International Bestselling Books: March 2009
-- Publishers Weekly, 3/23/2009
Lots of new titles hit the bestseller lists abroad in February, including Breaking Dawn, which debuted at #1 in Germany, giving author Stephenie Meyer a clean sweep of the top three spots on that country's fiction list. In nonfiction, a book of short interviews with former prime minister Helmut Schmidt landed in the third spot; Schmidt's autobiography, Off Duty, stayed at #1.
The top six bestsellers on France's nonfiction list were all new in February. Me Nojoud, in the top spot, joins the growing list of memoirs by children from repressive countries. Ali was married and, with help, divorced at age 10 in Yemen.
Every title on Sweden's top 10 fiction list—except #3, The Heart Never Gets Wrinkled—was new in February. Debuting at #1 is the newest from novelist Carl-Johan Vallgren; his Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, was published in the U.S. by HarperCollins in March 2007. Because some European countries list memoirs as fiction, Ann Heberlein's book about her struggle with depression landed at #2 on Sweden's fiction list. British author Mark Bellingham, whose thrillers have been well reviewed in the U.S., had the #4 fiction title, Death Message; it will be published in the U.S. this fall by Harper.
| Germany | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer Carlsen | Off Duty: A Balance Helmut Schmidt Siedler |
| 2 | Eclipse Stephenie Meyer Carlsen | No Need for Little Tyrants Michael Winterhoff Gutersloher Verlagshus |
| 3 | New Moon Stephenie Meyer Carlsen | Sharing a Cigarette with Helmut Schmidt Helmut Schmidt, Giovanni DiLorenzo Klepenheuer & Witsch |
| For week ending Feb. 22, used by arrangement with Buchreport | ||
| France | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | The People Philippe Labro Gallimard | Me Nojoud, 10 Years Old, Divorced Nojoud Ali Michal Lafon |
| 2 | Where Are We Going, Dad? Jean-Louis Fournier Stock | The French Revolution: Vol. I Max Gallo XO |
| 3 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson Actes Sud | The Beloved Michael Darman, Yves Derali Editions du Moment |
| For week ending Feb. 22, used by arrangement with Livres Hebdo/Ipsos | ||
| Sweden | ||
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Kunzelmann & Kunzelmann Carl-Johan Vallgren Albert Bonniers | Dr. Dahlqvist & Airam's Low-Carb High-Fat Cookbook Annika Dahlqvist Pagina Forlag |
| 2 | I Don't Want to Die, I Just Don't Want to Live Ann Heberlein Weyler Forlag | Anna's Friend: A Report from Inside Rosenbad Eva Franchell Albert Bonniers |
| 3 | The Heart Never Gets Wrinkled Mark Levengood Piratforlaget | Good Enough: Release Yourself from Perfection Elizabeth Gummesson Bokforlaget |
| For week ending Feb. 22, used by arrangement with Svensk Bokhandel | ||
