With every category except adult nonfiction reporting gains, unit sales of print books rose 4.3% last week over the week ended February 20, 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The weekly increase was the best compared to 2021 so far this year.
Adult fiction led the sales gain, helped by a strong first-week showing for House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas, which sold nearly 119,000 copies in its first week on sale. In fifth place on the adult fiction bestseller list was Heaven Official’s Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, which sold more than 20,000 copies in its first week on sale. Douglas Preston’s Diablo Mesa landed in seventh place on the category list in its first week, selling almost 14,000 copies.
For the second week in a row, unit sales in the adult nonfiction segment had only a small decline compared to 2021. Life Force by Tony Robbins stayed #1 in the category, selling nearly 35,000 copies. New nonfiction bestsellers included Carleigh Bodrug’s Plantyou, which sold over 16,000 copies, and Kate Bowler’s Good Enough, which sold more than 15,000 copies. Through February 19, unit sales in adult nonfiction were down 9.6% compared to the same period a year ago.
Dav Pilkey’s Cat Kid Comic Club and Jeff Kinney's Big Shot (Diary of a Wimp Kid Book 16) ran first and second in juvenile fiction, selling over 16,000 and 14,000 copies, respectively. Units in the category rose 5.6%.
Young adult unit sales increased 9.3% over 2021, with three of the top 10 titles penned by Scott Cawthon for his Five Nights at Freddy's series, which sold more than 28,000 copies combined. The bestselling among them was The Fourth Closet, which was #1 in the segment.
