Children’s books are in the spotlight in this week’s charts. The big news there is that, with impeccable Christmas timing, a new David Walliams book has hit the shelves and manages to nab two spots in the Children’s Top 10: Code Name Bananas is in at nos. 2 and 3 in that category, and nos. 2 and 11 in the overall Top 20. Significantly, not at no. 1 in either chart, which must be a first! Topping Walliams in the Children’s Top 10 is another big seller, Jeff Kinney with book fifteen (yes!) in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: The Deep End. The Children’s Top 10 also has some new names, with Darragh McCullough at no. 9 with The Great Irish Farm Book; Break the Mould: How to Take Your Place in the World by Sinéad Burke at no. 4; and The Chill Skill by Niall Breslin at no. 7 – perhaps a book we could all do with reading these days!
Our featured book this week is at no. 3 in the Top 20. A Page From My Life by Ray D’Arcy looks like a fabulous book, to cheer us all up and share our stories in these troubled times. Here’s the blurb:
‘We asked listeners to be honest, creative, funny, engaging and evocative in their writing … to try to make us laugh, cry and think. We never imagined we would get the quantity and quality of entries that we did for A Page from My Life.’ – Ray D’Arcy
In the midst of the Covid crisis, the Ray D’Arcy Show invited RTÉ Radio 1 listeners to send in ‘A Page from My Life’: 500 words on a memorable event, or a story simply worth sharing. The response was overwhelming. Ray and his team were inundated with over 2,500 entries, from authors of all ages and all walks of life.
And what those entries created was an extraordinary picture of Irish life in microcosm. Funny and heart-breaking, poignant and surprising, they told a series of unforgettable stories … moments that changed everything, and where life itself seemed to hang in the balance. Quiet reflections on the meaning of love and loss. Hilarious tales of everyday mishaps, chance encounters, and feats of pure imagination. It was a timely reminder of the experiences and values that unite us, even as circumstances contrived to keep us apart.
Introduced by the Ray D’Arcy Show judges – bestselling authors Donal Ryan (The Spinning Heart), Emilie Pine (Notes to Self), Emer McLysaght (the Aisling series) and Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl) – A Page From My Life gathers 150 of these stories to form an exhilarating and moving testament to the wonder of everyday life.
And now this week’s charts:
Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 7th November 2020 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Author | Publisher Group | Sales | |
1 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (Book 15) | Kinney, Jeff | Penguin Grp | 2,762 |
2 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins Grp | 2,663 |
3 | Page from My Life,A:A Selection of Stories from Ray D’Arcy Show Listen | HarperCollins Grp | 2,249 | |
4 | Beyond the Tape:The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist | Cassidy, Marie | Hachette Books Ireland Grp | 1,676 |
5 | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse,The | Mackesy, Charlie | Random House Grp | 1,554 |
6 | Guinness World Records 2021 | Guinness World Records | Guinness Publisher Group | 1,518 |
7 | Old Ireland in Colour | John Breslin & Buckley, Sarah-Anne | Other Publisher Groups | 1,283 |
8 | Home Stretch | Norton, Graham | Hodder & Stoughton Grp | 1,242 |
9 | How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet | Fitzpatrick, Professor Noel | Orion Grp | 1,233 |
10 | Sentinel,The:(Jack Reacher 25) | Child, Lee & Child, Andrew | Transworld Grp | 1,012 |
11 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins Grp | 931 |
12 | Champagne Football:John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football | Tighe, Mark & Rowan, Paul | Penguin Grp | 911 |
13 | Monk,The:The Life and Crimes of Ireland’s Most Enigmatic Gang Boss | Williams, Paul | Atlantic Books Grp | 843 |
14 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Owens, Delia | Little, Brown Book Grp | 831 |
15 | Thursday Murder Club,The | Osman, Richard | Penguin Grp | 654 |
16 | Break the Mould:How to Take Your Place in the World | Burke, Sinéad | Hachette Children’s Grp | 635 |
17 | Beano Annual:2021 | D.C. Thomson Grp | 624 | |
18 | Snow | Banville, John | Faber Grp | 619 |
19 | Light That Never Goes Out,A:A Memoir | Shanley, Keelin | Gill Group | 608 |
20 | Rory’s Story:My Unexpected Journey to Self Belief | O’Connor, Rory & Crowe, Dermot | Gill Group | 551 |
Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 7th November 2020 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mass Market Fiction | ||||
Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
1 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Owens, Delia | Corsair | 831 |
2 | Family Gift,The | Kelly, Cathy | Orion (an Imprint of The Orion | 356 |
3 | Of Mice and Men | Steinbeck, Mr John | Penguin Books Ltd | 302 |
4 | Guest List,The | Foley, Lucy | HarperCollins Publishers | 300 |
5 | Silent Patient,The | Michaelides, Alex | Orion (an Imprint of The Orion | 293 |
6 | Little Fires Everywhere | Ng, Celeste | Little, Brown Book Group | 253 |
7 | Milkman | Burns, Anna | Faber & Faber | 243 |
8 | Beekeeper of Aleppo,The | Lefteri, Christy | Manilla Press | 178 |
9 | Fifty-Fifty | Cavanagh, Steve | Orion (an Imprint of The Orion | 173 |
10 | Girl, Woman, Other | Evaristo, Bernardine | Penguin Books Ltd | 168 |
Original Fiction | ||||
Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
1 | Home Stretch | Norton, Graham | Coronet Books | 1,242 |
2 | Sentinel,The:(Jack Reacher 25) | Child, Lee & Child, Andrew | Bantam Press | 1,012 |
3 | Thursday Murder Club,The | Osman, Richard | Viking | 654 |
4 | Snow | Banville, John | Faber & Faber | 619 |
5 | Love | Doyle, Roddy | Jonathan Cape | 458 |
6 | Time for Mercy,A | Grisham, John | Hodder & Stoughton | 401 |
7 | After the Silence | O’Neill, Louise | riverrun | 338 |
8 | Braywatch | O’Carroll-Kelly, Ross | Penguin Ireland | 330 |
9 | Searcher,The | French, Tana | Viking | 286 |
10 | Thursday Murder Club,The | Osman, Richard | Viking | 284 |
Paperback Non Fiction | ||||
Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
1 | Beyond the Tape:The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist | Cassidy, Marie | Hachette Books Ireland | 1,676 |
2 | How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet | Fitzpatrick, Professor Noel | Trapeze | 1,233 |
3 | Champagne Football:John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football | Tighe, Mark & Rowan, Paul | Penguin Ireland | 911 |
4 | Monk,The:The Life and Crimes of Ireland’s Most Enigmatic Gang Boss | Williams, Paul | Allen & Unwin | 843 |
5 | Rory’s Story:My Unexpected Journey to Self Belief | O’Connor, Rory & Crowe, Dermot | Gill Books | 551 |
6 | Oh My God, What a Complete Diary 2021 | McLysaght, Emer & Breen, Sarah | Gill Books | 396 |
7 | Philadelphia, Here I Come | Friel, Brian | Faber And Faber Plays | 380 |
8 | In Bed with the Blueshirts | Ross, Shane | Atlantic Books | 336 |
9 | With Hope in Your Heart:The Seán Cox Story | Cox, Martina & Keogh, Susan | Gill Books | 333 |
10 | Atomic Habits:The life-changing million copy bestseller | Clear, James | Random House Business Books | 333 |
Hardback Non Fiction | ||||
Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
1 | Page from My Life,A:A Selection of Stories from Ray D’Arcy Show Listen | HarperCollins | 2,249 | |
2 | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse,The | Mackesy, Charlie | Ebury Press | 1,554 |
3 | Guinness World Records 2021 | Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records | 1,518 |
4 | Old Ireland in Colour | John Breslin & Buckley, Sarah-Anne | Merrion Press | 1,283 |
5 | Light That Never Goes Out,A:A Memoir | Shanley, Keelin | Gill Books | 608 |
6 | What is Beautiful in the Sky:A book about endings and beginnings | Harding, Michael | Hachette Books Ireland | 530 |
7 | That Place We Call Home:A journey through the place names of Ireland | Creedon, John | Gill Books | 522 |
8 | Fuel | O’Brien, Sean | Penguin Ireland | 500 |
9 | C’mere and I Tell Ya:The 2 Johnnies Guide to Irish Life | McMahon, Johnny & O’Brien, Johnny | Sandycove | 494 |
10 | Twilight Together:Portraits of Ireland at Home | Medjber, Ruth | Doubleday Ireland | 489 |
Childrens | ||||
Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
1 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (Book 15) | Kinney, Jeff | Puffin | 2,762 |
2 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 2,663 |
3 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 931 |
4 | Break the Mould:How to Take Your Place in the World | Burke, Sinéad | Wren & Rook | 635 |
5 | Beano Annual:2021 | D.C. Thomson & Co., | 624 | |
6 | Dog Man 9: Grime and Punishment | Pilkey, Dav | Scholastic U.S. | 475 |
7 | Chill Skill,The | Breslin, Niall | Gill Books | 467 |
8 | Official Liverpool FC Annual 2021,The | Platt, Mark | Grange Communications | 386 |
9 | Great Irish Farm Book,The | McCullough, Darragh | Gill Books | 385 |
10 | Is There Anybody Out There? | O Briain, Dara | Scholastic | 334 |