The charts always seem a little strange at this time of year as they are a week in arrears, but Christmas sales were healthy despite the restrictations and the Irish Christmas No 1 is a wonderful book that we featured previously – Old Ireland in Colour. We’re thrilled to see sales so healthy for this beautiful book published by Irish publisher, Merrion Press. It’s a must have for every Irish household wherever you are in the world.
This week we’re featuring a glorious book for children (and a few adults may benefit from it!) published by Gill Books: Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science: A Scientist’s Guide to the Biggest Challenges Facing Our Species Today – a book not just for Christmas, but one that’s relevant all year. Voted the Ireland AM Popular Non Fiction Book of the Year at this years An Post Irish Book Awards, it’s fascinating and thought-provoking, and packed full of wisdom.
Professor Luke O’Neill, one of the leading voices of authority during the COVID-19 pandemic, grapples with life’s biggest questions and tells us what science has to say about them: Do we have control over our lives? Can we escape working in bullshit jobs? Must we vaccinate our children? Are men and women’s brains different? Will we destroy the planet? Covering topics from global pandemics to gender, addiction to euthanasia, Luke’s trademark easy wit and clever pop-culture references deconstruct the science to make complex questions accessible. Arriving at science’s definitive answers to some of the most controversial topics human beings have to grapple with, Never Mind the B#ll*ocks is a celebration of science and hard facts in a time of fake news and sometimes unhelpful groupthink.
Order your copy online here from Eason, or call your local bookstore for a copy.
Here’s the top 20, with data supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 19th December 2020:
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Old Ireland in Colour | Breslin, John & Buckley, Sarah-Anne | Merrion Press | 9,036 |
| 2 | Champagne Football:John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: Th | Tighe, Mark & Rowan, Paul | Penguin Ireland | 7,385 |
| 3 | Home Stretch:THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH | Norton, Graham | Coronet Books | 5,883 |
| 4 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 5,772 |
| 5 | Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science:A scientist’s guide to the | O’Neill, Luke | Gill Books | 5,489 |
| 6 | Beyond the Tape:The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist | Cassidy, Marie | Hachette Books Ireland | 5,276 |
| 7 | Promised Land,A | Obama, Barack | Viking | 4,995 |
| 8 | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse,The | Mackesy, Charlie | Ebury Press | 4,762 |
| 9 | Thursday Murder Club,The:The Record-Breaking Sunday Times Number One B | Osman, Richard | Viking | 4,189 |
| # | Guinness World Records 2021 | Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records | 3,929 |
| # | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (Book 15):Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Kinney, Jeff | Puffin | 3,898 |
| # | Snow | Banville, John | Faber & Faber | 2,909 |
| # | Light That Never Goes Out,A:A Memoir | Shanley, Keelin | Gill Books | 2,714 |
| # | That Place We Call Home:A journey through the place names of Ireland | Creedon, John | Gill Books | 2,642 |
| # | Waterford Whispers News 2020 | Williamson, Colm | Gill Books | 2,606 |
| # | Here’s the Story:A Memoir | McAleese, Mary | Penguin Ireland | 2,569 |
| # | Page from My Life,A:A Selection of Stories from Ray D’Arcy Show Listen | HarperCollins | 2,462 | |
| # | Sentinel,The:(Jack Reacher 25):Jack Reacher | Child, Lee & Child, Andrew | Bantam Press | 2,456 |
| # | Ickabog,The:A warm and witty fairy-tale adventure to entertain the who | Rowling, J.K. | Little, Brown Books for Young | 2,452 |
| # | Braywatch | O’Carroll-Kelly, Ross | Penguin Ireland | 2,366 |
And here are the top 10 in each category:
| Mass Market Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Owens, Delia | Corsair | 1,938 |
| 2 | Guest List,The | Foley, Lucy | HarperCollins Publishers | 1,103 |
| 3 | Agent Running in the Field | Carré, John le | Penguin Books Ltd | 824 |
| 4 | Girl, Woman, Other:WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 | Evaristo, Bernardine | Penguin Books Ltd | 746 |
| 5 | Beekeeper of Aleppo,The:The Sunday Times Bestseller and Richard & Judy | Lefteri, Christy | Manilla Press | 656 |
| 6 | Family Gift,The:A heartwarming comfort read for Autumn 2020 from the # | Kelly, Cathy | Orion | 639 |
