Well, we’ve had a few exciting days. Let’s just take a breath tonight and contemplate the top selling books sold by Alberta’s independent booksellers during the week ended Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.
No. 1 on the non-fiction list last week is Our Only Home, by the 14th Dalai Lama, subtitled “A Climate Appeal to the World.” Reading that saving the climate is our common duty seems like an appropriate way to start the year 2021. In this book, one of the most influential figures of our time calls on political decision makers to finally stand up for a different, more climate-friendly world and for the younger generation to assert their right to regain their future.
The lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, whose statistical boffins took a break over the holiday. Their calculations include sales by Audreys Books in Edmonton and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton.
ALBERTA FICTION BESTSELLERS
1. How to Pronounce Knife – Souvankham Thammavongsa (McClelland & Stewart)
2. Anxious People – Fredrik Backman (Atria Books)
3. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy (HarperCollins)
4. The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett (Riverhead Books)
5. The Glass Hotel – Emily St. John Mandel (HarperCollins)
6. Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce (Dial Press)
7. The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman (Viking)
8. The Finder – Will Ferguson (Simon & Schuster) *
9. Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)
10. Dune – Frank Herbert (Ace Books)
ALBERTA NON-FICTION BESTSELLERS
1. Our Only Home – Dalai Lama (Hanover Square Press)
2. Economics for Everyone – Jim Stanford (Fernwood Publishing)
3. 111 Places in Calgary That You Must Not Miss – Jennifer Bain (Emons)
4. Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions)
5. Extraordinary Canadians – Peter Mansbridge (Simon & Schuster)
6. Home Body – Rupi Kaur (Simon & Schuster)
7. A Promised Land – Barack Obama (Crown)
8. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey (Simon & Schuster)
9. Untamed – Glennon Doyle (The Dial Press)
10. Vertical Reference – Kathy Calvert (Rocky Mountain Books) * +
* Alberta Author + Alberta Publisher
The independent bookstores contributing to this weekly list are:
Audreys Books, Edmonton
Cafe Books, Canmore
Drawn to Books, Edmonton
Glass Bookshop, Edmonton
Monkeyshines Books, Calgary
Owl’s Nest Books, Calgary
Pages on Kensington, Calgary
Shelf Life Books, Calgary
The Next Page, Calgary
Three Hills Books, Three Hills
Jan 11, 2121
No article this morning. I am glad you (and political events) have finally given yourself a day off. Stay safe, David.
As someone who has taken the time and effort to visit his home in Mcleod Ganj, I applaud our host for allowing a message that doesn’t demean. Once again, some of us apologize for all the failings of our poor and poorer species. What I learned there? If you make a mess, do your best to clean it up. I’m low on the wheel though, so your mileage may vary! https://youtu.be/6Mii1OM-cKQ