Best-selling books of the week- Harry Potter, Eclipse…
America is still mad about Harry. However, his reign atop the nation’s best-seller lists may be coming to an end next week, thanks to another teen fantasy series that features vampires instead of wizards.
On this week’s Wall Street Journal best-selling fiction list, the HP behemoth occupies not only the top of the heap, but spots 5, 6, 11 and 13. On USA Today’s list, half of the top ten is comprised of Rowling’s series.
Still, Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns” managed to break through the Potter- pile and seize the number 2 spot. The feature film based on his previous novel “The Kite Runner” hits theaters this fall.
Also making waves in the top ten is “New Moon” by Stephenie Meyer, the second in a YA series about a supernatural romance between a girl and a vampire. The third book in the series, “Eclipse,” released this week on August 7th, sold a surprisingly hefty 150,000 copies its first day in release, proving readers are beginning to look beyond Harry Potter to get their fantasy fix. “Eclipse” is expected to bump “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” from the #1 spot next week. Still, over at DearAuthor they’re reporting the third installment hasn’t lived up to fans’ expectations, so it remains to be seen whether the series’ impressive sales numbers will hold over time.
WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS: FICTION
1. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
2. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead Hardcover)
3. “The Quickie” by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown and Company)
4. “The Secret Servant” by Daniel Silva (Putnam)
5. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre (Scholastic)
6. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre (Scholastic)
7. “The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel” by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
8. “New Moon” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
9. “Beyond Reach” by Karin Slaughter (Delacorte)
10. “High Noon” by Nora Roberts (Putnam)
For more current best-sellers, click here