Six of ten best sellers in 2014 made into movies

Which came first, the book or the movie?
It is time to close the book on the year 2014, but before we do, here is a look at Copperfield’s top ten best selling books of last year.
The old question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, is one that can be reprised for this year’s list. The bestselling book may have come first but the making of a movie based on the book has ensured six books a spot in the top 10. Those books include The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (#2), Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (#3), Maze Runner by James Dashner (#5), Divergent (#8), and Insurgent (#9), both by Veronica Roth and Wild (#10).
“This (books made into movies) is definitely a trend we are seeing more now, this is the first time in the last six years that I have been analyzing the list that we have had this many best sellers that have been made into movies,” said Vicki DeArmon, Marketing & Events Director for Copperfield’s Books.
The top Copperfield’s Books seller for 2014 was Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Golden Book, a gift book by Diane Muldrow that sold nearly a thousand copies by reprising the lessons of the Golden Book series for the generation that grew up on them.
“This book appeals to a broad audience and it has a nostalgic feel. Each page is a different Golden Book, if you remember those little books with the gold binding, they have been around since the ‘50s. It’s cute is what it is, for the adults that grew up with them,” said Michelle Bellah, one of Copperfield’s book buyers.
The #3 bestseller was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Distant Neighbors by Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder took the #6 spot due to Copperfield’s well attended event with the authors in June 2014. Word-of-mouth favorite, Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown took the #7 spot.
“Our best sellers really are truly generated by our community and our book sellers in our individual stores,” said Sheryl Cotleur, Adult book buyer at Copperfield’s noting that there are always a few books, like the All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, that also make the national best sellers list. (Doerr being named The New York Times #1 seller this year.)
Fiction dominated in 2014, with a few memoirs breaking through. The next ten bestsellers were in large part a result of Copperfield’s Books events featuring touring authors. Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings, Henry Trione’s Footprints of the Baker Boy, Cary Elwes’ As You Wish, Tom Robbins’ memoir Tibetan Peach Pie, and Anne Rice’s Prince Lestat, all generated hundreds of copies sold at Copperfield’s Books.
“We track our best sellers every week and we have a table with 20 percent discounts that we offer on our best sellers, you will find many of these on that table,” said DeArmon.
Also notable in this category were the novels All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Orphan Train by Christina Kline, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Bay Area author Robin Sloan, and A Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.
“We certainly matched fiction sales with other stores in other regions in the country. For kid books, I think humor is a trend both nationally and here. People really seem to be responding to books like “The Day the Crayons Quit,” because they are funny and appeal to adults as well,” said Bellah.
Children’s bestsellers include Smarty Marty’s Got Game by Amy Gutierrez, also known as Amy G., Giants’ in-game reporter for Comcast SportsNet, which captured the top spot, just like last year, due to the popularity of the book, the Giants, as well as the numerous visits to schools throughout the region. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul took the #2 spot overall. The movie Frozen generated three top sellers for kids: Frozen: Little Golden Book (#3), Journey to the Ice Palace (#6), and Anna’s Act of Love (#9). John Green captured the #4 post with his Young Adult novel, Looking For Alaska as well as the #8 spot with Paper Towns. Rick Riordan took the #5 spot with his Heroes of Olympus series: The Blood of Olympus. A hilarious picture book by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, The Day the Crayons Quit, was Copperfield’s #7 top seller in children’s books overall.
Copperfield’s has seven local locations and is an independent bookstore. Their buyers read books ahead of customers and staff to help project best sellers and presents to the community the best books. Many times the bookstore has free evenings with the authors. A full calendar can be found online at www.copperfieldsbooks.com.