Lee Child’s new Jack Reacher thriller “Personal” nudges Gayle Forman’s “If I Stay” out of the No. 1 spot that the young adult title has held for the past five weeks on the e-book bestseller list.
That’s only a coup in a limited sense, though, as both books are published by Penguin Random House, which has roundly bested its competitors when it comes to bestselling e-books, both this summer and over the course of 2014 so far.
What’s arguably more remarkable is that the Lee Child title climbed six places to the top spot, despite its high price point, $11.84, relative to “If I Stay”, which costs readers only $4.99 — the price at which four of the top five bestselling e-books were retailing last week.
Other higher-priced titles are also faring well. “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty remains within the top five at $10.99, while Sandra Brown’s “Mean Streak” leaped five places into the No. 5 rank at $12.99.
Whether their strong performance this week will develop into a wider trend remains to be seen, but that’s something worth watching at a time when Amazon is arguing vigorously for lower e-book prices as its dispute with Hachette drags on.
Meanwhile, the average price of a bestselling e-book likewise climbs this week to $7.44, up from from $6.71.
E-book bestsellers from the week ending 9/9:
1. “Personal: A Jack Reacher Novel”, Lee Child, Penguin Random House, $11.84
2. “If I Stay”, Gayle Forman, Penguin Random House, $4.99
3. “Big Little Lies”, Liane Moriarty, Penguin Random House, $10.99
4. “Outlander: A Novel”, Diana Gabaldon, Penguin Random House, $4.99
5. “Mean Streak”, Sandra Brown, Hachette, $12.99
6. “Gone Girl: A Novel”, Gillian Flynn, Penguin Random House, $7.99
7. “The Fault in Our Stars”, John Green, Penguin Random House, $4.99
8. “The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, Book One)”, James Dashner, Penguin Random House, $5.99
9. “Where She Went” (If I Stay Book 2), Gayle Forman, Penguin Random House, $4.99
10. “The Goldfinch: A Novel”, Donna Tartt, Hachette, $6.99
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.
What’s even more remarkable is that there are two Hachette titles on the list despite all we hear about Amazon’s attempts to harm that publisher. I note that 7/10 of the the bestsellers are priced under $9.99. It looks like Amazon may know what it is talking about.