What and Who America Reads
What and Who America Reads; A Revealing Analysis of The New York Times Best Sellers List- Adult Fiction – 1957-2015
Blog No. 62
January 15, 2016
New York Times Best Sellers Lists
An Analysis of America’s Reading During the Years 1957-2015
By
Santa Barbara, California
University of California at Berkeley (Honors, Economics); Harvard Law School; Author, The Relevance of Reason – Business and Politics (Vol. 1) and – Society and Culture (Vol. 2) – As Advertised in The New York Review of Books and Recipient of Four National Book Awards
Copyright Mack W. Borgen. 2016. All Right Reserved.
No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles, without the prior written permission of the author.
Author’s Note
This article is based upon some of my research relating to my upcoming 2-volume set of books, Dead Serious and Light Hearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America (1957-2015) (Working Title).
Introduction
As evidenced by the cacophony of our American political and social debates, Americans are out of step with one another. Teams have been picked. Walls have been built. Distances are kept. People with different opinions are viewed with suspicion, if not disdain.
But in the quieter moments of our national conversation, there is recurring agreement that it would be good if more commonality – or at least more understanding — could be found amongst ourselves. It would be good to talk more and argue less. It would be good if our national community could be strengthened.
One place to begin may be for us to get to “know” each other better, and in a small and partial way this can be done by examining what books and what authors we read – as a nation.
This article summarizes my analysis of one of The New York Times Best Sellers Lists over the course of Modern America—nearly all of the last six decades from 1957 to 2015. Such analysis won’t begin to find all of the answers. But it is interesting. It may help. We may come to know our own America just a bit better. We may be able to catch at least a glimpse of who we are. We may pick up a few more pieces to the American puzzle.
The two primary reasons for my use of The New York Times Best Sellers Lists are (i) its authoritative dominance as one of the preeminent sources of data about the reading choices of the American public, and (ii) the statistical validity of the data which is achievable due to the mere fact that the lists have been regularly published as national lists for nearly 75 years — since 1942.
Background and Explanation of The New York Times Best Sellers Lists.
‘ The first reason for analyzing The New York Times Best Sellers Lists is because, despite periodic controversies, they are widely considered to be some of the most authoritative national lists of best selling books in America. The precise methodology for their compilation and the staff’s ranking of books has always been and remains a carefully guarded trade secret of the publisher, but it is known that the lists are based upon weekly sales data collected by The New York Times from selected independent and chain bookstores and wholesale booksellers throughout the United States.
Over the years multiple categories for fiction and non-fiction books have been added, and even these categories have been subdivided and modified. For example, in 1984 the list of “Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous” books was presented for the first time. At the time it was conceded that this was done largely because the sales of these “how-to” books were crowding out the more general – indeed the more traditional – general non-fiction books.
In the context of lists of fiction books, similar subdivisions and modifications have been made. For example, one of the more controversial changes was made in July, 2000 when a list for “Children’s Best Seller’s” was added. This new list was added in response to overwhelming dominance of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books which had been consistently dominating the top of the Best Sellers List for Fiction. Thus, since 2000 fiction books have been divided between Adult Fiction Best Sellers and Children’s Fiction Best Sellers. Even more recently, in 2010 belated adjustments were made to the Best Sellers Lists in order to make room for and to recognize the substantial sales of ebooks.
Years of Publication and the Resultant Possibility of Statistical Validity
The second reason for analyzing The New York Times Best Sellers Lists is simply because there are so many of them. In the years of Modern America (1957-2015), 3,052 Best Sellers Lists for Adult Fiction have been published by The New York Times. The “missing” 16 weeks in that 59-year period are attributable to fact that no lists were published during the newspapers strikes of 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1978.
(Author’s Note: For an explanation of my definition of the 1957-2015 boundary years of what is defined as “Modern America, see Chapter 4 of one of my books – The Relevance of Reason – Vol. 1 (Business and Politics) (407 pp.) (2013) or Vol. 2 (Society and Culture (437 pp.) (2013).
Thus, because of the sheer number of lists, some statistical validity is achievable. An analysis of this data can reveal meaningful information about America’s reading habits – or at least its book purchasing and reading interests, about the prominence of certain books and types of books, authors, and – upon closer examination – even changes in the book publishing industry.
