at independent booksellers nationwide ended the year up almost eight percent as compared to 2011, based on the unit sales reported by the approximately 500 bookstores reporting to the weekly Indie Bestseller List.

Interestingly, for much of the year we saw double-digit sales growth over 2011 for our channel, but, given the strong holiday season many stores saw that year, we expected that 2012's robust numbers would come down a little bit. However, the very healthy year-end number clearly demonstrates the vitality of independent bookstores. I know we are surrounded by those articulating a far more pessimistic appraisal of the state of bookselling, but our numbers are what they are.  

 

I don't for one second underestimate the myriad challenges we continue to face - and I appreciate that the increases in sales did not happen in every store - but the fact is that 2012 was a good year for independent bookstores in the United States.  

 

 
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BACK ISSUES
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.

My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.

I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers.If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.