Maddow as Hell

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has the #1 book in the country with Blowout, an “absorbing but inconsistent exposé” of the oil and natural gas industries, our review said, which “demonizes more than it analyzes.” Nonetheless, it outsold the #2 book by about 23K print units. The week’s next biggest debut is #4 in the country, The Book of Gutsy Women by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, which profiles a diverse roster that includes writer and conservationist Rachel Carson, Dance Theater of Harlem artistic director Virginia Johnson, and activist and Nobel Peace Prize–winner Malala Yousafzai.

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

In the Club

Reese Witherspoon’s new book club pick, Fair Play, lands at #12 in hardcover nonfiction. The book’s author, Eve Rodsky, founder of the Philanthropy Advisory Group, makes an “impressive debut,” our review said, tackling “the unequal standards for housework for women who perform many ‘unpaid, invisible’ tasks in the home.” The Reese’s Book Club January selection, The Library Book by Susan Orlean, which has sold 150K copies in hardcover, has just been released in trade paper; it’s #19 on that list.

Achievement Unlocked

Debuting at #5 in hardcover nonfiction, Stillness Is the Key is the latest from Ryan Holiday, who, the New York Times said in 2016, “sells stoicism as a life hack, without apology.” He’s written several books that translate the ancient Greek philosophy for modern readers, and his three top-selling titles on the subject have sold a combined 464K copies in hardcover. His new book had stronger sales out of the gate than the other three combined.

New & Notable

Full Throttle

Joe Hill

#7 Hardcover Fiction

This “haunting” collection of 13 new and previously published stories “cements Hill’s reputation as a versatile master of scares both subtle and shocking,” according to our review.

Imaginary Friend

Stephen Chbosky

#13 Hardcover Fiction

“Chbosky’s ambitious second novel,” our review said of this follow-up to 1999’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, “is a tale of good vs. evil that never gels.” Still, the author “brings deep humanity to his characters and creates genuinely unsettling tableaux.”

Face It

Debbie Harry

#10 Hardcover Nonfiction

Our reviewer cautioned that “the narrative rambles” in the Blondie lead singer’s memoir, but “fans will love its piquant atmospherics and the energy and honesty of Harry’s take on her singular saga.”

Top 10 Overall

Rank Title Author Imprint Units
1 Blowout Rachel Maddow Crown 68,150
2 For Whom the Ball Rolls (Dog Man #7) Dav Pilkey Graphix 45,193
3 The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates One World 34,077
4 The Book of Gutsy Women Clinton/Clinton Simon & Schuster 29,689
5 The Institute Stephen King Scribner 28,203
6 The United States of Trump Bill O’Reilly Holt 26,211
7 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 25,349
8 Bloody Genius John Sandford Putnam 24,586
9 Talking to Strangers Malcolm Gladwell Little, Brown 24,184
10 Guts Raina Telgemeier Graphix 23,468

All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted.