Petaluma Bestsellers: Cats and dogs

The top-selling titles at Petaluma’s Copperfield’s Books, for the week of Dec. 31, 2018-Jan. 6, 2019

It’s not just outside that it’s been raining cats and dogs. Felines and canines have made appearances on the bestseller lists locally too, if not necessarily in the top spots (yet).

On Copperfield’s list of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books, Michele Obama’s hit memoir “Becoming” and Scott Hess and John Sheehy’s gorgeous “On a River Winding Home” continue to claim the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Most of the rest of the list is made up of popular titles slightly shifting position, with one notable newcomer in Hiro Arikawa’s “Travelling Cat Chronicles.” Originally published in Japan - where it became a huge hit - the English translation was released in the states in July, and local readers are clearly discovering it at last. Charming and gently wise beneath its deceptively simple surface, the novel describes the unexpected relationship between a solitary, crooked-tailed cat and the kind man who takes him in after an accident leaves the feline dependent on others for the first time in its life.

Over in the kids and young adult side of the store, the bestselling book is once again Dave Pilkey’s “Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild,” repeating last week’s performance, with Mac Barnett’s “Mac B., Kid Spy: Impossible Crime” taking the No. 2 spot from Tui Sutherland’s “Wings of Fire: The Hive Queen,” which drops down to No. 3.

Clearly, books with colons in their titles – meaning they are part of a popular series - are making it big with kids right now. Which makes it all the more remarkable that Greg van Eekhout’s delightful non-sequel middle grade novel “Voyage of the Dogs” has returned to the list for the first time since September, making its new mark in the No. 4 spot. The original fantasy follows a team of “barkonauts” on a space journey that goes awry, leaving the canine crew to complete their mission alone.

FICTION &

NON-FICTION

1. ‘Becoming,’ by Michelle Obama

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

3. ‘Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones,’ by George R.R. Martin

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

5. ‘Library Book,’ by Susan Orlean

6. ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,’ by Gail Honeyman

7. ‘Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy,’ by Anne Lamott

8. ‘My Own Words,’ by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

9. ‘Travelling Cat Chronicles,’ by Hiro Arikawa

10. ‘Sapiens,’ byYuval Noah Harari

KIDS &

YOUNG ADULTS

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

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

3. ‘Wings of Fire: The Hive Queen,’ by Tui Sutherland

4. ‘Voyage of the Dogs,’ by Greg van Eekhout

5. ‘Crush,’ by Sveltana Chmakova

6. ‘Terrible Two: The Terrible Two’s Last Laugh,’ by Mac Barnett

7. ‘I Dissent,’ by Debbie Levy

8. ‘Where’s the Unicorn?’ by Nosy Crow

9. ‘The Boneless Mercies,’ by April Genevieve Tucholke

10. ‘Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow,’ by Jessica Townsend

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