Monday, August 17, 2009
Bestseller Lists for July '09
Both bestseller lists for Christian fiction have now been posted. These are ECPA's August list and CBA's September list--both reflecting sales in the month of July. (The ECPA list is always titled one month beyond the sales, and the CBA list is always titled two months beyond--confusing, I know.) I have highlighted books appearing on one list and not the other in blue. Numbers in parentheses reflect the books ranking on each of the organization's Top Fifty list. Fiction did well this month on the Top Fifty lists, with fourteen on the CBA list, and eighteen on ECPA.
CBA (Christian Booksellers Association)
1. (2) Take Two, Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan
2. (4) The Shack, William P. Young, Windblown Media
3. (6) Take One, Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan
4. (17) Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers, Multnomah (WaterBrook)
5. (27) Any Minute, Joyce Meyer & Deborah Bedford, FaithWords (Hachette)
6. (31) A Surrendered Heart, Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller, Bethany House (Baker)
7. (32) The Centurion’s Wife, Davis Bunn & Janette Oke, Bethany House (Baker)
8. (34) The Secret, Beverly Lewis, Bethany House (Baker)
9. (37) BoneMan’s Daughters, Ted Dekker, Center Street (Hachette)
10. (40) A Bride in the Bargain, Deeanne Gist, Bethany House (Baker)
11. (43) Fireproof, Eric Wilson & Alex Kendrick, Thomas Nelson
12. (46) Kiss, Ted Dekker, Thomas Nelson
13. (48) That Certain Spark, Cathy Hake, Bethany House (Baker)
14. (49) Double Minds, Terri Blackstock, Zondervan
15. A Dream to Call My Own, Tracie Peterson, Bethany House (Baker)
16. The Justice Game, Randy Singer, Tyndale
17. Higher Hope, Robert Whitlow, Thomas Nelson
18. A Gift of Grace, Amy Clipston, Zondervan
19. Coming Attractions, Robin Jones Gunn, Zondervan
20. Oceans Apart, Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan
ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association)
1. (1) Take Two, Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan
2. (3) The Shack, William P. Young, Windblow Media.
3. (6) Take One, Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan
4. (12) Circle Trilogy: Black/Red/White, Ted Dekker, Thomas Nelson
5. (16) A Bride in the Bargain, Deeanne Gist, Bethany House/Baker
6. (17) The Secret, Beverly Lewis, Bethany House/Baker
7. (24) Fireproof, Eric Wilson, Thomas Nelson
8. (25) BoneMan's Daughters, Ted Dekker, Center Street
9. (26) A Gift of Grace, Amy Clipston, Zondervan
10. (27) Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers, Waterbrook/Multnomah
11. (30) Double Minds, Terri Blackstock, Zondervan
12. (32) The Centurion's Wife, Janette Oke, Bethany House/Baker
13. (35) Higher Hope, Robert Whitlow, Thomas Nelson
14. (38) Any Minute, Deborah Bedford, FaithWords
15. (39) A Cousin's Promise, Wanda E. Brunstetter, Barbour
16. (42) Deeper Water, Robert Whitlow, Thomas Nelson
17. (46) Michal, Jill Eileen Smith, Revell/Baker
18. (47) Coming Attractions, Robin Jones Gunn, Zondervan
19. A Dream to Call My Own, Tracie Peterson, Bethany House/Baker
20. Plain Perfect, Beth Wiseman, Thomas Nelson
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4 comments:
While I haven't read many of those titles and want to get to Ted Dekker's novels, don't you think Double Minds, by Terri Blackstock deserves a higher rating. It's not just her outstanding writing, but her ability to deliver a message that is so applicable today that makes this book great. It's also sort of a fictionalized auto-biography of this great author.
Interesting. I guess I haven't paid too much attention to these lists. Why would they not be the same? ie. why are some books on one list but not on the other? Where do they get their numbers from?
There are numerous answers as to why the lists are different. First, bookstores reporting their sales data to CBA may not report to ECPA or vice versa, so you have different stores reporting. Second data are crunched differently. ECPA notes that a book "must have sales in at least 20% of reporting stores during at least one week of the represented reporting cycle to be placed on the list." In other words, whereas the CBA list may include a novel that sold a huge amount in only one area of the country, the ECPA looks for book sales that are more evenly spaced across geographical areas.
It's not only Christian lists that vary. Differing bestseller lists in the general market are also the norm because, again, each list uses its own data. The NYT list, the USA Today list, the Publishers' Weekly list will all look different.
Makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to answer, Brandilyn.
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