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Book Club - by Suhaili

Here are the current Top 10 Lists for Dymocks and Angus & Robertson.

ANGUS AND ROBERTSON TOP 10
1. Step on a Crack by James Patterson
2. Paradise House by Erica James
3. From Baghdad With Love by Jay Kopelman

4. Jillaroo by Rachael Treasure
5. Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
6. Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares
7. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
8. Infidel by Ali Ayaan Hirsi
9. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
10. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

James Patterson, as usual, dominates the Top 10 with his latest 'gripping' page-turner. James Patterson is one of the big 'blockbuster' names so he doesn't really have any trouble getting his books to sell... I wouldn't be surprised if he released a collected omnibus of his various shopping lists one day and it still went to number 1. Erica James is another big name, so her high placement isn't much of a surprise either. From Baghdad with Love is the true and apparently heartwarming tale of a grizzled American soldier on a tour of duty of Iraq who is taught to love again by a pet dog. With last year's runaway success of naughty dog-memoir Marley and Me, it was only a matter of time before the publishing companies cashed in by turning the concept into a genre... I couldn't feel more cynical about the exercise, but hey - it sells! Jillaroo is a paperback re-release currently being pushed at a budget price in anticipation of Rachael Treasure's third novel The Rouseabout, which looks set for a release sometime in the near future.

Plum Lovin' is a slim novella from Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series... Evanovich's Plum books never seem to have trouble making the Top 10. Forever in Blue is the fourth book in the teen girl-aimed series that started with Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants... Angus & Robertson gave the series a fair bit of promotion in the lead up to this latest entry in the series and, coupled with the release of the film a few years ago, it looks to have paid off. Eldest is still going strong, probably still riding on the back of the recent Eragon film - I wonder how much longer until Paolini unveils the third and final book in the Inheritance series? Infidel is the controversial biography of human rights campaigner and former muslim, Ali Ayaan Hirsi. As a highly outspoken critic of Islam she managed to get a fatwa placed on her, and this book - the story of her journey from muslim to islam-opponent - is just the sort of thing middle-class white Australian women love... hence it's big sales.

Surprisingly, Richard Dawkins' anti-religious opus 'The God Delusion' has been doing big business too. No doubt the controversy surrounding the subject has helped fuel it's sales, and Dawkins' impressive credentials have probably ensured it's success in the wake of this flurry of excitement. The Memory Keeper's Daughter has been in the Top 10 for at least three months now... it looks set to become an enduring bestseller and I predict it will subsequently turn up on Angus & Robertson's soon-to-be revised Top 100 list.

DYMOCKS
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
2. An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi
3. Step on a Crack by James Patterson
4. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
5. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
6. Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
7. Spotless by Jennifer Fleming
8. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
9. Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares
10. From Baghdad With Love by Jay Kopelman

A few similarities with the A&R list here. James Patterson, Janet Evanovich, Ann Brashares and Jay Kopelman make headway on both lists, owing to their respectively big fanbases and (in the case of Kopelman) topicality. Penny Vincenzi is another big name, and her high place in the Top 10 here reflects that. A Short History fo Tractors in Ukrainian is a new-ish novel that gained some decent literary acclaim at the time of it's release - including being shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. It seems the publishers are pushing it at the moment, and it looks to have paid off over at Dymocks. The Kite Runner and My Sister's Keeper on the other hand... well, these are popular books, for sure, but they've been out for quite a while now - I fail to understand how they're still on the Top 10, unless maybe Dymocks have had some kind of special on these books lately. Spotless has been out for a while too, but it's been selling pretty consistently since it's release.

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Top 5 per Genre Pt. 3

January 22nd 2007 11:29

This is the last part of the Angus and Robertson Top 5s by genre. Read on!

LITERATURE
1. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
5. Tully by Paulinia Simons

Jodi Picoult went from being popular author to literary superstar with the success of 'My Sister's Keeper' in 2004. It's remained her biggest selling novel so far. Most of this Top 5 have been popular for a while... the newest of their number is probably the increasingly popular 'The Kite Runner'. Interestingly, the Top 5 of the Literature section is dominated by the more traditionally 'female-friendly' Literature books... Chuck Palahniuk, Brett Easton Ellis, DBC Pierre, Roddy Doyle and Mark Haddon are nowhere to be seen.

SCIENCE-FICTION
1. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein
2. Magician by Raymond E. Feist
3. The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4. The Elder Gods by David Eddings
5. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Angus and Robertson insist on classifying this Top 5 as the 'Science-Fiction' Top 5, even though none of these books are actually Science-Fiction. Is it really that hard for laymen to tell the difference between science-fiction and fantasy? One concerns magic, one concerns science. More or less. What's the problem? Previous entries in this Top 5 that have been knocked out are Terry Pratchett's first Discworld novel, 'The Colour of Magic', and Douglas Adams' absurdist comedy masterpiece 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. Replacing these two books are David Eddings' recent comeback piece, 'The Elder Gods', and Jasper Fforde's genre-bending best-seller 'The Eyre Affair'. I don't think anyone would argue against the first 3 books of the Top 5, between the three of them they pretty much define the modern Fantasy genre.

