Petaluma’s Bestsellers: Congresswoman Speier’s ‘Undaunted’ unseats former first lady’s ‘Becoming’

The top-selling titles at Petaluma’s Copperfield’s Books for the week of Jan. 7, 2018-Jan. 13, 2019

Well, it’s finally happened.

For the first time since the release of Michelle Obama’s enormously popular memoir in November, the former first lady’s “Becoming” has been unseated from the No. 1 spot on our local bookstore’s fiction and nonfiction bestseller list. Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s own memoir, “Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back,” takes over this week, no doubt aided by the author’s in-store appearance last Monday. “Undaunted” not only pushes “Becoming” to No. 2, it knocks the previous No. 2 - John Sheehy and Scott Hess’ “On a River Winding Home - to No. 3.

The rest of the list is mostly familiar titles, books that have been highly popular for weeks or months, including Barbara Kingsolver’s “Unsheltered” (No. 4) and Andrew Sean Greer’s “Less” (No. 10), both entertaining novels with strong critical acclaim. New to Petaluma’s bestseller list is naturalist Delia Owens’ magical foray into nature-based dramatic fiction “Where the Crawdads Sing” (No. 9), set in Louisiana in the swamps and small towns of the North Carolina coast in the ’50s and ’60s.

In the kids’ and young adults’ section, it’s a similar story. Last week’s No. 2, “Mac B.: Kid Spy: Impossible Crime” by Mac Barnett,” has traded places with Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild,” last week’s No. 1. Each of those authors has books elsewhere on the list, with Barnett’s “Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Undercover” at No. 3 and Pilkey’s “Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas” at No. 6.

Brand new to the list, at No. 7, is Kamala Harris’ “Superheroes are Everywhere,” in which the former California Attorney General (now a senator) gives short, illustrated (by artist Mechal Renee Roe) verbal snapshots of the people who’ve taught her the values and beliefs that have driven her career in politics and public service.

FICTION

& NONFICTION

1. ‘Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back,’ by Jackie Speier

2. ‘Becoming,’ written by Michelle Obama

3. ‘On a River Winding Home,’ by John Sheehy and Scott Hess

4. ‘Unsheltered,’ written by Barbara Kingsolver

5. ‘Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine,’ by Gail Honeyman

6. ‘Alchemist,’ written by Paolo Coelho

7. ‘How to Change Your Mind,’ by Michael Pollan

8. ‘The Power,’ written by Naomi Alderman

9. ‘Where the Crawdads Sing,’ by Delia Owens

10. ‘Less,’ written by Andrew Sean Greer

KIDS &

YOUNG ADULTS

1. ‘Mac B., Kid Spy: Impossible Crime,’ written by Mac Barnett

2. ‘Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild,’ by Dav Pilkey

3. ‘Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Undercover,’ written by Mac Barnett

4. ‘Bad Guys: Superbad,’ by Aaron Blabey

5. ‘Max and the Midknights,’ by Lincoln Peirce

6. ‘Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas,’ by Dav Pilkey

7. ‘Superheroes Are Everywhere,’ written by Kamala Harris

8. ‘Coldest Girl in Coldtown,’ by Holly Black

9. ‘School for Good and Evil,’ by Soman Chainani

10. ‘Unicorn Academy,’ written by Julie Sykes

(Data compiled by Amber-Rose Reed, Assistant Manager of Copperfield’s Books)