2013 Top Ten Best Selling Books in Australia, the US and the UK.

I was curious how last year’s bestselling books compared between Australia, the US and the UK, so I had a look.

Australia

The top ten bestselling print books in Australia were:

1. Hard Luck: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney (228,400)

2. Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals, Jamie Oliver (173,800)

3. Inferno, Dan Brown (173,400)

4. Save with Jamie, Jamie Oliver (157,300)

5. The 39-Storey Treehouse, Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (136,200)

6. The Tournament, Mathew Reilly (114,400)

7. Guinness World Records 2014 (97,300)

8. I Quit Sugar, Sarah Wilson (92,400)

9. Ponting: At the Close of Play, Ricky Ponting (89,100)

10. The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult (88,600)

Source: Nielson BookScan

So the top ten in Australia was made up of two cookbooks, two young adult novels, two mystery/thrillers, an issues novel, a sports biography, a health book, and a records book.

Four books authored by Australians made it into the top ten, with the best-selling Aussie authored book being The 39-Storey Treehouse.

Only three adult fiction novels made the top ten. One of them, The Tournament, by Mathew Reilly, may disappoint its buyers by not being his usual techno-thriller, but a murder mystery set in 1546.

As there is no science-fiction on the list, perhaps I should consider a editing a healthy cookbook for teenagers with recipes from cricketers.

United States

The top ten bestsellers in the US were:

1. Hard Luck: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney

2. Inferno, Dan Brown

3. Killing Jesus, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

4. Proof of Heaven, Eben Alexander

5. The House of Hades: Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan

6. Divergent, Veronica Roth

7. Jesus Calling, Sarah Young

8. Sycamore Row, John Grisham

9. The Third Wheel: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney

10. Happy, Happy, Happy, by Phil Robertson.

Source: http://aerogrammestudio.com/2014/01/13/americas-bestselling-books-2013s-top-10-list/ From the Age
 

Four young adult novels, three religious books, two thriller/mystery novels, and an autobiography. Two books that were in the Australian top ten, Hard Luck and Inferno, also made the US top ten. There are only two adult fiction novels. At least there is one science-fiction/fantasy young adult novel on this list, Divergent. All of the books are written by Americans.

Americans appear to be turning to religion, while Aussies turn to food. So if I was writing for the American market I would have to join the thousands trying to imitate Dan Brown and write a religious thriller.

UK

The top ten print bestsellers in the UK were:

1. My Autobiography, Alex Ferguson (647,153)

2. Inferno, Dan Brown (626,650)

3. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (607,359)

4. The Fast Diet, M Spencer and M Mosley (494,266)

5. Hard Luck: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney (348,367)

6. Guinness World Records 2014 (347,834)

7. Demon Dentist, David Walliams (344,285)

8. How to Love Food and Lose Weight, Dave Myers and Si King (318,660)

9. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce (315,408)

10. David Jason: My Life, David Jason (296,472)

Source: The Guardian from Nielson BookScan.

Two young adult comedy novels, two biographies, two thrillers, two diet books, a records book and one attempt at serious literature (Gone Girl). No science-fiction. Hard Luck and Inferno both make an appearance again. There are only three adult fiction novels. Seven of the books on the UK list were written by UK authors.

Australian readers appear to have more in common with the Brits as three books appear on both lists, with only two of the same books on both the US and Australian lists. And, like the British, Australians appear to be more interested in food than religion.

My young adult recipe book might do okay in the UK if it had recipes from soccer celebrities rather than their losing cricketers.

I have not read or bought any of the books listed, with Divergent, by Veronica Roth being the only one that arouses any interest.