Another strong week of sales for adult fiction was not quite enough to prevent unit sales of print books from falling 1.6% last week compared to the week ended September 11, 2021.
According to NPD BookScan, sales of adult fiction jumped 16.1% over the comparable week in 2021, helped by the release of several new titles. Topping the category chart was Stephen King’s Fairy Tale, which sold more than 128,000 copies in its first week on sale. A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah Maas sold nearly 42,000 copies, placing it in fourth place on the category chart, while J.D. Robb’s Desperation in Death sold almost 26,000 copies, landing it in the ninth spot on the adult fiction list.
No other category had a sales increase in the week, though young adult fiction sales were flat. Unit sales of adult nonfiction fell 7.1% from last year. Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died stayed #1, selling just under 30,000 copies. Jonathan Cahn’s The Return of the Gods was in second place, selling over 24,000 copies. Other top-selling new books in the category were Danielle Walker’s Healthy In a Hurry by Danielle Walker (about 16,000 copies sold); Dinner in One by Melissa Clark (over 11,000 copies sold); and The Crisis of Command by Stuart Scheller (more than 8,000 copies sold).
Juvenile fiction sales fell 4.4% despite strong showings by a number of new releases. The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster by Mo Willems was the category’s top seller, selling over 26,000 copies, while the just released Jessi’s Secret Language (The Baby-Sitter’s Club Graphic Novel #12) by Ann M. Martin was in second place, selling nearly 17,000 copies. Tracey West’s Guarding the Invisible Dragons sold over 13,000 copies, just edging out another new title, Spy School Project X by Stuart Gibbs, for fifth place on the category bestseller list.
