The 100 bestselling books at Readings in 2016
Here are our 100 bestselling books from the past year.
(We’ve also compiled our 20 bestselling CDs of 2016 and our 20 bestselling DVDs of 2016.)
We’re thrilled to see several books from smart, powerful women listed in our top ten bestsellers. This includes non-fiction works from Gloria Steinem, Clementine Ford and Helen Garner, as well as compelling, feminist fiction from Charlotte Wood, Hannah Kent and Elena Ferrante.
Of the 100 books below…
- 39 are fiction (including two scripts by J.K. Rowling, five translated works and six debuts from Australian authors)
- 20 are non-fiction (including three Quarterly Essays and just the one colouring book)
- 17 are children’s and young adult books (including two recent film adaptations)
- 12 are biographies or memoirs (including two provocative, necessary reads from Maxine Beneba Clarke and Stan Grant)
- 6 are cookbooks (including two from Readings favourite, Hetty McKinnon)
- 6 are crime fiction (including Jane Harper’s much-hyped first novel)
Of the 107 authors (as well as illustrators, translators, anthology editors and food photographers) listed here, 52 are female and 54 are Australian. Authors Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton, Stan Grant, Hetty McKinnon, J.K. Rowling, Liane Moriarty and Hannah Kent each have two books featured, while the phenomenal Elena Ferrante has all four books of her Neapolitan quartet. (And deservedly so – if you haven’t read these books yet then you’re missing out.)
A number of the books listed here are prize winners, including our very own staff member A.S. Patrić’s 2016 Miles Franklin winner, Black Rock White City. We’re particularly delighted to see the winners of both the Readings Children’s Book Prize and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction here too. Both come with our highest recommendation.
100. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
99. Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
98. Iris and the Tiger by Leanne Hall
97. Our Magic Hour by Jennifer Down
96. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
95. This Annoying Life by Oslo Davis
94. The Whites by Richard Price
93. The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore
92. Do Not Open This Book by Andy Lee and Heath McKenzie
91. The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
90. Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
89. The Age Good Food Guide 2017 edited by Roslyn Grundy
88. Fucking Apostrophes by Simon Griffin
87. The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver
86. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
85. Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
84. Night School by Lee Child
83. Barkskins by Annie Proulx
82. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith)
81. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
80. Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
79. Rather be the Devil by Ian Rankin
78. The Art of Cycling by Cadel Evans
77. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
76. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
75. Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen
74. Balancing Act - Australia Between Recession and Renewal (Quarterly Essay 61) by George Megalogenis
73. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
72. Grant and I by Robert Forster
71. A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
70. Lots by Marc Martin
69. Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 11) by Jeff Kinney
68. The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook by Broadsheet
67. Paul Keating: The Big-Picture Leader by Troy Bramston
66. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta
65. Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar
64. The Girls by Emma Cline
63. Hope Farm by Peggy Frew
62. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
61. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
60. The North Water by Ian McGuire
59. The Australian Dream: Blood, History and Becoming (Quarterly Essay 64) by Stan Grant
58. The Midnight Gang by David Walliams and Tony Ross
57. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
56. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
55. The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet by Michael Mosley
54. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
53. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
52. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo (translated by Cathy Hirano)
51. Working Class Boy by Jimmy Barnes
50. The Treehouse Fun Book by Andy Griffiths, Jill Griffiths and Terry Denton
49. Light and Shadow by Mark Colvin
48. True Girt by David Hunt
47. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
46. Enemy Within – American Politics in the Time of Trump (Quarterly Essay 63) by Don Watson
45. Run, Pip, Run by J.C. Jones
44. Hope: An anthology by various
43. Nutshell by Ian McEwan
42. Gut by Giulia Enders (translated by David Shaw)
41. The Moroccan Soup Bar by Hana Assafiri
40. The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey
39. Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler
38. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
37. Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy
36. Alimentari by Linda Malcolm and Paul Jones
35. Smith & Daughters by Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse
34. The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
33. In My Heart by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
32. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
31. Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
30. The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke
29. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
28. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
27. Swing Time by Zadie Smith
26. The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
25. Reckoning by Magda Szubanski
24. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
23. Neighbourhood by Hetty McKinnon (photography by Luisa Brimble)
22. Music and Freedom by Zoë Morrison
21. The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
20. The Road to Ruin by Niki Savva
19. Community by Hetty McKinnon (photography by Luisa Brimble)
18. The Boy Behind the Curtain by Tim Winton
17. The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith
16. The Dry by Jane Harper
15. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
14. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
13. Talking to My Country by Stan Grant
12. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
11. The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Our top ten bestselling books are…
10. The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
9. Black Rock White City by A.S. Patrić
8. The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
7. My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
6. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
5. The Good People by Hannah Kent
4. Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
3. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
2. Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford
And our number one bestselling book of 2016 is…
1. The 78-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
If you have children in your life then you probably already know that Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton are kids lit royalty. This latest instalment of their very funny illustrated series set in an incredible ever-expanding treehouse broke records last year to become the fastest ever-selling Australian book. Congratulations to Andy and Terry!
