Song of Myself
I Can Only Imagine, a memoir by Bart Millard, vocalist for contemporary Christian music group MercyMe, debuts at #20 in trade paper. The book takes its title from the name of the group’s big single, which hit the top 40 in the early aughts. A new movie of the same name, which also tells the story of Millard’s life, opened March 16 and was the #3 movie its opening weekend. Box Office Mojo called it the weekend’s surprise hit, and the movie’s unexpected success may be driving book sales, too.
Battle of the Bundos
Move over, Easter Bunny: two books about vice-president Mike Pence’s family rabbit debut on our lists. In Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President, written by Pence’s daughter Charlotte and illustrated by his wife, Karen, the BOTUS (Bunny of the United States) follows the vice-president, whom he calls Grampa, around over the course of a day. It lands at #17 on picture books list.
The Pence family’s book sold about 1,300 print copies more than A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illus. by E.G. Keller, and presented by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which debuts at #8 in hardcover fiction. In the parody, a response to the vice-president’s anti-LGBTQ stance, two boy bunnies fall in love. First-time author Twiss, a staff writer on Oliver’s show, has also signed a deal for a YA novel with Razorbill; Love Inc. is slated for publication in 2019.
Empires’ States
Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer has the#1 book in the country with Secret Empires, his latest take on political corruption.
Chapter titles include “Bidens in Ukraine,” “Barack Obama’s Best Friend,” and “The Trump Princelings.” The book sold best in BookScan’s south Atlantic, south central, and mountain regions, but Schweizer’s empire doesn’t extend across the country: three other books divvy up the top spots in other regions.
Top 10 Overall
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Secret Empires | Peter Schweizer | Harper | 32,503 |
| 2 | A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L’Engle | Square Fish | 31,280 |
| 4 | Accidental Heroes | Danielle Steel | Delacorte | 26,042 |
| 5 | Camino Island | John Grisham | Dell | 23,694 |
| 6 | Dog Man and Cat Kid (Dog Man #4) | Dav Pilkey | Graphix | 21,621 |
| 7 | Little Blue Truck’s Springtime | Schertle/McElmurry | HMH | 18,621 |
| 8 | Llama Llama Easter Egg | Anna Dewdney | Viking | 16,872 |
| 9 | Green Eggs and Ham | Dr. Seuss | Random House | 16,279 |
| 10 | 12 Rules for Life | Jordan B. Peterson | Random House Canada | 15,922 |
All unit sales per Nielsen BookScan except where noted.