It is acknowledged that even with an analysis of The New York Times lists, a razor-accurate understanding of what books Americans buy and read is impossible. For example, urban/rural, educational level, and regional reading differences cannot be determined, and some massively successful and important books make it to the list but never achieve a No. 1 status. The best example of this is Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird. Although it is one of the seminal books of Modern America. To Kill a Mockingbird spent 98 weeks on Best Sellers List but never ranked No. 1. for any given week.
The lists can also be misleading for other reasons such “fast sales” (i.e. a phrase reflecting that fact that the lists identify only top book sales in a given week rather than total book sales overall) and “double counting” (i.e. a phrase reflecting the fact that double counting of a book’s sales can result from the potential for overlap counting of both wholesaler and retailer sales).
Lastly, there is always the risk of rigging. Over the years and despite careful internal controls, there have been periodic attempts by authors, publishers, wholesalers, and retailers to rig the list. These attempts have been done through, for example, bulk buying (by companies, organizations, or institutions) and other forms of data manipulation. Sometimes rigging is attempted through self-buying by the author, by the author’s employees, associates, or supporters, or even by the publisher. In fact, just six months ago, in July, 2015, Ted Cruz’s book, A Time for Truth, was excluded from the Best Sellers List for Non-Fiction because of “the overwhelming preponderance of evidence that the sales” of his book were made through strategic bulk purchases. As expected on both sides, Senator Cruz dismissed the claim and demanded an apology, but The New York Times stood by its conclusion based upon its evidence of author-directed, book-buying manipulation. It is impossible to know for certain about the existence or the depth of the Chinese Wall between The New York Times’ editorial page and its Best Sellers Lists, but if this purchasing manipulation charge is true, the appropriateness of Senator Cruz’ book title, A Time for Truth, is awkwardly called into question.
Nevertheless, and despite these caveats and cautions, The New York Times Best Seller Lists remain one of the best ways to track America’s reading habits. The data below focuses only on The New York Times Best Sellers List for Adult Fiction.
My forthcoming 2-volume set of books (Dead Serious and Light Hearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America (1957-2015) (Working Title) includes data from multiple additional Best Sellers Lists (e.g. Adult Non-Fiction, History), information about Pulitzer Prize Awards, and a list of the seminal books of Modern America. However, the scope of this article is more narrow — an analysis of The New York Times Best Sellers List for Adult Fiction.
A summary of my analysis of The New York Times Best Sellers List for Adult Fiction (1957-2015) (hereinafter referred to as the “BSL-Fiction”) is set forth below.
Number of Authors Who Have Been Included as No. 1 on the BSL-Fiction: 205 authors(Including Co-Authors)
Male: 121 authors / 59.0%
Female: 84 authors / 41.0%
Comment: Although parity has not yet been achieved, these percentages far exceed gender parity in many other contexts.
Number and Percentage of Authors with Only 1 Year with a No. 1 on BSL-Fiction:
82 authors / 42/0%
Comment: A surprisingly high 42% of authors have reached No. 1 on the BSL-Fiction only once in their careers.
Number of Books Which Have Been No. 1 on BSL-Fiction: 647 books
Average Weeks of a Book Being No. on the BSL-Fiction: 4.7 weeks
Shortened Attention Span of the American Readers. Due to changes in the book publishing market (e.g. ebooks, print-on-demand publications), the growing volume of written works, and possibly the shortened attention span of U.S. readers, the number of weeks of a book being No. 1 on the BSL-Fiction has decreased greatly over the last decades.
Period Number of Average Number of Books as No. 1 on List
Years in Period in Any Given Year
1957-1969 13 25.2 weeks
1970-1979 10 25.6 weeks
1980-1989 10 12.5 weeks
1990-1999 10 13.9 weeks
2000-2009 10 10.8 weeks
2010-2015 6 11.6 weeks
OVERALL WINNERS
Top Fiction Authors – By Decade (NOTE: This listing is in the sole opinion of this writer. It is based upon the number of books written by the author in the decade which became a No. 1 Best Seller).
1957-1969 James Michener (2 books – Hawaii, The Source).
1970-1979 Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull) (Top Book-2 years)
1980-1989 Robert Ludlum (3 books – The Bourne Identity, The Parsifal Mosaic,
The Aquitaine Progression);
John le Carre (2 books – The Little Drummer Girl, The Russia House).
