So, now we know what we were reading in the UK last year...but what do our choices say about us?
It will come as no surprise that the bestselling book in the UK last year was J.K. Rowling's final instalment of the Harry Potter series. What is surprising is the margin of victory: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold an astonishing 4,079,109 copies, according to figures published in The Times newspaper, over 3 million copies ahead of the second most successful book: all the more remarkable considering this was a hardback with an RRP of £17.99!
Elsewhere in the chart, the influence of The Richard and Judy Bookclub was evident, with a number of their choices selling extremely well and Jed Rubenfeld, Kim Edwards and Kate Morton all appearing in the top ten: such is the power of TV. This is further suggested by the presence in the top ten of cookbooks released to tie in with the television series of Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver.
And who exactly buys enough copies of The Guinness World Records for it to make the top ten consistently every year? I can only think there were an awful lot of these wrapped up under the Christmas tree; thankfully I was not one of the recipients!
Read more about the Richard and Judy effect in Reading for Pleasure.
Top 10 Bestsellers of 2007
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling: 4,079,109
- The interpretation of Murder, Jed Rubenfeld: 819,426
- The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards: 701,576
- Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson: 638,855
- Anybody Out There, Marian Keyes: 585,026
- Guinness World Records 2008: 576,643
- The House at Riverton, Kate Morton: 574,363
- On the Edge, Richard Hammond: 518,459
- A Spot of Bother, Mark Haddon: 467,836
- Jamie at Home, Jamie Oliver: 456,954
