Veronica Roth’s Divergent series is doing its best Hunger Games series impression. The HarperCollins property has been dominating e-book bestseller lists all year and this week, for the first time, took all three top spots.
Also, like The Hunger Games series, Divergent is now an e-book bundle best-seller, sitting at No. 12 on our list for $14.99.
The first Divergent film comes out March 21, in just a few days. Analysts are expecting the movie to help revive ticket sales for properties aimed at the young adult audience. Opening weekend box office take in the U.S. is expected to be up to $60 million, which would put it on par with the Twilight series releases. Strong e-book sales in the U.S. and around the world helped drive analysts to that assertion.
Amazon holds on
Defying a pattern of recent months, two Amazon titles that hit the list last week sustained sales for a second week in a row to remain best-sellers. “Hidden” by Catherine McKenzie dropped two spots to clock in at No. 4 on the list, and “The Seventh Child” by Erik Valeur fell twelve spots to hit No. 22.
Prices tick up
The average price of a bestselling e-book is now $7.65, a slight increase over last week when the average price of a bestselling e-book was $7.49. The absence of self-published titles on this week’s list help explain the rise. The $14.99 Divergent bundle has also helped drive up the index.
E-book best-sellers from the week ending 3/15:
1. “Divergent” (Divergent Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $4.99
2. “Insurgent” (Divergent Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $6.99
3. “Allegiant” (Divergent Series), Veronica Roth, HarperCollins, $6.99
4. “Hidden”, Catherine McKenzie, Amazon, $4.99
5. “The Fault in Our Stars”, John Green, Penguin Random House, $5.50
6. “Hawaii: A Novel”, James A. Michener, Penguin Random House, $0.99
7. “The Invention of Wings: A Novel (Original Publisher’s Edition-No Annotations)”, Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin Random House, $10.99
8. “The Husband’s Secret”, Liane Moriarty, Penguin Random House, $5.99
9. “The Goldfinch”, Donna Tartt, Hachette, $7.50
10. “Sycamore Row”, John Grisham, Penguin Random House, $6.49
See the complete list of this week’s top 25 e-book bestsellers at Digital Book World.
Jeremy Greenfield is responsible for managing all editorial content on DigitalBookWorld.com, including the DBW Expert Publishing Blog, the Digital Book Wire and editorial email and social media communications. Prior to joining Digital Book World in October 2011, Jeremy spent three years as a careers editor at FINS.com. Jeremy lives and works in New York City and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
