Publishers Weekly - 14.10.2019

(Joyce) #1
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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

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6,
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18,

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