Star Turns
Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Kenny Chesney has the #1 book in the country with Heart Life Music, a “down-to-earth memoir,” per our review, that “traces his ascent from small-town Tennessee to country music stardom.” In Bottom of the Pyramid, #11 on our hardcover nonfiction list, Nia Sioux relates how she overcame the ostracization and racist microaggressions she suffered as the only Black dancer on Dance Moms. “Sioux’s harrowing reality TV ordeal cuts deep, and her subsequent self-assurance is endearing and infectious,” according to our review.
Returning Favorites
New installments of several ongoing series claim their spots on our list, including the week’s two biggest children’s book debuts. The graphic novel adaption of Tui T. Sutherland’s Darkstalker, first in her Wings of Fire: Legends series, is #2 on our children’s fiction list (behind Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid #20); Jake Parker illustrates. Debuting at #1 on our picture book list, The Humble Pie is the eighth member of Jory John and Pete Oswald’s Food Group.
Mystery and Macchiatos
Murder at Holly House by the late Denzil Meyrick debuts at #1 on our trade paperback list. Barnes & Noble got behind the Christmas mystery, which pubbed October 7, and named it the “hot coffee, hot book” pick for November and December: shoppers pay $5 for the book with the purchase of a café item. After B&N announced the promotion, sales proceeded accordingly.
You’d Better Watch Out
With the Naughty or Nice series, dark romance author Alta Hensley leans into the sinister undertones of the lyrics to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.” The first installment, He Sees You When You’re Sleeping, pubbed in September and hits our trade paperback list for the first time at #14. Book two, inevitably titled He Knows When You’re Awake, lands on our list at #10 in its first week on sale. The books share several tropes—stalker romance, kink-friendly, morally gray male main character, and, of course, Christmas romance—but where Sleeping features a sexy fireman, Awake’s lust interest is a reclusive billionaire.
