Toronto, ON – Dec. 10, 2019 – Becoming is also the tenth bestselling print book of the decade
For the second year in a row, Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, is the bestselling English-language print book in Canada, followed by the Juvenile graphic novel For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey and Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, which broke sales records earlier this year by selling more print copies in its first week than any other Canadian-authored book since BookNet Canada began tracking sales data in 2005.
Sales numbers are based on print units sold in the Canadian, English-language trade market for a period of 48 weeks from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 1, 2019, as tracked by BNC SalesData.
Becoming isn’t the only backlist title to top the lists this year. In the fourth spot is Educated by Tara Westover, published in February 2018, followed by The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson from September 2016. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 list for 2019 are: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, Guts by Raina Telgemeier, Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey, Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney, and The Reckoning by John Grisham.
More lists of bestselling books according to top-level subject with additional commentary can be found in this blog post.
As we near the end of the 2010s, we can also look at the bestselling print books of the decade. At the top of the list, as of Dec. 1, 2019, are the three books that make up E.L. James' Fifty Shades series: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes in at number three, followed by Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, the only Canadian-authored title on the top 10 list; Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck; the first book in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson; and finally Obama’s Becoming in the tenth spot.
The bestselling Canadian-authored book of the decade is Love You Forever, written by perennial favourite Robert Munsch and illustrated by Sheila McGraw. The other titles in the Canadian top five are: Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda; An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield; The Looneyspoons Collection by Janet Podleski and Greta Podleski, and The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon.
More on the bestselling print books of the decade can be found in this blog post.
Information on format breakdowns and year-over-year shifts in the book market will be released in early 2020. Further research on book sales, consumer habits, and more can always be found at booknetcanada.ca/bnc-research.
- # # # -
BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, and libraries across the country.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for this project. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada par l’entremise du Fonds du livre du Canada (FLC) pour ce projet.
Media Contact:
Zalina Alvi
Marketing & Communications Manager
BookNet Canada
zalvi@booknetcanada.ca
(416) 362-5057 x 2250
