You ever want to know what people are buying in bookstores? Well, it so happens that I work at one!
During the last week of February, I pondered about what type of post to make for “Books in Hand.” At first, I planned to discuss all the books customers came in asking for or buying, but that’s a bit too much because everybody came in asking for different books, and I didn’t remember all of them. My boss showed me a way to check our store’s best selling books, and I found out what we sold a lot of!
And that’s what this post is—seeing the top ten selling books of May. Let’s take a look.
| FICTION |
|---|
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan | China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan | Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan | There There by Tommy Orange | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith | Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb | The Stranger by Albert Camus | Pachinko by Min Jin Lee | Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks | Monstress Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda | 1984 by George Orwell | 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami | Circe by Madeline Miller
| KIDS + TEENS |
|---|
Dog Man: Lord of the Flea by Dav Pilkey | To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han | The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling | P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Kristy’s Big Day (The Babysitter’s Club Graphic Novels #6) by Ann M. Martin and Gale Galligan | Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson | Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han | The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson | Sisters by Raina Telgemeir
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate | Holes by Louis Sachar | The House With A Clock In the Walls by John Bellairs | Dog Man and Cat Kid by Dav Pilkey | I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
| NONFICTION |
|---|
Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward | Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House by April Ryan | Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA by Luis J. Rodriguez | The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson | You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero |
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater | 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson | Born A Crime by Trevor Noah | The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz | Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman | In Pieces by Sally Field | The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari | 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
NOTES:
- Every bookstore’s top-selling books will be different from each other. This list is just for my store.
- Like August, the Crazy Rich Asians were 1, 2, 3 in my store’s topselling fiction books!! Also, the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy were part of the top 15 in kids/teens books. Asians ftw!
- August was The Adventure Zone, September was Monstress. YES.
- The Kids/Teens section is dominated by graphic novels. What can I say, kids love graphic novels.
- These books seem to be forever on the top-selling list: The Alchemist, anything Dog Man or Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, You Are A Badass, The Four Agreements, the 5 Love Languages, and Milk and Honey. (Don’t be surprise if you see these books here or in future “Books in Hand” posts. People love these books.)
- I omitted the poetry list because it didn’t change from February, so it was The Sun and Her Flowers, Pillow Thoughts, Milk and Honey, and 2Fish.
My kid loves graphic novels, so we buy A LOT of them. The newest book in the Amulet series came out in September, so I’ll be curious if that makes your list next month. Also, the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book comes out soonish.
From YA– I’m wondering if the new Lauren Oliver will sell well– also, kind of sad that SADIE wasn’t on this list :(
Thanks for sharing– I love seeing stuff like this :)