This Week's Bestsellers: April 27, 2015

Lit Lovers

Elizabeth Berg’s The Dream Lover—a historical novel inspired by George Sand’s life in 19th-century Paris—debuts at #19 on our Hardcover Fiction list this week. It’s the latest in a long line of fictionalized literary biographies; below, we show first-week sales for similar books, noting the real-life writers whose stories they tell.

Leaning In for Sales

Miss Jessie’s, a memoir and business guide by siblings Miko and Titi Branch, debuts at #10 on our Hardcover Nonfiction list, with 6,495 print units sold. Miko and Titi (the latter died in December) cofounded the hair-care line Miss Jessie’s and named it after their grandmother, whom Miko credits with imparting the lessons that led to their successfully launching what became a multimillion-dollar business. For more on this book and other business titles by or aimed at women, look for our business books feature in the May 18 issue.

A Glowing Recommendation

London-based nutritional therapist Amelia Freer was already known as a “nutritionist to the stars” (per the Daily Mail) in January, when Harper Thorsons, an imprint of HarperCollins UK, published Eat. Nourish. Glow., her cookbook and weight-loss program. The book sold steadily, making the Sunday Times’ top 10. Then, on March 17, British pop sensation Sam Smith posed with a copy of the book and told his 3.5 million Instagram followers that Freer “changed [his] life,” helping him lose about 14 pounds in two weeks. Demand immediately soared, and although a U.S. edition had not been planned, HarperCollins 360, the company’s global publishing platform, rushed the book to press here. It went on sale April 14 and debuts at #11 on our Trade Paperback list, with 5,835 units sold. Freer has a number of media appearances scheduled this week, including Today on April 29; Harper Wave will publish a U.S. edition of Eat. Nourish Glow. on June 9.

Other Notable Debuts

Out of the top five overall bestsellers, three are newly published this week. The #1 book in the country, Nora Roberts’s The Liar, outsold the next-highest-selling book (Legends & Lies) by more than 10K units, ending Paula Hawkins’s streak at the top of our Hardcover Fiction list. Her The Girl on the Train is the third-bestselling book overall, and two nonfiction titles—The Real-Life MBA, by Jack and Suzy Welch, and The Road to Character, by David Brooks—round out the top five.

Top 10 Overall