Petaluma Bestsellers: New releases dominate local Top 10 list

The top selling titles at Copperfield’s Books, in Petaluma, for the week of Sept. 20-Sept. 26, 2021

Petaluma readers are absolutely gobbling up recent book releases, their apparent appetite for something fresh and new either the result of growing boredom with bestsellers that stay atop the bestseller lists for weeks and weeks, or simply because the book industry has suddenly been putting out a lot of great material the last few weeks.

Maybe a little of each.

Whatever the reason, only two of this week’s Top 10 books – Naomi Novik’s “A Deadly Education” (No. 5) and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Mexican Gothic” (No. 9) – have been on the list before. Less than half of the total list – including the two named above plus Alice Hoffman’s “Magic Lessons” (No. 8) and Jodi Picoult’s “The Book of Two Ways” (No. 10) – are older than a few weeks. And for what it’s worth, three of those older books – No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 – were just released in paperback, so one could argue that they are also kind of new.

Of the top 7, only one – that would be “A Deadly Education” – is older than a couple of weeks.

This week’s No. 1 is the much-anticipated final book in journalist-author Bob Woodward’s trilogy of Trump-themed nonfiction tomes that includes 2018’s “Rage” and 2020’s “Fear.” Co-authored with historian-novelist Bob Costa, the book examines the dangerous few months between the election of Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s eventual White House exit, during which the foundations of American Democracy appeared to be on the verge of collapse as the outgoing president wavered on conceding his demonstrably uncontestable defeat. The new book shows just how close we came to a successful dictatorial dissolution of constitutional law, and makes the case that the danger to Democracy set in motion during those months is far from over.

Another nonfiction work takes the No. 2 spot, as Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe release “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Democracy,” telling the centuries old story of the American family that Cooper is a descendent of on his mother’s side. The next two new releases are novels: Sally Rooney’s “Beautiful World, Where Are You” (No. 3), the story of two friends in Ireland and how their lives overlap and diverge, and Colson Whitehead’s “Harlem Shuffle” (No. 4), a 1920s crime novel set in Harlem, already has people saying that Whitehead (author of the Pulitzer-winning novels “The Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys”) could be going for a three-peat.

The final two new arrivals are “Bewilderment” (No. 6), an intimate novel of fatherhood and grief by Richard Powers (“The Understory”) and “Fuzz” (No. 7), a nonfiction look at attacks on humans by wild animals from birds to bears, delivered by the author of “Stiff,” “Grunt” and “Gulp.”

Odds are good that at least some of these newcomers will stick around, becoming the next bestseller to appear on the list for weeks to come.

Any guesses which one – or more than one – it will be?

Here is the complete Top 10 Books on Copperfield’s Fiction and Nonfiction list, along with the full Kids and Young Adults list.

FICTION & NON-FICTION

1. ‘Peril,’ by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa – The latest in a behind-the-scenes trilogy examining the beginning, middle and end of the tumultuous Trump presidency, “Peril” not only details the how very close we came to a successful dictatorial dissolution of American democracy, it makes the case that that danger is far from over.

2. ‘Vanderbilt,’ by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe – Subtitled “The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty,” this elaborate exploration of the Vanderbilt family’s place in American history is full of surprise twists and long-buried revelations.

3. ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You,’ by Sally Rooney – A new novel from the author of “Normal People” follows the relationships and unfolding correspondence of two friends who live and work in Ireland but are often worlds apart.

4. ‘Harlem Shuffle,’ by Colson Whitehead – The author of Pulitzer-winning novels “The Underground Railroad” and The Nickel Boys” returns with a raucous crime novel set in Harlem in the 1920s.

5. ‘A Deadly Education,’ by Naomi Novik – Yes, Novik’s 2020 fantasy novel features a less-than-safe boarding school for promising young magic users, but this one, called the Scholomance – filled with terrifying and deadly monsters and a heart-stopping graduation ritual, makes Hogwarts look like Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

6. ‘Bewilderment,’ by Richard Powers – The bestselling author of “The Overstory” follows up his Pulitzer-winning eco-epic with an intimate novel about a biologist and his troubled 9-year-old son bonding over science and the fate of the earth after a devastating tragedy.

7. ‘Fuzz,’ by Mary Roach – In her latest nonfiction exploration of uncommon book topics, the author of “Stiff” (a book about dead bodies) and “Gulp” (all about the digestive system and its many surprising realities) brings us a book about why animals sometimes attack human beings, and what some of those humans are doing about it.

8. ‘Magic Lessons,’ by Alice Hoffman – A prequel to “Practical Magic,” this 2020 novel (just released in paperback) tells the origins of the Owens women and their decades-long connections to love and “The Nameless Art.”

9. ‘Mexican Gothic,’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Gorgeously paced and plotted, this book is a bit like the classic thriller “Rebecca,” but set in Mexico City in the 1950s, with a crumbling mansion, a family full of secrets, and elements of gasp-inducing horror.

10. ‘The Book of Two Ways,’ by Jodi Picoult – Now in paperback, Picoult’s 2020 novel follows an adventurous Egyptologist who becomes a “death doula” and begins an emotional excavation of her own life choices, good and bad.

KIDS & YOUNG ADULTS

1. ‘Babysitters Club: Kristy and the Snobs,’ by Ann M. Martin – The adventures continue, this time with plot problems arising from a pair of school time girls with superiority problem.

2. ‘Change Sings: A Children's Anthem,’ by Amanda Gorman – As a kind of follow-up to her acclaimed 2021 inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb,” rising poet Gorman delivers a vibrant kids’ picture book, written in rhyme, in which children change the world in ways large and small, with the help of a few musical instruments and the ever-hopeful human voice.

3. ‘Trubble Town: Squirrel Do Bad,’ by Stephan Pastis – Wendy the Wanderer has always lived in Trubble town, but never allowed to live up to her name until her dad leaves town on a business trip – and she suddenly has the freedom to explore her very strange home.

4. ‘Dog Man: Mothering Heights,’ by Dav Pilkey – In the 10th book in the series by the creator of Captain Underpants, canine cop Dog Man teams up with Petey the Cat and a stray kitten to stop an onslaught of villains and prove the persistent power of love, kindness and dog-slobbering.

5. ‘Where Do Diggers Trick-or-Treat?’ by Brianna Caplan Sayres – A Halloween-oriented entry in the popular vehicle-themed “Where Do …” series.

6. ‘Little Blue Truck's Halloween,’ by Alice Schertle – Another adorable vehicle, another Halloween adventure.

7. ‘She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein,’ by Lynn Fulton – The surprising true story of the teenage author behind literature’s first science-fiction novel.

8. ‘Wings of Fire: The Dark Secret,’ by Tui Sutherland – The dragons are back. They have a secret.

9. ‘Dragon's Halloween: An Acorn Book,’ by Dav Pilkey – The creator of “Captain underpants” brings a book about dragons and Halloween.

10. ‘Kitty and the Twilight Trouble,’ by Paula Harrison – The sixth and final tale in the popular early-reader series about a little girl who turns into a cat at night.

Data compiled by Amber-Rose Reed, Manager of Copperfield’s Book.