Macfarlane and Morris’ bird in the hand is worth two (weeks at number one) in the indie chart
As Richard Osman keeps hold of the number one slot in the Official UK Top 50 with The Impossible Fortune (Penguin) for a second week, the Independent Bookshop Top 20 has also seen no change at the top – though here, it’s The Book of Birds by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris (Hamish Hamilton) that sits once more at the top of the tree.
According to NielsenIQ BookScan, the modern field guide to our avian friends sold 4,588 copies across its full Total Consumer Market (TCM) this week, down 42.4% from the week before. Though NielsenIQ does not reveal sales data for the indies – therefore we cannot say for sure if it has fallen the same amount for this part of the sector – The Book of Birds’ sales have sustained ahead of all the others to keep first place.
Molly Drummond, senior buyer at The Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh, said: “MacFarlane and Morris are a tried-and-true pairing, and we’ve been delighted by the response from our customers both in the bookshop and online to their newest title, The Book of Birds. We partnered with Penguin Random House to create a bespoke window with a wonderful local illustrator, Eilidh Muldoon, and the combination of well-known and trusted names with a lovely window inspired by Morris’ illustrations have led to the signed indie editions flying out the door.”
There is no movement for another Penguin title in second place; Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say (Viking) has lost 30.2% of its overall sales in the TCM, pushing it down three places to seventh in the Original Fiction chart, but that has not influenced its position with the indies.
Like The Book of Birds, indie bookshops have benefited from signed copies as Mel Griffin from Griffin Books in Penarth explained: “The Things We Never Say has been our bestselling fiction title by far since it hit the shelves last week – it’s classic Strout in terms of relatable characters and understated prose, but this time subtly weaving in commentary on the volatile situation in US politics.
“Her committed fans among our customers have been rushing in for their signed copies but, having been lucky enough to read a proof copy some months ago, I’ve enjoyied recommending it to others who may not have had the joy of reading an Elizabeth Strout novel yet.”
Osman had a good week with the indies as well, moving up eight places to sixth, breaking into the Top 10 in its second week on sale. The latest Thursday Murder Club outing cannot beat Florence Knapp’s The Names (Phoenix) though; the multi-award winning debut moved up one space to sit in fifth, perfectly mirroring its TCM position. Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear (4th Estate), meanwhile, is the only other title from the Official Top 10 to also find a home with the indies.
At the other end of the spectrum, the biggest outlier is Pablo Valcárcel Castro’s Dream of the Jet-Black City (Zaffre) which takes up residence in 13th place in the indie ranking thanks to a special signed and numbered edition available from Goldsboro Books, a whopping 511 places higher than its ranking in the TCM.
It is not the biggest new release to trouble the indies this week, though. That honour goes to Fonda Lee’s The Last Contract of Isako (Orbit) which has sold 1,055 copies across the country this week, likely thanks in part to its inclusion in several smaller subscription services this month. It takes seventh position with the indies, 246 places higher than its appearance in the TCM.
For another week, the bestselling Children’s title – and the only one to feature in the Indie Top 20 – is Katie Kirby’s The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks (Puffin) which despite dropping sales in the TCM moves up seven places to 12th. Though that move could be due to the previous week’s new releases, as only three of the previous week’s 13 newcomers stick around for a second week in the Indie chart: Macfarlane and Morris, Strout and Osman.
The full Independent Bookshop Top 20 can be found on The Bookseller’s bestseller pages.
The Bookseller has adjusted the Independent Bookshop chart to remove some titles where sales do not derive from traditional bricks-and-mortar bookshops, such as exhibition catalogues and those featured on conglomerates’ subscription boxes.
