Top Books on Amazon This Week

I've been keeping an eye on the hot books on Amazon, just to see what the readers are buying at the moment. I noticed that the following four books are set aside as 'Best Selling Products' (books) of the week. Naturally, I wanted to find out why. See the list at the end of the article for some more book sales on the Internet.


(Each book is linked to their individual page on Amazon).


1.  A Passion Most Pure (Daughters of Boston, Book 1)   by Julie Lessman.

This is part of the product description on Amazon:

Refusing to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship that pleases God, Faith O'Connor steels her heart against her desire for the roguish Collin McGuire. But when Collin tries to win her sister Charity's hand, Faith isn't sure she can handle the jealousy she feels. To further complicate matters, Faith finds herself the object of Collin's affections, even as he is courting her sister. The Great War is raging overseas, and a smaller war is brewing in the O'Connor household.

• 70 percent of the reviewers have given this book a 5 star rating. 
• 93 customer reviews
• An average of 4.5 star rating
• Number 86 in Romance, Religious books

Romance is obviously not dead. The reader reviews make it absolutely clear that many people, including men, still tuck themselves up in the evenings with a great romance book. Even though historical books haven't been wildly waved about in the shelves of Waterstones, we see that the real customers are finding their niche on the Internet. 

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage) by Stieg Larsson

This is part of Publisher's Weekly's review:

At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman.

• A staggering 904 customer reviews
• 442 readers gave it a 5 star rating
• 4 star overall average
• Number 3 best-seller in books (general)
• Number 3 in Mystery and Thrillers
• Number 6 in Literature and Fiction

Mystery and Thriller have always done well in the literary world. However, reading the description doesn't immediately call to mind a book that will favour well with picky agents and publishers. I think that the readers have demonstrated their literary preferences with the way they've trampled over each other to access this book. Not only have they read and digested this remarkable story, they've encouraged others to take a sip of what they deem a satisfying drink.

3. Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1) by Kim Harrison

Part of the product description:

The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves—creatures of dreams and nightmares—have lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything.

• 301 customer reviews
• 143 gave it a 5 star rating
• An overall average of 4 stars
• Number 73 in Dark Fantasy, Horror

I think that fiction writers can take heart from the recent success of vampire movies and themes. In the 60s when Dracula was prancing around on the big screens, horror books sold in hefty numbers. We seem to have come full circle in the noughties, as vampire/horror merchandise in general are widely accepted by mainstream public. The success of this book is only one factor that proves this point. Vampire books are no longer just for niche audiences. Get writing your vampire tales!

4. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis

Michiko Kakutani - The New York Times said: 

No one writes with more narrative panache about money and finance than Mr. Lewis....[he] does a nimble job of using his subjects’ stories to explicate the greed, idiocies and hypocrisies of a system notably lacking in grown-up supervision....Writing in faintly Tom Wolfe-ian prose, Mr. Lewis does a colorful job of introducing the lay reader to the Darwinian world of the bond market. 

• 122 customer reviews
• 42 readers gave it a 5 star rating
• 3 star average
• Number 1 in non-fiction.
• number 1 in Business and Investing

As a writer of mainly non-fiction books, (not business) this gives me hope in the future for my own work. The business theme is not one that is thought to be widely embraced where the public taste in literature is concerned. This just goes to show how much we really know when we blabber about what will or will not sell. The readers' remarkable reviews of this wonderful book is generally favourable and filled with praise. 

Hope you can check out some of these books. If you're a reader or writer, there's something in each one for all of us. And for your benefit, here are some more books you may like:



Best-selling love books for Valentine's day
Best-selling Irish books for St. Patrick's Day
Best-selling books for Father's Day
Best-selling summer reads for kids
E-books and kindles
Top books on Amazon
More best-selling books on Amazon
Best-selling Autumn books
Cyber Monday book deals
Top-selling Christmas books
Kindle Indie Bookstore
e-Books for free
Amazon book deals
Amazon bargain books giveaway


If you think this list may be beneficial to someone you know, please send it to them or share them on your favourite social networking sites. I'll give you the heads up when I know about more book offers. In the meantime, I hope these lists provide you with the book deals you desire.