To be clear, we're out of a bunch of things, so maybe this list would have looked a bit different if we had the stock. But where's the fun in that?
1. James, by Percival Everett
2. Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
3. The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
4. How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
5. The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami
6. I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger
7. The Life Impossible, by Matt Haig
8. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
9. Like Mother, Like Mother, by Susan Rieger
10. Wind and Truth, by Brandon Sanderson
I am fascinated this time of year by how books perform against their previous works. There are a number of blowouts - James (Dr No was a paperback original and did pretty well, but sales are still just a fraction), The Mighty Red (our first event with Erdrich helped*), Intermezzo (30% increase in hardcover sales over Beautiful World, Where Are You, which had double the sales of Normal People in hardcover).
Sometimes I'm surprised by how much better a new book did than the last. I didn't really realize until checking that our numbers on Liz Moore's previous novel, Long Bright River, were a fraction of what we've sold for The God of the Woods. If I were Norton, I would repackage the novel before Long Bright River, The Unseen World, to look more like her latest. It sounds like it would appeal to Moore fans.
Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3. The Atlas of Endangered Alphabets, by Tim Brookes
4. Patriot, by Alexei Navalny
5. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
6. When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, by Julie Satow
7. Be Ready When Luck Happens, by Ina Garten
8. Half Baked Harvest Quick and Cozy, by Tieghan Gerard
9. Didion and Babitz, by Lili Anolik
10. What I Ate in One Year, by Stanley Tucci
For the most part, this list is a combination of national and indie bestsellers. But here's a sleeper. The Atlas of Endangered Alphabets, a book that Jason pulled from the back of the very large Hachette catalog (the imprint is Moebius, which used to be Quercus) and featured successfully in our holiday gift guide. The marketing said "perfect for fans of language and type." But at least some of the core Boswell customer said, "Did somebody say atlas?" I also love this marketing pitch in the catalog: "TikTok partnership campaign with accounts who are historians that specialize in script loss." And now you know that's a thing!
Paperback Fiction:
1. Orbital, by Samantha Harvey
2. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
3. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Weyward, by Emilia Hart
5. The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff
6. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
7. Butter, by Asako Yuzuki
8. The Hunter, by Tana French
9. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
10. Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
What the heck is the deal with Weyward, and what does this say for The Sirens, which is publishing next April? We're #11 for the paperback, despite no staff recs (to my knowledge - they aren't coded as such in our inventory system) I'm sure it's partly word of mouth - the book has some sort of reader's choice attached to it - but it's also just selling off the new paperback table. It can't be the mushroom on the jacket, or can it?
Ann Napolitano is another author (see Liz Moore, above) with early books to rediscover. She did get a repackaging for Within Arm's Reach. I thought Dear Edward was a hit for us, but it was nothing compared to Hello Beautiful, which apparently sold over a million copies in hardcover. I tried reading it, but quickly let it go, but we had very strong sales, nonetheless. Recently I noticed Ann Napolitano kept blurbing books I liked, and then when I realized that the Like Mother, Like Mother jacket was clearly trying to reference Hello Beautiful, I thought, how could I not read this book? I bought a paperback, started again, and I'm now on page 200.
1. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3. The Atlas of Endangered Alphabets, by Tim Brookes
4. Patriot, by Alexei Navalny
5. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
6. When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, by Julie Satow
7. Be Ready When Luck Happens, by Ina Garten
8. Half Baked Harvest Quick and Cozy, by Tieghan Gerard
9. Didion and Babitz, by Lili Anolik
10. What I Ate in One Year, by Stanley Tucci
For the most part, this list is a combination of national and indie bestsellers. But here's a sleeper. The Atlas of Endangered Alphabets, a book that Jason pulled from the back of the very large Hachette catalog (the imprint is Moebius, which used to be Quercus) and featured successfully in our holiday gift guide. The marketing said "perfect for fans of language and type." But at least some of the core Boswell customer said, "Did somebody say atlas?" I also love this marketing pitch in the catalog: "TikTok partnership campaign with accounts who are historians that specialize in script loss." And now you know that's a thing!
1. Orbital, by Samantha Harvey
2. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
3. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Weyward, by Emilia Hart
5. The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff
6. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
7. Butter, by Asako Yuzuki
8. The Hunter, by Tana French
9. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
10. Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
What the heck is the deal with Weyward, and what does this say for The Sirens, which is publishing next April? We're #11 for the paperback, despite no staff recs (to my knowledge - they aren't coded as such in our inventory system) I'm sure it's partly word of mouth - the book has some sort of reader's choice attached to it - but it's also just selling off the new paperback table. It can't be the mushroom on the jacket, or can it?
