USA Today 15 Year list 1993-2008

The fifteenth anniversary of USA Today's bestseller list occurred in October 23, 2008 - they started Oct 28, 1993. So, I'm doing a comparison between the LT list of most commonly owned vs. the USA list. Lots of commonality on the fiction side.

USA Today Rank
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. LT # 1 - 36,782 owners - 359 reviews - rating = 4.23
2. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution by Robert C Atkins. LT # 3763 - 749 owners - 5 reviews - rating = 3.1
3. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. LT #7 - 26,468 owners - 589 reviews - rating = 3.54
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. LT # 8 - 25,451 owners - 699 reviews - rating = 4.43
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. LT #3 - 32,811 owners - 241 reviews - rating = 4.24.
6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling. LT # 2 - 34,196 owners - 345 reviews - rating =4.34
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling. LT # 4 - 32,132 owners - 222 reviews - rating = 4.10
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling. LT # 5 - 31,818 owners - 230 reviews - rating = 4.40
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling. LT # 6 - 31,607 owners - 224 reviews - rating = 4.35
10. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. LT # 978 - 2,167 owners - 26 reviews - rating = 3.33. (this is a management motivation book)

One can see the powr of the Harry Potter books.

A fairly depressing list, but the presence of dreck like the Da Vinci Code is especially appalling.

Surely Oregon you ascribe more discrimination to the average reader than is warranted!

I am planning to put in the next ten bestsellers on the list, and so on. I absolutely had never heard of Who Moved My Cheese. It has the second lowest rating on the list, and although it may hae sold well, people haven't held on to it like, say Harry Potter.

I actually like Harry Potter; but I must confess my critical faculties were suspended while reading the "Da Vinci Code." It was good page turner. However, I am not waiting anxiously for Solomon's Key to come out, if it ever does.

The next ten bestsellers 1993-2008 in USA Today:

11. The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston. LT # 2689 - 977 owners - 9 reviews - rating = 3.53.
12. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. LT # 184 - 5971 owners - 112 reviews - rating = 3.86.
13. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. LT # 20 - 15,093 owners - 320 reviews - rating = 3.66.
14. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway. LT # 2577 - 1,038 owners - 12 reviews - rating = 3.59.
15. The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. LT # 416 - 3,673 owners - 42 reviews - rating = 3.44.
16. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. LT # 194 - 5,736 owners - 135 reviews - rating = 3.70.
17. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. LT # 286 - 4,617 owners - 33 reviews - rating = 3.84.
18. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. LT # 16 - 17,258 owners - 492 reviews - rating = 4.29.
19. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray. LT # 1409, 1,632 owners - 18 reviews - rating = 3.25.
20. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. LT # 1389 - 1,708 owners - 40 reviews - rating = 3.32.

This is where the popular buying of books and the catalog entries of LTers really diverge. Only 2 of the second USA 10 are in the top LT 100.

Bestsellers 21-30 from USA Today

21. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. LT # 1035 - 2,076 owners - 29 reviews - rating = 3.67.
22. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. LT # 13 - 20,294 owners - 260 reviews - rating = 4.47. not an evergreen for USA Today
23. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson. LT # 2001 - 1,234 owners - 10 reviews - rating = 3.51.
24. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. LT # 80 - 8,727 owners - 200 reviews - rating = 3.96.
25. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. LT # 239 - 5,112 owners - 212 reviews - rating = 3.90.
26. The Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. LT # 67 - 10,904 owners - 580 reviews - rating = 4.34.
27. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. LT # 403 - 3,699 owners - 73 reviews - rating = 3.90.
28. The Memory Keeper's Daughter byKim Edwards. LT # 186 - 5,817 owners - 218 reviews - rating = 3.49.
29. The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger. LT # 12 - 21,714 owners - 257 reviews - rating = 3.99. not an evergreen for USA Today
30. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. LT # 27 - 13,639 owners - 181 reviews - rating = 4.05.

Oh Gosh - I've read every one of these! Say what you like about J.K. Rowling but she's a more convincing writer than Spencer Who Moved My Cheese Johnson.

I've read all the Harry Potter books and liked them. I have not read Who Moved My Cheese, and have not been encouraged.

In the second ten, I've only read two, and my wife, three more.

I've read three in the third ten, including To Kill a Mockingbird, which is an evergreen. Most bestseller lists do not include books like that (New York Times or Publishers Weekly). My wife has read two more.

"A fairly depressing list, but the presence of dreck like the Da Vinci Code is especially appalling."

I agree

The kite runner
Finished reading: 29 January 2011



I have nothing with this book, and only read it because it was a free gift in a bundle. Usually, I try to stay away from bestsellers, especially those linked up with current affairs. I was even more abhorred to find out the author is a lawyer or a dentist who has lived in the US since an early age, so yes, it is fiction, riding the wave, I suppose.

To be honest, then again, I have to admit that the book was more readable than I expected, and probably does tell us something about reality.

Eat, pray, love. One woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia
Finished reading: 16 April 2011



This book is not about Rome, Bali or Indonesia. It is all and only about the author's navel staring. What a pathetic drag-on of self-complaint. The cover should have warned me (eating ice-cream on a bench in Rome). Perhaps this is what is called chick-lit? If so, the epithet would be well-chosen.