Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Sept. 20, which were reported on a confidential basis by vendors offering a wide range of general interest titles. Every week, thousands of diverse selling locations report their actual sales on hundreds of thousands of individual titles. The panel of reporting retailers is comprehensive and reflects sales in stores of all sizes and demographics across the United States.
An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales were barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A (b) indicates that some bookstores reported receiving bulk orders.
___
FICTION
1. THE SECRET OF SECRETS, by Dan Brown. (Doubleday) As he searches for the missing noetic scientist he has been seeing, Robert Langdon discovers something regarding a secret project.
LAST WEEK: 1
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
2. THE ACADEMY, by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham. (Little, Brown) Harmful rumors cause trouble for the students and staff at a New England boarding school.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
3. THE LAST LETTER, by Rebecca Yarros. (Amara) Ryan asks his friend Beckett to help his sister, who is caring for her twin children in Telluride.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
4. AMONG THE BURNING FLOWERS, by Samantha Shannon. (Bloomsbury) In this installment of the Roots of Chaos series, Marosa Vetalda and her betrothed seek to give rise to a better world.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
5. KATABASIS, by R.F. Kuang. (Harper Voyager) A pair of rival graduate students descend into the underworld to save their late professor and secure his recommendation.
LAST WEEK: 2
WEEKS ON LIST: 4
6. ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. (Red Tower) Evie Sage gets a job doing unspecified office duties for the most infamous villain in the kingdom of Rennedawn.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
7. BUCKEYE, by Patrick Ryan. (Random House) Consequences created by a secret forged between members of two families in a small Ohio town affect a new generation.
LAST WEEK: 6
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
8. ONYX STORM, by Rebecca Yarros. (Red Tower) The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies.
LAST WEEK: 15
WEEKS ON LIST: 35
9. ATMOSPHERE, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. (Ballantine) In the summer of 1980, Joan Goodwin begins training with a group of candidates for NASA’s space shuttle program.
LAST WEEK: 8
WEEKS ON LIST: 16
10. MY FRIENDS, by Fredrik Backman. (Atria) A young woman looks into the story behind a painting that was made 25 years ago and a small group of teens depicted in it; translated by Neil Smith.
LAST WEEK: 9
WEEKS ON LIST: 20
11. BROKEN COUNTRY, by Clare Leslie Hall. (Simon & Schuster) Beth must confront her past when the man she loved as a teenager returns to the village with his son.
LAST WEEK: 13
WEEKS ON LIST: 26
12. THE CORRESPONDENT, by Virginia Evans. (Crown) Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
13. THE COLOR OF DEATH, by Trey Gowdy with Christopher Greyson. (Fox News) After a tragedy strikes his family, an assistant district attorney investigates the murder of a young woman.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
14. FRAMED IN DEATH, by J.D. Robb. (St. Martin’s) The 61st book of the In Death series. Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a woman found in the doorway of two gallery owners’ home.
LAST WEEK: 3
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
15. QUICKSILVER, by Callie Hart. (Forever) Saeris is transported to a dangerous land of ice and snow, where she must contend with a Fae warrior who has suspect agendas.
LAST WEEK: 14
WEEKS ON LIST: 5
___
NONFICTION
New on the nonfiction list at No. 1: Matthew McConaughey’s collection. (Courtesy/Crown)
1. POEMS & PRAYERS, by Matthew McConaughey. (Crown) The actor and author of “Greenlights” explores elements of belief and reason that make up our lives.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
2. CONFRONTING EVIL, by Bill O’Reilly and Josh Hammer. (St. Martin’s) O’Reilly and Hammer profile some of history’s nefarious characters.
LAST WEEK: 1
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
3. ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER, by Elizabeth Gilbert. (Riverhead) The author of “Eat, Pray, Love” depicts her journey through a cycle involving self-destructive tendencies.
LAST WEEK: 2
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
4. THE BOOK OF SHEEN, by Charlie Sheen. (Gallery) The actor, known for his roles in “Platoon” and “Two and a Half Men,” shares stories about his life in Hollywood.
LAST WEEK: 4
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
5. HISTORY MATTERS, by David McCullough. (Simon & Schuster) A posthumous collection of essays by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author on history’s impact on our present and our future; edited by Dorie McCullough Lawson and Michael Hill.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
6. WE THE PEOPLE, by Jill Lepore. (Liveright) The author of “These Truths” examines the history of the U.S. Constitution and challenges its interpretation by the Supreme Court and the theory of originalism.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
7. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION, by Jonathan Haidt. (Penguin Press) A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the effects of a phone-based life on children’s mental health.
LAST WEEK: 5
WEEKS ON LIST: 78
8. IF ANYONE BUILDS IT, EVERYONE DIES, by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares. (Little, Brown) A warning regarding how machine superintelligence may bring about human extinction.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
9. BLACK AF HISTORY, by Michael Harriot. (Dey Street) A columnist at TheGrio.com articulates moments in American history that put at the center the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.
LAST WEEK: 10
WEEKS ON LIST: 17
10. WHY FASCISTS FEAR TEACHERS, by Randi Weingarten. (Thesis) The president of the American Federation of Teachers explains why fascist regimes clamp down on educators and reinforces the importance of teaching critical thinking skills. (b)
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
11. NIGHT PEOPLE, by Mark Ronson. (Grand Central) The award-winning record producer recounts his time as a DJ in New York in the 1990s.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
12. DEAD CENTER, Joe Manchin. (St. Martin’s) The former senator from West Virginia recalls his time in government. (b)
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
13. REPLACEABLE YOU, by Mary Roach. (Norton) The author of “Fuzz” looks at efforts to create replacement human body parts.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
14. LISTENING TO THE LAW, by Amy Coney Barrett. (Sentinel) The U.S. Supreme Court justice explains her approach to interpreting the Constitution and recounts some personal and professional experiences.
LAST WEEK: 3
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
15. ON POWER, by Mark R. Levin. (Threshold Editions) The Fox News host considers facets of power and its effect on history.
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 7
___
The New York Times bestsellers are compiled and archived by the bestseller lists desk of The New York Times news department and are separate from the culture, advertising and business sides of The New York Times Co. More information on rankings and methodology: nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/methodology.
