Meyer, Rowling, Hosseini at #1
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 3/24/2008
The international appeal of major novelists was very apparent in February. Stephenie Meyer, a big hit in the U.S., debuted at the top of the German charts last month with Bella and Edward, while Philip Roth’s Exit Ghost landed at #8. A debut novel by Tom Rob Smith, Child 44, due out in the U.S. from Grand Central next month, hit the German fiction list in the fifth slot.
Khaled Hosseini maintained his top spot on the combined bestseller list in the Netherlands with The Kite Runner, while A Thousand Splendid Suns was at #3. A movie tie-in edition of Kite Runner was at #9. In Italy, Kite Runner was in the sixth spot of the combined list, with Suns one spot below. Debuting at #1 in Italy was J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A lesser-known author with growing international appeal is Muriel Barbery. Her second book, Hedgehog’s Elegance, has been a mainstay on the French fiction list, and it moved up to the fourth spot in Italy in February. Europa Editions will publish Hedgehog in the U.S. in August.
On the nonfiction side, the highest debut in Germany, Who Am I, and How Many, is described as a humorous guide to the questions of life. Landing at #7 was The Law of Attraction, which was released in the U.S. in 2006 by Hay House.
International Bestsellers
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Bella and Edward: A Bite for Supper Stephanie Meyer Carlsen | I Am Off for a Little While Hape Kerkeling Malik |
| 2 | The Cathedral of the Sea Ildefonso Falcones Scherz | Who Am I, and How Many Richard Precht Goldmann |
| 3 | The Last Weynfeldt Martin Suter Diogenes | The Secret Rhonda Byrne Arkana |
| For week ending February 23, used by arrangement with Buchreport | ||
| Combined | |||
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling Salani | The Hedgehog’s Elegance Muriel Barbery E/O | 4 |
| 2 | A Journey Across the Economic Empire and Dreams of the Camorra Roberto Saviano Mondadori | The Sum of Days Isabel Allende Feltrinelli | 5 |
| 3 | One More Day Fabio Volo Mondadori | The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini Piemme | 6 |
| For week ended February 23, used by arrangement with Informazioni Editoriali | |||
| Combined | |||
| 1 | The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini Piemme | Endless Consciousness Pim van Lommel Ten Have | 4 |
| 2 | The Appeal John Grisham A.W. Bruna | What Is Healthy Now? Martijn Katan Bert Bakker | 5 |
| 3 | A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini De Bezige Bij | Anna Boom Judith Koelmeijer Atlas | 6 |
| For week ending February 23, used by arrangement with Boekblad/GFK | |||
