Publishers Weekly - 14.10.2019

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MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has the #1 book in the country with
Blowout, an “absorbing but inconsistent exposé” of the oil and nat-
ural gas industries, our review said, which “demonizes more than it
analyzes.” Nonetheless, it outsold the #2 book by about 23K print
units. The week’s next biggest debut is #4 in the country, The Book
of Gutsy Women by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton,
which profiles a diverse roster that in-
cludes writer and conservationist Rachel
Carson, Dance
Theater of
Harlem artistic
director Virginia
Johnson, and
activist and
Nobel Peace
Prize–winner
Malala
Yousafzai.

Maddow as Hell

In the Club

Achievement Unlocked

Debuting at #5 in hardcover nonfiction, Stillness Is the Key is the latest from Ryan

Holiday, who, the New York Times said in 2016, “sells stoicism as a life hack, without

apology.” He’s written several books that translate the ancient Greek philosophy for

modern readers,

and his three

top-selling titles

on the subject

have sold a

combined

464K copies in

hardcover. His

new book had

stronger sales

out of the gate

than the other

three combined.

Reese Witherspoon’s new book club pick, Fair Play,

lands at #12 in hardcover nonfiction. The book’s

author, Eve Rodsky, founder of

the Philanthropy Advisory

Group, makes an “impressive

debut,” our review said,

tackling “the unequal

standards for housework for

women who perform many

‘unpaid, invisible’ tasks in the

home.” The Reese’s Book

Club January selection, The

Library Book by Susan Orlean,

which has sold 150K copies in hardcover, has just

been released in trade paper; it’s #19 on that list.

TOP 10 OVERALL

1 Blowout Rachel Maddow Crown 68,

2 For Whom the Ball Rolls (Dog Man #7) Dav Pilkey Graphix 45,

3 The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates One World 34,

4 The Book of Gutsy Women Clinton/Clinton Simon & Schuster 29,

5 The Institute Stephen King Scribner 28,

6 The United States of Trump Bill O’Reilly Holt 26,

7 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 25,

8 Bloody Genius John Sandford Putnam 24,

9 Talking to Strangers Malcolm Gladwell Little, Brown 24,

10 Guts Raina Telgemeier Graphix 23,

RANK TITLE AUTHOR IMPRINT UNITS

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY NPD BOOKSCAN. COPYRIGHT © 2019 THE NPD GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

BY CAROLYN JURIS

Behind the Bestsellers SEPT. 29–OCT. 5, 2019

NEW & NOTABLE

FULL THROTTLE

Joe Hill

#7 Hardcover Fiction

This “haunting” collection of 13

new and previously published

stories “cements Hill’s reputation

as a versatile master of scares both

subtle and shocking,” according to

our review.

IMAGINARY FRIEND

Stephen Chbosky

#13 Hardcover Fiction

“Chbosky’s ambitious second

novel,” our review said of this

follow-up to 1999’s The Perks of

Being a Wallflower, “is a tale of

good vs. evil that never gels.” Still,

the author “brings deep humanity to his

characters and creates genuinely unsettling

tableaux.”

FACE IT

Debbie Harry

#10 Hardcover Nonfiction

Our reviewer cautioned that “the

narrative rambles” in the Blondie

lead singer’s memoir, but “fans

will love its piquant atmospherics

and the energy and honesty of

Harry’s take on her singular saga.”

ALL PRINT UNIT SALES PER NPD BOOKSCAN EXCEPT WHERE NOTED

SELECT FIRST-WEEK PRINT UNIT SALES FOR RYAN HOLIDAY

2014 2016 2019

2,

6,

4,

18,