Rowling, Hosseini and... Schenkel?
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 9/17/2007
New books from J.K. Rowling and Khaled Hosseini hit the bestseller lists in various countries in August, while a second book by a German thriller author gave her two spots on the fiction list there.
Bloomsbury's English-language edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was #1 in Germany last month, while the German version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was in eighth place. Hallows also led Sweden's fiction list. Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns topped the combined fiction and nonfiction list in Italy, and his previous book, The Kite Runner, remained in the fourth spot. Back in Germany, Kalteis, the newest title from Andrea Schenkel, debuted in third place when it was released in August, one place ahead of her first book, the long-running bestseller Tannod. Several other European countries have bought rights to Schenkel's thrillers, but her books have not been published in the U.S. Other new fiction titles making the top 10 in Germany in August included Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach and The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen.
There was little movement on the fiction and nonfiction lists in France, except for Holiday Exercises for Adults, which landed at #1 in nonfiction. Exercises is not about working out—it explores ways adults can remember what they learned in high school.
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The Hedgehog's Elegance Muriel Barbery Gallimard | Holiday Exercises for Adults Christophe Absi Chiflet et Cie |
| 2 | Because I Love You Guillaume Musso XO | The Smell of the Ages Jean d'Ormesson Editions Heloise d'Ormesson |
| 3 | The Children of Freedom Marc Levy Robert Laffont | The Camp Raphaelle Bacque, Ariane Chemin Albin Michel |
| For week ending August 22, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo/Ipsos. | ||
| Germany | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling Bloomsbury | I Am Off for a Little While Hape Kerkeling Rowohlt Berlin |
| 2 | Millionaire Tommy Jard Scherz | The Secret Rhonda Byrne Arkana |
| 3 | Kalteis Andrea Schenkel Edition Nautilus | Love Yourself Eva-Maria Zurhorst Arkana |
| For week ending August 22, used by arrangement with Buchreport. | ||
| Italy | ||
| Combined | ||
| 1 | A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini Piemme | The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini Piemme |
| 2 | The Caste: How Italian Politicans Became Untouchable G. Antonio Stella; Sergio Rizzo Rizzoli | The Rain Before It Falls Jonathan Coe Feltrinelli |
| 3 | The Hippodrome at the Beach Andrea Camilleri Sellerio di Giorgianni | As God Commanded Niccolo Ammaniti Mondadori |
| For week ending August 22, used by arrangement with Informazinoi Editoriali. | ||