CRIME FICTION
1. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
2. Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
3. One For the Money by Janet Evanovich
4. The Poet by Michael Connelly
5. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

I'm surprised that Patricia Cornwell isn't higher in that list. Other than that, this list is pretty unsurprising... it checklists the most popular current authors of the genre. Kathy Reichs is probably the newest star amongst them, but even she's been pumping them out for at least five years now.

BIOGRAPHY
1. Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
2. Marley and Me by John Grogan
3. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
4. A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer
5. A Fortunate Life by A. B. Facey

I'm surprised to see 'Marley and Me' in the Top 5 for Biographies... I mean, I know it's been popular since it's release last year, but that popular? I guess it just goes to show that some people will read any old shit (hey, I never said I wouldn't pass judgement in this blog!). C'mon, it's a book about a freaking dog. Anyway, moving on, the rest of this Top 5 are fairly safe choices - 'A Child Called It' is probably the biggest seller of the lot, 'A Fortunate Life' is a classic from way back, and 'Tuesdays With Morrie' has turned Mitch Albom into an author who's sparsely released works have become literary events. 'Mao's Last Dancer' has been pushed by Angus and Robertson ever since it's release a few years ago, and is strangely yet to be released in a small papaerback form.

MILITARY
1. Tobruk by Peter Fitzsimons
2. Kokoda by Peter Fitzsimons
3. 18 Hours: The True Story by Sandra Lee
4. A Bastard of a Place by Peter Brune
5. Hellfire by Cameron Forbes

The Military Top 5 is dominated by Australian-centric or Australian-written war chronicles, the exception being Sandra Lee's recent SAS best-seller '18 Hours'. Peter Fitzsimons has carved out a niche for himself with his own in-depth tomes on war, 'Kokoda' nudged into the number 2 slot by his more recent offering, 'Tobruk' - which did big business over Christmas.

And that's it. Strangely, Angus and Robertson have neglected a section or two in their Top 5 collations... General Fiction, True Crime, Science and Reference were all snubbed, as were several other less-popular sections. Maybe if they indicated which five books were the most popular in these 'lesser' sections they'd attract a bit more attention to them, eh? Oh well.

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Top 5 per Genre Pt. 2

January 19th 2007 10:55

Continuing on from yesterday's Angus and Robertson Top 5's, here's a further bunch.

HEALTH
1. CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet by Manny Noakes
2. Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr
3. Eat Right 4 Your Type by Peter D'Adamo
4. Take The Pressure Off Your Heart by Robert Kowalski
5. The Liver-Cleansing Diet by Dr. Sandra Cabot

The CSIRO Diet book blew up around the beginning of 2005, it got a lot of radio publicity and I think having the CSIRO's stamp of approval in it's title has helped sell it in an otherwise swarming sea of read-alike diet books. Allen Carr's book has been a big seller for ages, there aren't really any other 'stop smoking' books around so it doesn't have much competition. 'Eat Right 4 Your Type' is the now-famous blood-type diet, which sets out boundaries for eating foods based on what blood type you are. It was only released a few years ago and has been a consistent seller ever since. Surprised to see the absence of the 'Low GI Diet' in there, but maybe the gluten fad is dying out?

PICTURE BOOKS
1. Possum Magic by Mem Fox
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
3. Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox
4. Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Nothing beats the classics... 'Possum Magic', 'The Very Hungry Caterpiller' and 'Where the Wild Things Are' are all stayers from way back, I remember reading them when was I was a littl'un back in the 80s. No real surprises in this Top 5.

KIDS 6-PLUS
1. Ruby The Red Fairy by Daisy Meadows
2. BFG by Roald Dahl
3. Utterly Me Clarice Bean by Lauren Child
4. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
5. Go Girl Sleep Over by Mcauley Rowan

'Ruby the Red Fairy' was the first book from the increasingly popular Fairies series by Daisy Meadows... which has since expanded to include around thirty books. 'BFG' is a deadset classic from a deadset legend, Roald Dahl. 'Go Girl' and 'Captain Underpants' are both popular series for girls and boys, respectively.

KIDS 10-PLUS
1. The Day My Bum Went Psycho by Andy Griffiths
2. Deltora Quest Series 1 by Emily Rodda
3. Matilda by Roald Dahl
4. Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson
5. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

The hysterically titled 'Day My Bum Went Psycho' became a best-seller almost immediately after it's release, owing to it's amazingly juvenile title and giggle-worthy cover art... ten-year old boys love the word 'bum'. 'Deltora Quest' is a popular fantasy series written by an Australian (Blue Mountains-based) author. I don't know why 'Matilda' is included in the 10-plus Top 5 while 'BFG' is categorised as being for 6-plus. Surely, they're both pretty much aimed at the same audience? Good to see 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' is still in there - there might've been riots if it had been skipped over for something more new and hip (or maybe not).

