Unit Sales Up in Early November, Led by Juvenile Fiction

Unit sales of print books rose 1.3% in the week ended Nov. 3, 2018, over the comparable week in 2017, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The increase was led by a 10.2% gain in the juvenile fiction category, where The Meltdown (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #13) by Jeff Kinney sold almost 229,000 copies in its first week. The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith continued to sell well, moving more than 55,000 copies in the week, putting it in second place on the juvenile fiction list behind Meltdown. The juvenile nonfiction segment had a small gain, with sales rising 0.4% over the week ended Nov. 4, 2017. Why Don’t We: In the Limelight by Why Don’t We, the autobiography of the boy band, sold almost 11,000 copies in its first week, making it #1 on the category bestseller list. Unit sales fell 1.8% in the adult nonfiction category compared to 2017. Last year at this time, The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond sold 101,000 copies in its second week out, while for the week ended Nov. 3, 2018, the top seller was Medical Medium Liver Rescue by Anthony William, which sold more than 54,000 copies in its first week. Unit sales fell 3.8% in adult fiction compared to a year ago, despite the release of two new books by bestselling authors. Elevation by Stephen King sold nearly 62,000 copies in its first week, while Michael Connelly’s Dark Sacred Night sold more than 52,000 copies. The novels were in the second and third spots on the category bestseller list, trailing John Grisham’s The Reckoning, which sold more than 67,000 copies.

Total Sales of Print Books

(in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

(in thousands)

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

(in thousands)