Is it possible to predict whether a book will sell well? Former publisher Jodie Archer and Matthew L Jockers, of Stanford University’s Literary Lab, built an algorithm to find outYour program can identify, from scanning 20,000 books, ones which made the New York Times bestseller lists with 80% accuracy, and one of your key discoveries was that the topics covered in a novel – marriage, work, technology – are more important than its genre in terms of predicting its success. Why?JA: If you look at a bestseller list, you might think it was very diverse in genre – a Stephen King alongside a Jojo Moyes. But certain topics were strong indicators of a bestseller, regardless of genre. “Human closeness” came out on top. This doesn’t mean romance – it could be talking with someone you are intimate with or shopping with a parent. It may be to do with pacing – when Dan Brown knows he has to slow his pace down a little bit and let the characters reflect before a big chase scene in the Vatican, his characters talk it out. John Grisham does it perfectly because in all the legal machinations and suspense and back stabbing, there are always scenes where a lawyer gets a bottle of red wine and a Chinese takeaway and sits on the couch with his female counterpart and they chew the cud for a bit. It is almost the opposite of a formulaic how-to; make a boy meet a girl, make them fall out. Related: Bestselling books 2015: Fifty Shades still on top Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Lessons from the Edge' by Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, debuts and #6 on our hardcover nonfiction list. Plus a pair of science fiction titles land on our hardcover fiction list, and comedian Seth Meyers makes his picture book debut. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Dolly Parton and James Patterson have the #1 book in the country with 'Run, Rose, Run." Plus 'The Wok' by J. Kenji López-Alt is #3 in the country, and another cookbook, 'Jane Austen's Table' by Robert Tuesley Anderson, serves up shortbreads and sensibility. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling author Jennie Allen debuts at #1 on our Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers list with her new guide to friendship, ‘Find Your People.’ Francine Rivers takes three spots in Religion Fiction with her brand new release ‘The Lady’s Mine’ as well as her 1991 hit Western romance, ‘Redeeming Love’. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tessa Bailey lands at #3 on our trade paperback list with her latest rom-com, 'Hook, Line, and Sinker." Plus V.E. Schwab's YA fantasy novel 'Gallant' is #2 on our children's fiction list, and a trio of March book club picks claim their spots on our hardcover fiction list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A recently circulated petition asking the 'New York Times' to introduce three children's nonfiction lists has been declined. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Over half a decade later, a new Kickstarter campaign has finally eclipsed Pebble's crowdfunding record on the website. Fantasy and sci-fi author Brandon Sanderson set up a campaign to raise $1 million within 30 days to fund four secret books he intends to release every quarter next year. It... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-04 12:57:00 UTC ]
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Don Winslow says the strategy is simple and obvious, and it could mean they'll never be held accountable. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2022-03-04 08:35:08 UTC ]
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Capitalism and Slavery, by the future first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams, argues that the abolition of slavery was motivated by economic, not moral, concernsA book of unpalatable truths about Britain’s slave trade has become a UK bestseller, almost 80 years after author... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-03-02 13:59:03 UTC ]
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Sarah J. Maas has the #1 book in the country with 'House of Sky and Breath,' book two in her Crescent City fantasy series. Plus vol. two of MXTX's danmei series Heaven Official's Blessing is #7 in the country, and Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie help readers feel 'Good Enough.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-25 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A look at secretive libraries and hidden repositories of books around the world, and how people came to discover them. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-21 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Elena Armas debuts at #3 on our trade paperback list with the TikTok hit 'The Spanish Love Deception.' Plus Chuck Klosterman's dream of 'The Nineties' is alive in hardcover nonfiction, and singer Chiquis Rivera's memoir lands on our lists in English and Spanish editions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian author Nita Prose's debut novel The Maid became a New York Times and Canadian bestseller just a few weeks after its release on January 4. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-02-16 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk lands at #15 on our hardcover fiction list with 'The Books of Jacob,' translated by Jennifer Croft. Plus 'I Must Betray You,' the latest YA historical novel by Ruta Sepetys, is #10 on our children's fiction list, and a pair of celeb book club picks make their debuts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Launching this spring, the opera is based on See's book about her Chinese American family's immigrant experience in California. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-10 19:08:27 UTC ]
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Women’s ministry president Lysa TerKeurst takes two spots on PW’s Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers; the film adaptation of Francine River’s ‘Redeeming Love’ boosts the 17-year-old Western romance to #2 in Religion Fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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With remarkable photographs and insights, Ingo Arndt and Jürgen Tautz reveal the insects' hidden world. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-04 13:00:32 UTC ]
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Mexican journalist Anabel Hernández has the #6 book in the country with 'Emma y las otras señoras del narco,' the rare Spanish-language title to make our lists. Plus 'The Good Place' creator Michael Schur distills 2,500 years of philosophy in 'How to Be Perfect.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Art Spiegelman's 'Maus,' the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel on the Holocaust, have risen after a Tennessee school board banned it this month. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-01-31 18:49:42 UTC ]
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TikTok sensation Colleen Hoover has the #1 book in the country with her new novel, 'Reminders of Him.' Plus Dana Schwartz's 'Anatomy: A Love Story' is the Reese's YA Book Club pick, and Katee Robert returns to Dark Olympus with 'Electric Idol.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The #1 book in the country is 'Baby Steps Millionaires' by Dave Ramsey. Plus the week's big fiction launch is 'To Paradise' by Hanya Yanagihara, and other new and notable titles include 'Ain't Burned All the Bright' by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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