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David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Teachers (HarperCollins) has chalked up a fourth consecutive week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 36,912 copies for £268,604. Though Walliams and Tony Ross’ latest short story collection is still heads and shoulders above the rest of the chart, John Grisham’s The Reckoning (Hodder) rose 45% in volume week on week to achieve the closest runner-up spot yet, fewer than 10,000 units away from the kids’ title.
The Reckoning also scored Grisham’s 49th week in the Mass Market Fiction top spot. However, only one of Grisham’s titles released this decade has managed to hold the category top spot for more than two weeks, so he may be waiting until summer 2020’s release before clinching the 50th.
James Patterson’s Target (Arrow) leapt 76% in volume week on week, selling 17,101 copies. It beat "Captain Marvel" tie-in title Higher Further Faster (Centum) to claim third place. The Marvel film’s release on DVD and Blu-Ray last week prompted a buy-one-get-the-book-free deal at Sainsbury's, with the tie-in selling 15,376 copies.
The Original Fiction top five remained identical to the week before, though the gap between number one Jo Nesbo’s Knife (Harvill Secker) and runner-up David Nicholls’ Sweet Sorrow (Hodder & Stoughton) closed considerably, with just over 500 copies separating the two.
Nadiya Hussain’s Time to Eat (Michael Joseph) leapfrogged Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women (Bloomsbury) to claim the Hardback Non-Fiction runner-up spot, improving 283% week on week. With 5,440 copies sold, the cookbook scored a higher weekly volume than any week of last year's Nadiya's Family Favourites. Rod Liddle’s The Great Betrayal (Constable) was the highest new entry in ninth place.
Jason Fox’s Battle Scars (Corgi) thundered into the Paperback Non-Fiction top 20 for a second week, shifting 10,365 copies and improving 34% on its launch week.
The print market rose 2.6% in volume to 3.3 million books, and inched up 1% in value to a whisker over £28m earned. Weekly value rose year on year for a 12th consecutive week, though only by 0.7%.