TEENAGE FICTION
1. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
2. Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
3. Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
4. Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
5. Does My Head Look Big in This? by Abdel Fattah Randa

Where's the Harry Potter? J. K. Rowling's absence is probably the biggest proof that these Top 5s aren't dictated by sales alone, otherwise surely Harry Potter would've made an appearance in the Teenage Fiction or 10-Plus Top 5s? 'Eragon' appears to be riding high on the recent release of the film version... no doubt it will turn up in Angus and Robertson's soon-to-be-revised Top 100 this year. Abdel Fattah Randa's stereotype-breaking comedy-drama 'Does My Head Look Big in This' looks to be he next generation's 'Looking for Alibrandi' - don't be surprised if it starts turning up in schools soon as a reading text for English class.

CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION
1. 50 Cent Coin Collection
2. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
3. Body - An Amazing Tour of the Human Anatomy by Robert Winston
4. Jigsaw World Atlas
5. Junior Encyclopedia of Australian Wildlife by Steve Parish

This section is a bit of a fizzer. It's not really an area that has very strong sales and it's never really been all that consistently-stocked. I mean - the 50 Cent Coin Collection? Who are they kidding? I'd expect a Junior World Atlas or a 'Horrible Histories' book to be in the number one slot. 'Where Did I Come From?' is just about the only book in there with any staying power, though it's had a few classification problems prior to being included in the Children's Non-Fiction section - previously I have seen it in the Parenting and Sex sections of bookstores.

The last part of these Top 5 breakdowns will appear on Monday.

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Top 5 per Genre Pt. 1

January 18th 2007 10:22

Here are some recently updated Top 5s for each book section in Angus & Robertson... based on sales analysis and customer feedback and all that junk.

SPORT
1. It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
2. Out of My Comfort Zone by Steve Waugh
3. My Story by Kostya Tszyu
4. By the Balls by Les Murray
5. According to Skull by Kerry O'Keefe

No real surprises there. Lance Armstrong's books have always been popular, and Kostya and Kerry's books have been consistent sellers since their respective releases. Steve Waugh's book is fairly recent, and is still riding high in the wake of his retirement two years ago. 'By the Balls' is the only real variable here... to be honest, soccer books have been fairly poor sellers in the past, and there was never really that much of a range of available books. This all changed when Australia made the World Cup, the sports section went from having 1 or no soccer books to being nearly a whole shelf (in some cases). Time will tell if Les Murray's book will remain popular between World Cups.

COOKING
1. The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander
2. Silver Spoon by Phaidon
3. Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver
4. Instant Cook by Donna Hay
5. Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong

The Cook's Companion and Silver Spoon are both large-ish overall guides to cooking. Neither is a cheap book. Jamie Oliver remains the biggest seller amongst the plethora of celebrity chefs who bring out books. I'm a little surprised to see that 'Commonsense Cookery' isn't in there... it's probably one of the biggest selling and most inexpensive cookbooks of all time. Maybe Angus and Robertson left it out of their Top 5 because they want to push something they can make more money out of?

BUSINESS
1. Screw It, Let's Do It by Richard Branson
2. From 0 to 130 Properties in 3.5 Years by Steven McKnight
3. The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason
4. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
5. The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

The newest book of the bunch is Branson's follow-up to his best-selling autobiography, 'Losing My Virginity'. The other four books have all become steady and consistent sellers in the genre since their initial publications... 'The Richest Man in Babylon' is a business classic, first published in 1926, and uses simplistic parables to demonstrate lessons in financial wisdom.

PARENTING
1. Up the Duff by Kaz Cooke
2. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Arlene Eisenburg
3. Baby Love Robin Barker
4. Toddler Taming by Christopher Green
5. Family First by Dr. Phil McGraw

Most of these books deal with the same thing. The broadest of the bunch (and the one least concerned with babies) is Dr. Phil's 'Family First', which is also the most recently published book of the five.

SELF-DEVELOPMENT
1. Self Matters by Dr. Phil McGraw
2. Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson
3. Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston
4. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness by Stephen R. Covey
5. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay

'Who Moved My Cheese' has become the classic self-help book, and Stephen R. Covey's 'The 8th Habit' is a follow-up to his own highly popular book, 'The 7th Habits of Highly Effective People'. Dr. Phil has dominated the self-development sector ever since he got his own TV show, and the four or five books he has written have all become best-sellers.

NEW AGE
1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
3. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
4. Don't Kiss Them Goodbye by Allison DuBois
5. We Are Their Heaven by Allison DuBois

Nothing is ever going to topple 'The Alchemist' - it's been translated into stacks of languages and has become the definitive book of it's kind. 'The Celestine Prophecy' holds the number two slot, probably through virtue of a recent film adaptation. Allison DuBois is the real-life counterpart of Patricia Arquette's character in the television show 'Medium'. Her two books have done big business off the back of this show's popularity. 'We Are Their Heaven' is the more recent of the two.

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Kid's Top 50

January 10th 2007 11:49

Just a quick round-up of the Kid's Top 50 at Angus & Robertson today... this list is pretty much an indication of the biggest-selling 'kids' books, and I think it's a pretty fair summation of some decent books.

Counting down

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Top 10 - The Bestseller Lists

January 5th 2007 09:24

I thought I might start bringing you the Top 10 Bestsellers for Australia every now and again. Here are the current Top 10s for the two major bookselling companies in the country.

ANGUS AND ROBERTSON TOP 10
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