Books: Bestsellers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sales of Ted Hughes's Birthday Letters have been boosted yet again by the award of another literary prize - the prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year, which he won for an unprecedented second year running. (He had already won the Whitbread Poetry Award, the T S Eliot and Forward Prizes.) Poetry outselling Men Are From Mars... and Delia - not a bad start to the year. The Whitbread effect (plus a little light modelling?) has also helped to make Amanda Foreman's life of that 18th-century Spencer, Georgiana, the bestselling hardback biography.
Compiled from sales over seven days ending 31 January 1999
Bookwatch Ltd, 1999
ORIGINAL FICTION
TITLE AUTHOR/PUBLISHER PRICE WEEKLY SALES
1 (2) Southern Cross Patricia D Cornwall (Little, Brown) pounds 16.99 2,124
2 (4) Powerplays: ruthless com Tom Clancy (Penguin) pounds 5.99 1,764
3 (-) The Death of Amy Parris T R Bowen (Penguin) pounds 5.99 1,589
4 (-) It Means Mischief Kate Thompson (Bantam) pounds 5.99 1,467
5 (-) Liar Birds Lucy Fitzgerald (Black Swan) pounds 5.99 1,458
6 (3) Tiffany's Secret Diary Kate Lock (BBC) pounds 4.99 1,167
7 (1) City Girl Patricia Scanlan (Bantam) pounds 5.99 1,100
8 (7) Churchill's People Mary Jane Staples (Corgi) pounds 5.99 989
9 (-) Come Together Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees (Arrow) pounds 5.99 953
10 (5) Ramses 5 Christian Jacq (Simon&Schuster) pounds 9.99 857
ORIGINAL NON-FICTION
TITLE AUTHOR/PUBLISHER PRICE WEEKLY SALES
1(8) Birthday Letters Ted Hughes (Faber) pounds 14.99 4,306
2(1) Men Are From Mars... John Gray (Thorsons) pounds 8.99 3,432
3(2) Delia's How To Cook Delia Smith (BBC) pounds 16.99 2,829
4(3) Little Book of Feng Shui Lillian Too (Element) pounds 1.99 2,511
5(4) The Little Book of Calm Paul Wilson (Penguin) pounds 1.99 1,883
6(5) Seafood Odyssey Rick Stein (BBC) pounds 18.99 1,709
7(9) Notes From a Big Country Bill Bryson (Doubleday) pounds 16.99 1,657
8(6) Low Fat Cookbook Rosemary Conley (Century) pounds 16.99 1,608
9(10) StationX: codebreakers Michael Smith (Channel 4) pounds 14.99 1,581
10(-) The Tutankhamun Prophesies Maurice Cotterel (Headline) pounds 18.99 1,363 BIOGRAPHY
TITLE AUTHOR/PUBLISHER PRICE WEEKLY SALES
1 Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt (Flamingo) pounds 7.99 3,585
2 A Kentish Lad Frank Muir (Corgi) pounds 7.99 1,843
3 Georgiana Amanda Foreman (HarperCollins) pounds 20 1,019
4 The Diving Bell Jean-Dominique Bauby (Fourth Estate) pounds 5.99 780
5 The Guv'nor Lenny McLean (Blake) pounds 14.99 743
6 Falling Leaves Adeline Yen Mah (Penguin) pounds 6.99 725
7 My Autobiography Dickie Bird (Coronet) pounds 6.99 636
8 Iris Murdoch: a memoir John Bayley (Duckworth) pounds 16.95 600
9 Losing My Virginity Richard Branson (Virgin) pounds 20 556
10 Things Can Only Get Better John O'Farrell (Doubleday) pounds 9.99 549
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments