Bestselling books 2016: the ghosts of Christmas charts past

JK Rowling and Bill Bryson top the charts, while film tie-ins give Paula Hawkins and Jojo Moyes a second bite of the cherry – but this unpredictable year has also seen a welcome revival of humorous writingIt was a year when the No 1 book was a play script. When hyper-prolific James Patterson, dubbed the “library king” as Britain’s long-reigning most-borrowed author, could manage no higher than 60th place. When the anonymous, insanely difficult GCHQ Puzzle Book was 43rd, and so beat super-sellers like Patterson and Ian Rankin, not to mention all those much-hyped hygge books.The all-year sales rankings for 2016 are full of such surprises, as befits an unpredictable year, but also contain much that is comfortingly recognisable, such as the ghosts of Christmas charts past at the top. With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, JK Rowling reclaims the No 1 spot that used to be reserved for her in the noughties, and her versatility is underlined by four other entries in various genres (12, 28, 64, 95). Bill Bryson reprised the round-Britain trip behind his mid-90s hit, Notes from a Small Island, in The Road to Little Dribbling (13) and the result is the list’s highest placed non-fiction title. Mary Berry (17), easily this year’s leading conventional cookery writer, was penning bestselling festive gifts long before either of them emerged. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Blackstone Audio Expands into Print

Blackstone Audio, the independent audiobook publisher based in Ashland, Ore., has launched Blackstone Publishing, a new imprint devoted to print and ebooks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Jennifer Weiner Takes a Big Step into Middle Grade

Jennifer Weiner is widely known to adult readers for her bestselling women-centric novels (Good in Bed; Who Do You Love), her columns for the New York Times Op-Ed pages and Sunday Review, and her humorous Twitter feed. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: In Poland, Plenty of Potential To Grow

Polish publishers see a promising future in the country's billion-dollar book market, but growth will not come without challenges. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: For Booksellers, Change of Venue Welcome. For the Big Houses, Not So Much

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Jeffrey Brown: Making Prehistory Entertaining

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Karen Alpert: A Time Out for Mom

Karen Alpert has never taken motherhood too seriously. This is good for her many fans, who laugh hysterically and occasionally cry at her wry observations, deep understanding, and bad language about the joys and sorrows of being a mom. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: The Cat’s Meow

While the ownership of Baker & Taylor may have changed in the past weeks, the story of the two Scottish Fold cats Baker and Taylor, which have come to symbolize the company’s library wholesale division, endures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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BEA 2016: Laurie Halse Anderson: Setting History Straight

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BEA 2016: Publishers’ Graphics Turns 20

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: A Patterson 'Affair'

James Patterson's '15th Affair,' the latest entry in his Women's Murder Club series, written with Maxine Paetro, is #1 on the iBooks Bestsellers list for the week that ended May 8. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Browsing the Booths, Chapter 2

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BEA 2016: Brit Bennett: A Coming-of-Age Debut

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Grace Lin: Again Mining the Power of Folklore

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BEA 2016: Emil Ferris: On Monsters and Music

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Emma Flint: ‘Little Deaths,’ Big Buzz

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Fredrik Backman: Getting to Know His Characters

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