2011 Bestsellers - How Does Hattie's List Stack Up?

Today, I was curious... what are the current bestsellers in the marketplace and how does Hattie's list of bestsellers this year compare? There are several intervening factors which skew the list from Hattie's, but it is still interesting to see the intersections. Hattie's book club selections are always bestsellers including this year's Big Read book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (you probably won't find that on any other bestseller list!)

The top seller at Hattie's Books this year to date? Spencer Spider Spins Spinach Over Spaghetti by Mattie Brown and illustrated by our very own Ed Hose! Hattie's also provides books to a certain local school (Thanks Frederica Academy!) which also gives our best seller list a certain intellectual flair.  (Think Twelve Angry Men, Raisin in the Sun, The Odyssey, and Beowulf!) If we drill down past the required reading, Hattie's customers like many of the books on every other bestseller list.

Number one on the Indie Fiction Bestsellers in paperback from this week is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The Help has been very popular at Hattie's also, but because of the long delay in the book coming to paperback, many readers in Brunswick opted to bite the bullet and purchase the hardcover edition.

Number four on the Paperback Indie Fiction Bestsellers this week was Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone, a beautifully written and engaging story that our book club thoroughly enjoyed. At Hattie's Books, Cutting for Stone sales slightly edged out The Help.

When it comes to nonfiction, the number one spot on the Indie Paperback Bestsellers is held by The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Although Hattie's Book Club reads predominantly fiction, this was one of our selections this year and it was almost universally appreciated. From the numbers, it looks like the sales were confined to members of the book club and quite honestly, that is a shame. This is a book that everyone would enjoy reading. I'm typically a diehard nonfiction disliker and I loved The Immortal Life.

These are just some musings as we start to edge into the end of the year. Have you read any of these books? Do you have a favorite? We'd love to hear from you!