Ann Napolitano is another author (see Liz Moore, above) with early books to rediscover. She did get a repackaging for Within Arm's Reach. I thought Dear Edward was a hit for us, but it was nothing compared to Hello Beautiful, which apparently sold over a million copies in hardcover. I tried reading it, but quickly let it go, but we had very strong sales, nonetheless. Recently I noticed Ann Napolitano kept blurbing books I liked, and then when I realized that the Like Mother, Like Mother jacket was clearly trying to reference Hello Beautiful, I thought, how could I not read this book? I bought a paperback, started again, and I'm now on page 200.
1. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
2. Strong On, by Pat Flynn (Boswell January 17 event)
3. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest
4. Cream City Chronicles, by John Gurda
5. American Bulk, by Emily Meister
6. Extra Extra Eat All About It, by Randi Julia Ramsden and Jan Conway
7. Doppelganger, by Naomi Klein
8. The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel, by Douglas Brunt
9. A Livable Future Is Possible, by Noam Chomsky
10. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
Just what you need to read after a gift-giving holiday, American Bulk: Essays on Excess. This collection of linked essays, a paperback original, looks at the cost of guilty pleasures and her family history of hoarding. From Kirkus: "In her debut collection, New York transplant Mester, her Midwestern roots firmly intact, dissects America's complex relationship with excess through nine loosely connected personal essays. Drawing from her own experiences and those of her family, specifically her father and grandmother, she examines the nation's extreme consumerist psyche, revealing how Middle America's habits mirror broader national trends in overindulgence."
Books for Kids:
1. Dog Man V13: Big Jim Begins, by Dav Pilkey
2. Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell
3. Little Shrew, by Aikio Mityakoshi
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid V19: Hot Mess, by Jeff Kinney
5. Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
6. Giving Good, by Aaron Boyd
7. The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
8. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
9. The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown
10. The Man Who Didn't like Animals, by Deborah Underwood, illustrations by Leuyen Pham
Second week on for The Man Who Didn't Like Animals, which is selling off The New York Times Best Illustrated Books display and a late staff rec from Tim. Deborah Underwood's picture book is a prequel to Old MacDonald Had a Farm. From Booklist: "Once there was a man who loved his tidy home, but he did not like animals at all. When a cat moved in with him, the man ordered it to leave, but the cat stayed, and the man discovered that they both enjoyed naps and dinnertime. He still didn't like cats, but he liked this cat (and its friends, who joined them)...Underwood offers a quietly beguiling tale of a grumpy old fellow who finds happiness where he least expects it. The understated, heartening narrative leaves room for the illustrations to work their magic, amusing kids with large absurdities and small details. Great fun for sharing at story time."
*Excluding the book sales from the event, The Mighty Red outsold several books that were released in the Boswell years, including Future Home of the Living God and LaRose and over the life of the hardcover, will probably outsell The Night Watchman. Only The Round House and The Sentence will exceed its non-event totals.
8. The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel, by Douglas Brunt
9. A Livable Future Is Possible, by Noam Chomsky
10. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
Just what you need to read after a gift-giving holiday, American Bulk: Essays on Excess. This collection of linked essays, a paperback original, looks at the cost of guilty pleasures and her family history of hoarding. From Kirkus: "In her debut collection, New York transplant Mester, her Midwestern roots firmly intact, dissects America's complex relationship with excess through nine loosely connected personal essays. Drawing from her own experiences and those of her family, specifically her father and grandmother, she examines the nation's extreme consumerist psyche, revealing how Middle America's habits mirror broader national trends in overindulgence."
1. Dog Man V13: Big Jim Begins, by Dav Pilkey
2. Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell
3. Little Shrew, by Aikio Mityakoshi
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid V19: Hot Mess, by Jeff Kinney
5. Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
6. Giving Good, by Aaron Boyd
7. The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
8. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
9. The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown
10. The Man Who Didn't like Animals, by Deborah Underwood, illustrations by Leuyen Pham
Second week on for The Man Who Didn't Like Animals, which is selling off The New York Times Best Illustrated Books display and a late staff rec from Tim. Deborah Underwood's picture book is a prequel to Old MacDonald Had a Farm. From Booklist: "Once there was a man who loved his tidy home, but he did not like animals at all. When a cat moved in with him, the man ordered it to leave, but the cat stayed, and the man discovered that they both enjoyed naps and dinnertime. He still didn't like cats, but he liked this cat (and its friends, who joined them)...Underwood offers a quietly beguiling tale of a grumpy old fellow who finds happiness where he least expects it. The understated, heartening narrative leaves room for the illustrations to work their magic, amusing kids with large absurdities and small details. Great fun for sharing at story time."
*Excluding the book sales from the event, The Mighty Red outsold several books that were released in the Boswell years, including Future Home of the Living God and LaRose and over the life of the hardcover, will probably outsell The Night Watchman. Only The Round House and The Sentence will exceed its non-event totals.
