Unit sales of print books in the week ended Sept. 7, 2019, rose 0.9% over the comparable week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The juvenile nonfiction segment had a strong week with unit sales up 9.0% over the week ended Sept. 8, 2018, led by the release of two new titles. Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum by Dr. Seuss was the top title in the category, selling more than 16,000 copies. Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor was in second place on the category list, with more than 9,000 copies sold. Three new titles topped the adult nonfiction list, pushing unit sales in the category up 1.2% over 2018. Call Sign Chaos by Jim Mattis was #1 in adult nonfiction, selling more than 51,000 copies. In second place was How To by Randall Munroe, which sold more than 28,000 copies, while Dungeons & Dragons Essential Kit was #3, selling more than 19,000 copies. New releases also lifted sales in the juvenile fiction segment by 1.5%. Boy-Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin was in second place on the category list, selling just under 27,000 copies, while Paul McCartney’s Hey Grandude! landed in fourth place, with more than 10,000 copies sold, followed by The Land of the Spring Dragon by Tracey West, which sold more than 9,000 copies. Units of adult fiction dipped 1.0%; the top-selling new title—following Where the Crawdads Sing—was The Oracle by Jonathan Cahn, which sold more than 28,000 copies in its first week.

Total Sales of Print Books

(in thousands)

Sept. 8, 2018 Sept. 7, 2019 Chge Week Chge YTD
Total 12,409 12,527 0.9% -1.6%

Unit Sales of Print Books by Category

(in thousands)

Sept. 8, 2018 Sept. 7, 2019 Chge Week Chge YTD
Adult Nonfiction 5,448 5,514 1.2% -0.6%
Adult Fiction 2,573 2,546 -1.0% -3.6%
Juvenile Nonfiction 944 1,029 9.0% 1.9%
Juvenile Fiction 2,774 2,786 1.5% -1.9%
Young Adult Fiction 431 387 -10.1% -3.4%
Young Nonfiction 40 48 20.3% 3.3%

Unit Sales of Print Books by Format

(in thousands)

Sept. 8, 2018 Sept. 7, 2019 Chge Week Chge YTD
Hardcover 3,164 3,342 5.6% 3.2%
Trade Paperback 7,238 7,280 0.6% -2.5%
Mass Market Paperback 973 828 -14.9% -15.6%
Board Books 636 640 0.6% 2.1%
Physical Audio 38 25 -32.8% -25.3%