Source Material
The news of Toni Morrison’s death on August 5 led to an outpouring of tributes from colleagues and admirers, and renewed focus on her body of work. The February 2019 essay collection The Source of Self-Regard lands on our list for the first time, debuting at #11 in hardcover nonfiction. Several backlist titles also drew reader attention, among them Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Sula.
Key to Success
Thriller author Ruth Ware earned her first PW star with her fifth novel, The Turn of the Key, which Edwin Hill, in his signature review, said makes “the technology of today as menacing as the story’s isolated location, a Scottish estate.” It’s the #7 book in the country, with first-week print unit sales surpassing those of any of her previous books.
Year of the Cat
Animal rights advocate, educator, and professional kitten rescuer Hannah Shaw debuts at #1 in hardcover nonfiction with Tiny but Mighty. Shaw’s social media presence is ample—964K Instagram followers, 854K YouTube subscribers—and the cover of her book alone probably moved some copies: it features a winsome, palm-size kitten, all bundled up and wearing a paper crown. Inside, Shaw provides info on rescue kitten care, common feline viruses, finding a forever home, and more. A picture book, Kitten Lady’s Big Book of Little Kittens, follows in October.
NEW & NOTABLE
A Dangerous Man
Robert Crais
#6 Hardcover Fiction, #10 overall
“Crais begins the story with deceptive simplicity,” our starred review said of the MWA Grand Master’s 18th Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel, “but slowly ratchets up both the tension and the action with surgical precision.”
Top 10 Overall
| Rank | Title | Author | Imprint | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens | Putnam | 44,005 |
| 2 | The Inn | Patterson/Fox | Little, Brown | 33,856 |
| 3 | We Don’t Eat Our Classmates | Ryan T. Higgins | Disney-Hyperion | 21,443 |
| 4 | The Art of Racing in the Rain (movie tie-in) | Garth Stein | Harper | 19,723 |
| 5 | One Good Deed | David Baldacci | Grand Central | 19,480 |
| 6 | The Pigeon Has to Go to School! | Mo Willems | Hyperion | 18,673 |
| 7 | The Turn of the Key | Ruth Ware | Scout | 18,381 |
| 8 | Educated | Tara Westover | Random House | 18,034 |
| 9 | Outfox | Sandra Brown | Grand Central | 17,356 |
| 10 | A Dangerous Man | Robert Crais | Putnam | 14,570 |
All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted.
