Sunday, July 3, 2011

A Very Summery Assortment of Titles on Our Bestsellers Lists.

Just a reminder, we are open normal Sunday hours today (10 am to 6 pm) and our standard holiday hours tomorrow (10 am to 5 pm).  I'll be there all day Monday.  Come say hi!

Hardcover Fiction:
1. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
2. Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson
3. Go the F**K to Sleep, by Adam Mansbach
4. Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss
5. Dead Reckoning, by Charlaine Harris
6. The Hypnotist, by Lars Kepler

Another day, another Swedish mystery has a nice pop in sales.  This is our second week with The Hypnotist on our bestseller list, written by a Swedish couple under a pseudonym.  Unlike a lot of the wannabes to the Larsson throne (Mankell, Nesbo), this is said to be a psychological thriller instead of a police procedural.

Hardcover Nonfiction
1. In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson
2. American Wildlife Art, by David Wagner
3. The Greater Journey, by David McCullough
4. The Making of Milwaukee, by John Gurda
5. Bossypants, by Tina Fey

What's with the Wagner?  We sell the books for the author when he gets requests.  And regarding Gurda's classic, our regional book sales go up in the summer.  Despite Milwaukee's best efforts to keep the East Side away from all tourist info ("Please stay downtown! Please stay downtown!  There's nothing to see that isn't downtown!"), we do get some out-of-town traffic from bibliophiles in the know.

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
2. Room, by Emma Donoghue
3. Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
4. I Still Dream about You, by Fannie Flagg
5. A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan

It's nice to know that Fannie Flagg can get a word in edgewise among the heavy hitters.

Paperback Nonfiction
1. What's Eating my Child, by Kelly Dorfman
2. A School for my Village, by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
3. Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo
4. Memoir of a Sunday Brunch, by Julia Pandl
5. Half a Life, by Darin Strauss

Hey, four out of five nonfiction bestsellers are former events. Give is Mr. Burpo and we'd make it 100%.  Rumor is they are doing a kids' version of his book.  Being that the author is a child himself, that is not a surprise.

Fascinating that one of the books on the bookshelf of Jack and Ma in Room was The Shack, our last cross-over Christian bestseller.  Had the book been written next year, I'll bet she would have put Heaven is for Real in with The DaVinci Code and Alice in Wonderland.

Children's Books
1. The Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper
2. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
3. Bob Books Sight Words Kindergarten, by Bob Brooks
4. Otis Board Book, by Loren Long

5. Switching on the Moon, by Jane Yolen

Sometimes I leave out the bulk sales on these, but when the pickings are slim, I leave them in. Well, there's always Suzanne Collins, and this week there's also Otis. Shown is the plush Otis tractor.

You can buy any of these titles on our website, many of which are available in ebook format at competitive prices.

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