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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. 
  • Download our full-color printable Midwest Indie bestseller list for this week​​
  • View this week's bestsellers as an Edelweiss collection to help with inventory management 
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For the week ending 12/8/2019

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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...
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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

  1. A Room of One's Own Bookstore
  2. An Open Book
  3. Arcadia Books
  4. BayShore Books
  5. Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery
  6. Beaverdale Books
  7. Birchbark Books & Native Arts
  8. Bluebird Books
  9. Book People
  10. Book Vault 
  11. Bookends On Main
  12. Books & Company
  13. Chapters Books & Gifts
  14. Cherry Street Books
  15. Common Good Books
  16. Dragonfly Books
  17. Dragonwings Bookstore
  18. Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore
  19. Excelsior Bay Books
  20. Fair Isle Books
  21. Indigo Bridge Books and Cafe
  22. Lake Country Books
  23. Left Bank Books
  24. Magers & Quinn Booksellers
  25. Main Street Books (MO)
  26. Main Street Books (ND)
  27. Micawber's Bookstore
  28. Moon Palace Books
  29. Mystery to Me
  30. Northwind Book & Fiber
  31. Pageturners Bookstore
  32. Prairie Lights Books
  33. Prairie Pages Bookseller
  34. Rainy Day Books
  35. Red Balloon Bookshop
  36. River Lights Bookstore
  37. River Reader
  38. Signs of Life
  39. Sweet Peas & Back Forty Books
  40. The Book House
  41. The Book Shoppe
  42. The Book Vine
  43. The Bookstore at Fitgers
  44. The Bookworm
  45. The Novel Neighbor
  46. The Reader's Loft
  47. The Willow Bookstore
  48. University of Minnesota-Duluth Bookstore
  49. Valley Bookseller
  50. Watermark Books & Cafe
  51. Yardstick
  52. Zenith Bookstore
Midwest Independent Booksellers Association
1375 Saint Anthony Ave, Suite 202-3
St. Paul MN 55104

Carrie Obry, Executive Director
carrie@midwestbooksellers.org

Kate Scott, Program Specialist
kate@midwestbooksellers.org


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