Stephen King (2 books – Skeleton Crew, It).
1990-1999 John Grisham (2 books – The Pelican Brief, The Street Lawyer).
James Redfield (The Celestine Prophesy) (2 Years).
- John Grisham (4 books – The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, and The Appeal); and
Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code (3 years) and The Lost Symbol).
2010-2015 E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Gray) (Note 1).
Note 1: It is to a degree revealing that Fifty Shades of Gray was marketed and sold in the United States with little controversy and was widely- and well-received by the American public (29 weeks as the No. 1 Best Seller-Fiction). This alone reflects changes – for better or worse – in America’s social norms.
For example, compare the relative non-controversy about Fifty Shades of Gray with the huge controversies and social shock-and-awes surrounding earlier books such as Lady Chatterley’s Love, Tropic of Cancer and Fanny Hill. These books included explicit descriptions of sex and used then-unprintable words. Lady Chatterley’s Lover was literally the subject of a U.S. Senate debate in 1930, and all three books (Lady Chatterley’s Love, Tropic of Cancer and Fanny Hill) were banned in the United States until the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1959. There is also the example of Portnoy’s Complaint. Written by Philip Roth and published in 1969, Portnoy’s Complaint caused great controversy and was also widely condemned. Although it was allowed to be published in the United States, many public libraries banned the book for its explicit treatment of sexuality and depictions of masturbation.
Top 10 Fiction Authors of Modern America:
Rank Author Years Number of Weeks
- James Michener 1960-1988 200
- Stephen King 1979-2015 147
- John Grisham 1992-2015 134
- James Patterson (Note 1) 2001-2015 96
- Robert Ludlum 1978-1990 84
- John le Carre 1974-1991 77
- Dan Brown 2003-2013 75
- Tom Clancy 1986-2012 74
- Leon Uris 1959-1977 66
- Sidney Sheldon 1978-1992 58
Pure Volume Writing Award – James Patterson (sometimes by himself and sometimes with co-authors). James Patterson has written an amazing 52 books which have appeared as No. 1 on the Best Sellers List – Fiction. Even though most writers think that even a piece of fiction should take longer than a weekend to write and even though most of Mr. Patterson’s works stay as No. 1 for only 1-4 weeks, Mr. Patterson’s collected works remain indisputably an outstanding number of successful books to have been written in a relatively short period of time (2001 through 2015).
Heartbreak Award. Steig Larsson since all three of Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy were published after his early death in 2004.
One-Hit Wonder Awards. The inclusion of an author’s name below is not intended to diminish their achievement. Every songwriter wishes he had written American Pie like Don McLean, and every author would mortgage his dog to get a book on this BSL-Fiction list. As will be seen, the definitional sweep also dubiously includes the names of masters such as Boris Pasternak, Katherine Anne Porter, and Elia Kazan. Nevertheless, the tracking of one-hit wonders is an American pastime. Thus (and, again, solely in the context of The New York Times BSL-Fiction), the ten writers who wrote only one BSL-Fiction No. 1 book and which book stayed as No. 1 for 20 weeks or more are as follows:
Richard Bach (B: 1936) (Jonathan Livingston Seagull – 1972-1973 – 38 weeks).
Robert Traver (Pen name for John D. Voelker) (B: 1903- D: 1991) (Anatomy of a Murder
– 1957 – 29 weeks) (Note 1.).
James Redfield (B: 1950) (The Celestine Prophecy – 1994-1995 – 27 weeks).
Boris Pasternak (B: 1890 – D: 1960) (Dr. Zhivago – 1958-1959 – 26 weeks) (Note 1.).
Katherine Anne Porter (B: 1890 – D: 1980) (Ship of Fools – 1962 – 26 weeks) (Note 1.).
James Gould Cozzens (B: 1903 – D: 1978) (By Love Possessed – 1957-1958 – 24 weeks)
(Note 1.).
Elia Kazan (B: 1909 – D: 2003) (The Arrangement – 1967 – 23 weeks).
Grace Metalious (B: 1924 – D: 1964) (Peyton Place – 1957 – 23 weeks) (Note 1.).
Kathryn Stockett (B: 1969) (The Help – 2010-2012 – 22 weeks).
Mary McCarthy (B: 1912 – D: 1989) (The Group – 1963-1964 – 20 weeks).
Note 1. These writers are definitionally included within the list, but their inclusion is
admittedly inappropriate because they were born in the early 1900s and wrote and
published primarily prior to 1957 — the beginning of Modern America.
Name of Authors With Book as No. 1 on the BSL-Fiction in 15 or More Years:
Author Number of Years
Stephen King 29 years
John Grisham 23 years
Danielle Steele 20 years
Patricia Cromwell 17 years
Tom Clancy 16 years
Mary Higgins Clark 16 years
Janet Evanovich 16 years
James Michener 15 years
James Patterson 15 years
Number of Writers with More Than 25 Weeks as No. 1 on BSL-Fiction: 25 writers
Number of Writers with More Than 1 Book as No. 1 on BSL-Fiction for More Than 25 Weeks: Just 1 – James Michener.
Book with Most Number of Weeks as No. 1 on BSL– Fiction – By Year:
Year Author Title No. of Weeks As No. 1
1957 Grace Metalious Peyton Place 23
1958 Robert Travel (Note 1) Anatomy of a Murder 29
1959 Leon Uris Exodus 20
1960 James Michener Hawaii 37
1961 Irving Stone The Agony and the Ecstasy 27
1962 Katherine Anne Porter Ship of Fools 26
1963 Morris West The Shoes of the Fisherman 14
1964 John le Carre The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 34
1965 James Michener The Source 22
1966 Jacqueline Susann Valley of the Dolls 28
1967 Elia Kazan The Arrangement 23
1968 Arthur Hailey Airport 30
1969 Mario Puzo The Godfather 15
1970 Erich Segal Love Story 34
1971 Irving Stone The Passions of the Mind 13
1972 Richard Bach Jonathan Livingston Seagull 27
1973 Richard Bach Jonathan Livingston Seagull 11
Mary Stewart Hollow Hills 11
1974 Gore Vidal Burr 17
1975 James Michener Centennial 16
1976 Leon Uris Trinity 22
1977 Colleen McCullough The Thorn Birds 15
1978 Sidney Sheldon Bloodline 13
1979 Robert Ludlum The Martarese Circle 14
1980 Robert Ludlum The Bourne Identity 16
1981 James Michener The Covenant 16
1982 Robert Ludlum The Parsifal Mosaic 16
1983 John Le Carre The Little Drummer Girl 12
1984 Robert Ludlum The Aquitaine Progression 13
1985 Stephen King Skeleton Crew 10
1986 Stephen King It 12
1987 Danielle Steele Fine Things 9
1988 Tom Clancy The Cardinal of the Kremlin 12
1989 John le Carre The Russia House 9
1990 Scott Turow The Burden of Proof 11
Jean M. Auel The Plains of Passage 11
1991 Alexandra Ripley Scarlett 12
1992 John Grisham The Pelican Brief 12
1993 Robert James Waller The Bridges of Madison County 35
1994 James Redfield The Celestine Prophesy 13
1995 James Redfield The Celestine Prophesy 14
1996 Anonymous (Note 2) Primary Colors 9
1997 Charles Frazier Cold Mountain 14
1998 John Grisham The Street Lawyer 9
1999 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 10
2000 John Grisham The Brethren 9
2001 John Grisham A Painted House 4
Mary Higgins Clark On the Street Where You Live 4
James Patterson Suzanne Diary for Nicholas 4
Clive Cussler Valhalla Rising 4
John Grisham Skipping Christmas 4
2002 Alice Sebold The Lovely Bones 6
2003` Dan Brown The Da Vince Code 20
2004` Dan Brown The Da Vince Code 28
2005 Dan Brown The Da Vince Code 7
2006 Mitch Albom For One More Day 6
2007 Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns 13
2008 John Grisham The Appeal 5
2009 Dan Brown The Lost Symbol 7
2010 Steig Larsson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest 7
2011 Kathryn Stockett The Help 15
2012 E.L. James Fifty Shades of Gray 28
2013 Nicholas Sparks Safe Haven 7
2014 Donna Tartt The Goldfinch 4
Gillian Flynn Gone Girl 4
2015 Paula Hawkins The Girl on the Train 16
Note 1. Robert Traver is the pen name for John D. Voelker.
