The Midwest Indie Bestseller List demonstrates regional handselling expertise
What books are selling in the Midwest? You've come to the right place. Our weekly Midwest Indie Bestseller List is a collection of the top-selling adult and children's titles for both hardcover and paperback releases. The list is an excellent reflection of the regional tastes and handselling expertise of bookstores and readers throughout our region.
We release the list via email to 1,500 members throughout the industry every Wednesday afternoon (sometimes Thursday morning) and also post it here. We thank the American Booksellers Association for their generous work of compiling the data from indie bookstores across the country every week. |
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For the week ending 12/8/2019
HARDCOVER FICTION 1. The Dutch House Ann Patchett, Harper, $27.99, 9780062963673 2. Olive, Again Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $27, 9780812996548 3. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, Putnam, $26, 9780735219090 4. This Tender Land William Kent Krueger, Atria, $27, 9781476749297 5. The Testaments Margaret Atwood, Nan A. Talese, $28.95, 9780385543781 6. The Giver of Stars Jojo Moyes, Pamela Dorman Books, $28, 9780399562488 7. The Starless Sea Erin Morgenstern, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385541213 8. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong, Penguin Press, $26, 9780525562023 9. Exhalation: Stories Ted Chiang, Knopf, $25.95, 9781101947883 10. Swede Hollow Ola Larsmo, University of Minnesota Press, $26.95, 9781517904517 11. The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $24.95, 9780385537070 12. The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World, $28, 9780399590597 13. Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson, Ecco, $26.99, 9780062913463 14. The Guardians John Grisham, Doubleday, $29.95, 9780385544184 15. The Topeka School Ben Lerner, FSG, $27, 9780374277789 HARDCOVER NONFICTION 1. The Body Bill Bryson, Doubleday, $30, 9780385539302 2. Talking to Strangers Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown, $30, 9780316478526 3. The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra Alex Messenger, Blackstone Publishing, $25.99, 9781982583330 4. The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100 Dan Buettner, National Geographic, $30, 9781426220135 5. How To Randall Munroe, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780525537090 6. Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse John Lithgow, Chronicle Prism, $19.95, 9781452182759 7. Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385521314 8. Becoming Michelle Obama, Crown, $32.50, 9781524763138 9. Know My Name: A Memoir Chanel Miller, Viking, $28, 9780735223707 10. Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World Ian Wright, The Experiment, $19.95, 9781615196258 11. The Beautiful Ones Prince, Spiegel & Grau, $30, 9780399589652 12. A Warning Anonymous, Twelve, $30, 9781538718469 13. Joy of Cooking: 2019 Edition Fully Revised and Updated Irma S. Rombauer, et al., Scribner, $40, 9781501169717 14. I Really Needed This Today: Words to Live By Hoda Kotb, Putnam, $24, 9780735217416 15. Strange Planet Nathan W. Pyle, Morrow Gift, $14.99, 9780062970701 TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION 1. The Overstory Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95, 9780393356687 2. Unsheltered Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $17.99, 9780062684738 3. There There Tommy Orange, Vintage, $16, 9780525436140 4. A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles, Penguin, $17, 9780143110439 5. The Great Believers Rebecca Makkai, Penguin, $16, 9780735223530 6. Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $17, 9780812971835 7. Washington Black Esi Edugyan, Vintage, $16.95, 9780525563242 8. Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo, Grove Press/Black Cat, $17, 9780802156983 9. Virgil Wander Leif Enger, Grove Press, $17, 9780802147127 10. Little Fires Everywhere Celeste Ng, Penguin, $17, 9780735224315 11. The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood, Anchor, $15.95, 9780525435006 12. The Best American Short Stories 2019 Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor (Eds.), Mariner, $15.99, 9781328484246 13. The Only Woman in the Room Marie Benedict, Sourcebooks Landmark, $16.99, 9781492666899 14. The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris, Harper, $16.99, 9780062797155 15. The Great Alone Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's Griffin, $17.99, 9781250229533 TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION 1. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference Greta Thunberg, Penguin, $10, 9780143133568 2. Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18, 9781571313560 3. Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump Neal Katyal, Sam Koppelman, Mariner, $14.99, 9780358391173 4. Born a Crime Trevor Noah, Spiegel & Grau, $18, 9780399588198 5. The Library Book Susan Orlean, S&S, $16.99, 9781476740195 6. The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy Michael Lewis, Norton, $16.95, 9780393357455 7. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present David Treuer, Riverhead Books, $17, 9780399573194 8. Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari, Harper Perennial, $22.99, 9780062316110 9. White Fragility Robin DiAngelo, Beacon Press, $16, 9780807047415 10. The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers Maxwell King, Abrams, $18, 9781419735165 11. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Fred Rogers, Penguin Books, $16, 9780143135388 12. How to Change Your Mind Michael Pollan, Penguin, $18, 9780735224155 13. Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk Jon Krakauer, Anchor, $15, 9781984897695 14. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2020 Sarah Janssen (Ed.), World Almanac, $15.99, 9781600572302 15. Great River City: How the Mississippi Shaped St. Louis Andrew Wanko, Missouri Historical Society Press, $35, 9781883982959 MASS MARKET 1. The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $9.99, 9780756404741 2. Good Omens Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Morrow, $9.99, 9780062836977 3. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman, Penguin, $9.99, 9780525506348 4. A Feast for Crows George R.R. Martin, Bantam, $9.99, 9780553390568 5. Holy Ghost John Sandford, Putnam, $9.99, 9780735217348 6. 1984 George Orwell, Signet, $9.99, 9780451524935 7. Little Women Louisa May Alcott, Signet, $5.95, 9780451532084 8. A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin, Graphia, $8.99, 9780547773742 9. Ninefox Gambit Yoon Ha Lee, Solaris, $9.99, 9781781084496 10. Stepford Wives Ira Levin, HarperTorch, $6.99, 9780060738198 CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED 1. The Crayons' Christmas Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers (Illus.), Penguin Workshop, $19.99, 9780525515746 2. The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats, Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780670012701 3. The Serious Goose Jimmy Kimmel, Random House Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780525707752 4. Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780694003617 5. The Shortest Day Susan Cooper, Carson Ellis (Illus.), Candlewick, $17.99, 9780763686987 6. The Itsy Bitsy Spider Maddie Frost, Workman, $5.95, 9781523505098 7. Construction Site on Christmas Night Sherri Duskey Rinker, AG Ford (Illus.), Chronicle Books, $16.99, 9781452139111 8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas Dr. Seuss, Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 9780394800790 9. I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles Jean Marzollo, Walter Wick (Illus.), Cartwheel Books, $14.99, 9781338332582 10. Little Blue Truck's Christmas Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), HMH Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 9780544320413 CHILDREN'S INTEREST 1. Guts Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $12.99, 9780545852500 2. The Fountains of Silence Ruta Sepetys, Philomel Books, $18.99, 9780399160318 3. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs America's Test Kitchen Kids, Sourcebooks Explore, $19.99, 9781492670025 4. Beverly, Right Here Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $16.99, 9780763694647 5. The Wonders of Nature Ben Hoare, DK Children, $19.99, 9781465485366 6. Everything Awesome About Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Beasts! Mike Lowery, Orchard Books, $16.99, 9781338359725 7. The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs America's Test Kitchen Kids, Sourcebooks Explore, $19.99, 9781492677697 8. Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers Anna James, Paola Escobar (Illus.), Philomel Books, $16.99, 9781984837127 9. The Kids' Book of Paper Love: Write. Craft. Play. Share. Irene Smit, Astrid van der Hulst, Workman, $19.95, 9781523508143 10. Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All Laura Ruby, Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 9780062317643 CHILDREN'S SERIES TITLES 1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99, 9781419739033 2. Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orisha, #2) Tomi Adeyemi, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), $19.99, 9781250170996 3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Illustrated Edition J.K. Rowling, Jim Kay (Illus.), Arthur A. Levine Books, $47.99, 9780545791427 4. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (Book 1) Philip Pullman, Laurel-Leaf, $8.99, 9780440238133 5. Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338236590 6. The Princess in Black and the Bathtime Battle Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), Candlewick, $14.99, 9781536202212 7. Sofia Valdez, Future Prez (The Questioneers) Andrea Beaty, David Roberts (Illus.), Abrams, $18.99, 9781419737046 8. The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3) Neal Shusterman, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781481497060 9. The Princess in Black Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), Candlewick, $6.99, 9780763678883 10. Mercy Watson to the Rescue Kate DiCamillo, Chris Van Dusen (Illus.), Candlewick, $5.99, 9780763645045 |
Booksellers, we ask you to please...
By reporting your weekly sales, you celebrate independent bookstores and prove that our sales channel is strong. Make your voice heard, bring attention to regional authors, stay relevant in the halls of publishers and the minds of authors, and create indie bookstore buzz in-store, in print, and online.
Use our printable, colorful bestseller list for store displays Each week, we create and distribute the beautiful bestseller list you see above. The more bookstores who use this list, the stronger our sales efforts will be. Media, join the list of regional outlets featuring this distinct list in their publications. More than a third of the titles featured on MIBA's bestseller list aren't showing up on national bestseller lists, meaning that this list is the best representation of what our region's readers are interested in.
Bookseller Karin Kimble of Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, MN, says the following about the Heartland List:
“We have a section in the store where the top 15 fiction and nonfiction, hardcover, and trade paper titles from the Heartland Indie Bestseller List are featured as Notable books. In the trade paper section, both fiction and nonfiction especially, this generates terrific sales for us. Customers see that display as they enter the front door. It’s almost a daily task to refill those shelves. The Heartland list reflects the interests of our customers better than the New York Times or West Coast lists.” Sue Ostfield, former sales and marketing director at Milkweed Editions, commented on the value of bookseller sales reports from the perspective of a publisher.
“It’s incredibly gratifying to see sales pop on Bookscan following a successful event or a great review. Bookscan sales help build recognition for an author and for a publisher’s program. I highly recommend that MIBA booksellers participate in sales reporting, especially for a house like Milkweed Editions, when so many of our authors and favorite hand-selling bookstores are located in the Midwest.” Sales reporting stores
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