Leaders of the Pack

by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 9/13/2004

As we have noted in the past, getting on the bestseller chart is akin to winning a lottery. Of the more than 140,000 books published annually, fewer than 425 new adult hardcovers and paperbacks make PW's weekly lists (in 2003, the number was 418 new books). We have also noted that these days, even the most successful authors are finding that their bestsellers stay on the charts for fewer weeks (John Grisham's The Firm was on the weekly hardcover charts in 1991 for 46 weeks; his most recent megaseller, The Last Juror, was on for 15). Kudos then to a group of top titles that have had phenomenal staying power. In fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is still #1 and has been on our charts for 76 weeks; it boasts 8,650,000 copies in print. One of his earlier titles, Angels & Demons, has been on for 36 weeks and has 1.4 million copies in print; the mass market edition, also in the #1 spot, has been on for 73 weeks and has 5.5 million copies. Fiction's second-longest runner, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven, is #2 and has been on the charts for 49 weeks; total in print is 5.5 million copies.

The nonfiction hardcover list also has some long-distance runners. Rick Warren'sThe Purpose-Driven Lifehas been on our lists for 83 weeks and has 18.6 million copies in print. In the #2 spot this week is The South Beach Diet by Dr. Arthur Agatston. So far it has had a run of 73 weeks and has 7.5 million copies in print. The South Beach Diet Cookbook has close to two million copies after 21 weeks. Also marking 21 weeks so far is Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. It has about 900,000 copies in print—pretty amazing for a British import about grammar.