READER'S ROCK LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE VOL 2 ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2014 Vol. 1 Issue 5 November 2013 | Page 19
USA TODAY
Celebrates The 20th
Anniversary Of USA
TODAY's Best-Selling
Books List
USA TODAY
crowns three winners for No. 1
book in three separate eras
MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 31, 2013
/PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY
celebrates the 20th anniversary of
the USA TODAY Best-Selling
Books list, crowning not one, but
three No.1 books for three
different eras that reflect the
changes in publishing over the
past two decades.
Given the relative distinction of
book selling in each era - and the
changes in the contributors to the
list over time - today's coverage
highlights three distinct eras from
the last 20 years of book selling
with three Top 25 lists. For the
1993-1998 era - when most
books were bought the oldfashioned way, in stores - John
Gray's "Men are from Mars,
Women are from Venus" is No. 1.
For the 1999-2009 era - when
online sales rose sharply - J.K.
Rowling's "Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone" tops that list.
And since 2009, the era of ebooks, Suzanne Collins' "The
Hunger Games" is No. 1. All
coverage of the 20th anniversary
including the full lists can be
found here.
Other highlights of the last 20
years include:
·
Self-help and other advice
titles were big during the
first five years (19931998).
·
Rowling triggered
Dickens-like excitement
about reading and
reconfigured conventional
wisdom about children's
books in the second era
(1999-2008).
Since 2009, fiction (as a
percentage of best sellers)
has risen to all-time highs
and erotica went
mainstream as e-books
became the fastest
growing part of the
market.
The weekly USA TODAY BestSelling Books list has offered
insight on reader tastes and the
evolution of book selling for the
th
past 20 years. The three 20
anniversary lists compile two
decades worth of best sellers to
show what has changed with
readers - and what hasn't - since
the list began in 1993. Unlike
other major best-seller lists, USA
TODAY's weekly list combines
fiction, non-fiction and all genres
and formats into one inclusive
list that provides a clear snapshot
of what America's reading. It also
combines both print and digital
sales.
USA TODAY book critic and
reporter Bob Minzesheimer
reports on these lists and
publishing trends of the past two
decades in today's editions of
USA TODAY.
USA TODAY is a multi-platform
news and information media
company. Founded in 1982, USA
TODAY's mission is to serve as a
forum for better understanding
and unity to help make the USA
truly one nation. Through its
unique visual storytelling, USA
TODAY delivers high-quality
and engaging content across
print, digital, social and video
platforms. An innovator of news
and information, USA TODAY
reflects the pulse of the nation
and serves as the host of the
American conversation – today,
tomorrow and for decades to
follow. USA TODAY and
USATODAY.com reach a
combined six million readers
daily. USA TODAY is a leader in
mobile applications with more
than 18 million downloads on
mobile devices. USA TODAY is
owned by Gannett Co., Inc.
(NYSE: GCI).
SOURCE USA TODAY