The Best Selling Non-Fiction Books of 2019
Personal memoirs & history lead the field
In a recent story, I looked at the best selling non-fiction books of the 2010s. In this story, I look at the best selling non-fiction books this year.
The methodology is different from the list for the decade, in which I used weeks spent at number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list as a proxy for sales. For this list, I considered the top 5 best selling non-fiction books each week according to the New York Times. The period covered is forty-nine weeks, from 6 January to 8 December. I weighted the place each week exponentially, so first place was worth 1 point, second place 0.707, third place 0.577, fourth 0.5, fifth 0.447. For the mathematically inclined, the score is the rank to the power of minus one half.
I’ll count down the top 10, before revealing the complete top 20. The number of weeks on the chart and highest position relate only to weeks in 2019. Some entered the charts in 2018 too.
10. Me by Elton John
Weeks on chart: 5 Highest position: 1
