Something to Write Home About
Virginia Evans’s debut novel, The Correspondent—“an appealing family drama,” per our review—pubbed in April with a blurb from author-bookseller Ann Patchett and modest first-week print unit sales. Soon after, word of mouth sent it on a steady upward trajectory. After 25 weeks on sale, the book had sold a respectable 59K print copies. Six weeks later, that figure has more than doubled to 117K print copies. It’s #12 on this week’s hardcover fiction list.
Eyes on the Prize
On November 13, B&N named the August release Mona’s Eyes its book of the year. The novel, arts historian Thomas Schlesser’s “vibrant English-language debut,” per our review, was translated from the French by Hildegarde Serle. It’s #11 on our hardcover fiction list, with more than double the sales it had the week of the announcement.
Trading Up
Indie romantasy author Amber V. Nicole published three books in her Gods and Monsters series before Kensington signed her in 2025. In September, the publisher released the three titles as KRT editions, its program for books that were previously independently published by the author. Kensington’s flagship imprint released a new fourth Gods and Monsters title, Wrath of the Fallen, in October, and now, a deluxe edition of the first installment, The Book of Azrael, lands at #6 on our hardcover fiction list.
Riddle Me this
Puzzle enthusiasts and their gift-giving loved ones are snapping up new brain-teasing books. Debuting at #10 on our hardcover nonfiction list, Puzzle Mania! by New York Times lead puzzle editor Joel Fagliano presents analog versions of fan favorites—think Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Connections—plus new games and a foldout mega crossword. Merry Murdle, G.T. Karber’s sixth murder mystery puzzle book, is #3 on our trade paper bestseller list in its seventh week on sale; with twice as many print units sold as last week, this is the Christmas-themed title’s best showing yet. The first Murdle book, which pubbed in 2023, has sold 889K print copies.
