Split Decision

What’s America reading? An array of nonfiction titles, for starters: Leonardo da Vinci, Walter Isaacson’s newest biography; The Sun and Her Flowers, Rupi Kaur’s latest collection; Come and Get It!, a new Pioneer Woman cookbook; Let Trump Be Trump, Corey R. Lewandowski and David N. Bossie’s account of the 2016 election; and The Gospel at 30,000 Feet by LDS leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf each claims the top nonfiction spot in one or two regions across the country.

(See all of this week's bestselling books.)

To Boldly Go

In the middle grade nonfiction title Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, which sold more than 18K print copies in its first week, debut author-illustrator Vashti Harrison profiles 40 activists, athletes, scholars, musicians, authors, and others, among them journalist Ida B. Wells, aviator Bessie Coleman, and singer-songwriter Nina Simone.

Also in children’s books, the middle grade fantasy Nevermoor by first-time author Jessica Townsend, which pubbed in October and has seen weekly sales climb ever since, debuts at #20 in children’s frontlist fiction. Our starred review said the series starter’s “whimsical worldbuilding, humorous dialogue, and colorful supporting characters complement an adventurous, magic-filled plot.”

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Earth by Oliver Jeffers, a November publication that debuts at #22 on our picture book list, offers, per our starred review, “moments of human intimacy [that] jostle with scenes that inspire cosmic awe.”

New & Notable

Year One
Nora Roberts
#3 Hardcover Fiction
Not content to outsell most authors of romantic fiction and, as J.D. Robb, crime fiction, Roberts turns to apocalyptic fiction in this trilogy opener. Our review called the book “entertaining” while cautioning that the author’s “attempts at depicting diversity can be cringeworthy.”

Natural Disaster
Ginger Zee
#24 Hardcover Nonfiction
The chief meteorologist for ABC News writes of her personal struggles, including her lifelong battle with depression. In May, Zee will publish a middle grade novel, Chasing Helicity, about a kid who’s obsessed with weather.

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units
1 The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #12) Jeff Kinney Abrams 107,922
2 Wonder R.J. Palacio Knopf 66,862
3 Origin Dan Brown Doubleday 52,722
4 The Rooster Bar John Grisham Doubleday 48,590
5 The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Ree Drummond Morrow 39,863
6 The Sun and Her Flowers Rupi Kaur Andrews McMeel 39,177
7 Year One Nora Roberts St. Martin’s 38,245
8 Darker E.L. James Vintage 37,343
9 Giraffes Can’t Dance Andreae/Parker-Ress Cartwheel 36,433
10 Leonardo da Vinci Walter Isaacson Simon & Schuster 35,895

All unit sales per Nielsen BookScan except where noted.