Note 2. “Anonymous” author later confirmed as political commentator and writer, Joe Klein.
Books with the Most Number of Weeks at No. 1 on BSL – Fiction:
Rank Number Author Year(s) Title
Of Weeks
- 59 Dan Brown 2003-2006 The Da Vinci Code
- 41 Erich Segal 1970-1971 Love Story
- 40 James Michener 1965-1966 The Source
- 39 James Michener 1960-1961 Hawaii
- 38 Richard Bach 1972-1973 Jonathan Livingston Seagull
- 38 Robert James Waller 1993-1995 The Bridges of Madison County
- 36 Leon Uris 1976-1977 Trinity
- 34 John le Carre 1964 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- 30 Arthur Hailey 1968 Airport
- 29 Saul Bellow 1964-1965 Herzog
- 29 E.L. James (Note 1) 2012, 2014 Fifty Shades of Gray
- 29 Robert Traver (Note 2) 1957 Anatomy of a Murder
- 28 Allen Drury 1959-1960 Advice and Consent
- 28 James Michener 1974-1975 Centennial
- 28 Jacqueline Susann 1966 Valley of the Dolls
- 27 James Redfield 1994-1995 The Celestine Prophecy
- 27 J.D. Salinger 1961-1962 Franny and Zooey
- 27 Irving Stone 1961 The Agony and the Ecstasy
- 26 Boris Pasternak 1958-1959 Dr. Zhivago
- 26 Katherine Anne Porter 1962 Ship of Fools
Note 1: Pen Name for Erika Mitchell.
Note 2: Pen name for John D. Voelker.
Branding. The following authors always or frequently title-brand their books in the manners set forth below:
Author Manner of Title-Branding
Janet Evanovich Numbers – Hot Six, Seven Up, Hard Eight, To the Nines ….
Sue Grafton Letters – “L” Is for Lawless, “N” Is for Noose, “P” Is for Peril, ….
Charlaine Harris Use of the word “Dead” – Dead and Gone, Dead in the Family, …
Steig Larsson The Girl Who …, The Girl with .…”
James Michener One-word titles – Hawaii, Centennial, Chesapeake, Space, .…
James Patterson Frequent use of Numbers – 1st to Due, 2nd Chance, 3rd Degree .…
Nora Roberts “in Death” series – Promises in Death, Fantasy in Death, ….
John Stanford “Prey” series – Easy Prey, Chosen Prey, Naked Prey .…
Author with the Longest Run on the BSL – Fiction: The author who has the most number of years between their first and last book on the BSL-Fiction is Stephen King with 36 years (1979 – 2015).
Conclusion
As has been noted above, there are many lists of best sellers. Although The New York Times Best Sellers List for Adult Fiction is one of the most important in discerning the reading choices of Americans, other valuable sources such as the lists for Non-Fiction and the recipients of the Pulitzer Prizes also needed to considered. This is done – albeit as only one small section — in my forthcoming 2-volume set of books entitled Dead Serious and Light Hearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America (1957-2015) (Working Title) (2 Volumes).
These books (hopefully to be published later this year) are the result of three years of research and writing. These books build upon the regrettable conclusion that currently in our country, history is poorly taught and rarely learned. To change this, they attempt to present the history of Modern America in a wholly new and creative manner through the assemblage and analysis of those words – the good and bad, the serious and the funny, the spoken and written, and from hundreds of sources — which best explain our heritage, best trigger our memories, and most profoundly have influenced our beliefs, opinions, and perspectives.
I hope that you may consider reserving a set of my forthcoming books — Dead Serious and Light Hearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America (1957-2015) (Working Title) (2 Volumes).
If you wish to reserve your set(s) of books with Brody & Schmitt Publishers, please just email me at mwborgen@live.com.
Please just indicate how many sets of Dead Serious and Light Heart – The Memorable Words of Modern America (1957-2015) (Working Title) you wish and your name and address. The cost for the 2-volume set is $49.99 plus $3.50 shipping or $44.99 per 2-volume set for orders of five or more sets plus shipping. All advance-order books will be signed by the author and shipped immediately upon publication. No payment is due until shipping.
Thank you.