| 7 | Silent Patient,The:The record-breaking, multimillion copy Sunday Times | Michaelides, Alex | Orion | 435 |
| 8 | Giver of Stars,The:Fall in love with the enchanting 2020 Sunday Times | Moyes, Jojo | Penguin Books Ltd | 425 |
| 9 | Conversations with Friends | Rooney, Sally | Faber & Faber | 399 |
| 10 | Normal People | Rooney, Sally | Faber & Faber | 390 |
| Original Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Home Stretch:THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH | Norton, Graham | Coronet Books | 5,883 |
| 2 | Thursday Murder Club,The:The Record-Breaking Sunday Times Number One B | Osman, Richard | Viking | 4,189 |
| 3 | Snow | Banville, John | Faber & Faber | 2,909 |
| 4 | Sentinel,The:(Jack Reacher 25):Jack Reacher | Child, Lee & Child, Andrew | Bantam Press | 2,456 |
| 5 | Braywatch | O’Carroll-Kelly, Ross | Penguin Ireland | 2,366 |
| 6 | Strange Flowers:The Number One Bestseller | Ryan, Donal | Doubleday Ireland | 1,964 |
| 7 | After the Silence | O’Neill, Louise | riverrun | 1,700 |
| 8 | Hamnet | O’Farrell, Maggie | Tinder Press | 1,694 |
| 9 | Law of Innocence,The:The Brand New Lincoln Lawyer Thriller:Mickey Hall | Connelly, Michael | Orion | 1,654 |
| 10 | It’s That Time of Year:A heartwarming festive read from the Number One | Meaney, Roisin | Hachette Books Ireland | 1,560 |
| Paperback Non Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Champagne Football:John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: Th | Tighe, Mark & Rowan, Paul | Penguin Ireland | 7,385 |
| 2 | Beyond the Tape:The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist | Cassidy, Marie | Hachette Books Ireland | 5,276 |
| 3 | Waterford Whispers News 2020 | Williamson, Colm | Gill Books | 2,606 |
| 4 | How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet | Fitzpatrick, Professor Noel | Trapeze | 2,365 |
| 5 | Ghost In The Throat,A | Ni Ghriofa, Doireann | Tramp Press | 2,325 |
| 6 | Monk,The:The Life and Crimes of Ireland’s Most Enigmatic Gang Boss | Williams, Paul | Allen & Unwin | 2,150 |
| 7 | Life on Our Planet,A:My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future | Attenborough, David | Ebury Press | 1,331 |
| 8 | Happy Health Plan,The:Simple and tasty plant-based food to nourish you | Flynn, David & Flynn, Stephen | Penguin Life | 1,289 |
| 9 | Rory’s Story:My Unexpected Journey to Self Belief | O’Connor, Rory & Crowe, Dermot | Gill Books | 1,284 |
| 10 | Standing in Gaps:A Memoir | O’Rourke, Seamus | Big Guerilla Press | 1,228 |
| Hardback Non Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Old Ireland in Colour | Breslin, John & Buckley, Sarah-Anne | Merrion Press | 9,036 |
| 2 | Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science: A Scientist’s Guide to the Biggest Challenges Facing Our Species Today | O’Neill, Luke | Gill Books | 5,489 |
| 3 | Promised Land,A | Obama, Barack | Viking | 4,995 |
| 4 | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse,The | Mackesy, Charlie | Ebury Press | 4,762 |
| 5 | Guinness World Records 2021 | Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records | 3,929 |
| 6 | Light That Never Goes Out,A:A Memoir | Shanley, Keelin | Gill Books | 2,714 |
| 7 | That Place We Call Home:A journey through the place names of Ireland | Creedon, John | Gill Books | 2,642 |
| 8 | Here’s the Story:A Memoir | McAleese, Mary | Penguin Ireland | 2,569 |
| 9 | Page from My Life,A:A Selection of Stories from Ray D’Arcy Show Listen | HarperCollins | 2,462 | |
| 10 | Neven Maguire’s Midweek Meals:Simple recipes for easy everyday eating | Maguire, Neven | Gill Books | 2,169 |
| Childrens | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 5,772 |
| 2 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (Book 15):Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Kinney, Jeff | Puffin | 3,898 |
| 3 | Ickabog,The:A warm and witty fairy-tale adventure to entertain the who | Rowling, J.K. | Little, Brown Books | 2,452 |
| 4 | Cat Kid Comic Club: the new blockbusting bestseller from the creator o | Pilkey, Dav | Scholastic U.S. | 1,823 |
| 5 | Break the Mould:How to Take Your Place in the World – WINNER OF THE AN | Burke, Sinéad | Wren & Rook | 1,413 |
| 6 | Great Irish Farm Book,The | McCullough, Darragh | Gill Books | 1,173 |
| 7 | Dog Man 9: Grime and Punishment:Dog Man | Pilkey, Dav | Scholastic U.S. | 1,153 |
| 8 | Girls Play Too:Inspiring Stories of Irish Sportswomen | Hurley, Jacqui | Merrion Press | 947 |
| 9 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 912 |
| 10 | Beano Annual:2021 | D.C. Thomson & Co., | 894 |
