Amazon.ca Announces its Best-Selling Books of 2016

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script) is the best-selling book of 2016; it also tops the list of best-selling books for Kids & Teens

Four Canadian authors earn spots in the overall top 20 Amazon.ca best-selling books of the year list

SEATTLE, Dec. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Amazon.ca today announced its best-selling books of 2016, along with its best-selling Kids & Teens books — just in time for the holiday season. Taking the number one spot on both lists is the two-part West End stage play and newest Wizarding World story in nearly a decade, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script), written by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. The runner-up on the overall top 20 list is the memoir When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Diary of a Wimpy Kid # 11: Double Down by Jeff Kinney is second on the list of best-selling Kids & Teens books. This marks the second annual Amazon.ca best-selling books list, which takes into account first editions published in 2016 and reflects both paid print and Kindle editions.

"We're excited to reveal the list of Amazon.ca's best-selling books of 2016!  These are the books Canadians are excited about, learning from, sharing with friends and curling up with in front of the fire," said Mike Strauch, Amazon.ca Country Manager. "Whether you're looking for a new favourite dish to whip up during the holidays, to get your heart racing with a page-turning suspense novel, or find the perfect gift for a teen in your family, there is a book for everyone."

The top 20 best-selling books of the year from Amazon.ca are:

1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script) by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
2. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
3. The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
4. The Whistler by John Grisham
5. *A Great Reckoning: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel) by Louise Penny
6. *Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes by Angela Liddon
7. The Widow by Fiona Barton
8. *Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
9. The Last Mile (Amos Decker series) by David Baldacci
10. One with You: A Crossfire Novel (Crossfire Series) by Sylvia Day
11. Cometh the Hour: Book Six Of the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer
12. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
13. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
14. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
15. *The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
16. Night School: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child
17. Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat by Chrissy Teigen and Adeena Sussman
18. The Wrong Side of Goodbye (A Harry Bosch Novel) by Michael Connelly
19. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling
20. The High Mountains of Portugal: A Novel by Yann Martel

*Books with asterisks (*) are by Canadian authors.

In taking a closer look at the list, Amazon.ca found:

• Four Canadian women placed on the list including Louise Penny (who was one of two Canadians on last year's list), Angela Liddon, Madeleine Thien and Shari Lapena.
• All four of the Canadian authors' books were also Globe and Mail bestsellers.
• Canadians were embracing their foodie identity, with two cookbooks placing in the top 20, including Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes by Angela Liddon, and Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat by Chrissy Teigen and Adeena Sussman.
• Two very different memoirs made the top 20, which were When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, based on his life as a neurosurgeon, and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen based on his life as a musician.
• The mystery, thriller and suspense category was the most dominant, with nine of the top 20 books, including The Whistler, The Widow, The Couple Next Door, and I Let You Go, hailing from this genre.

The top 20 best-selling books of the year for Kids & Teens from Amazon.ca are:

1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script) by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid # 11: Double Down by Jeff Kinney
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay
4. The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son On Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper
5. The Trials of Apollo Book One The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
6. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2 The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
7. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
8. Empire of Storms (Throne Of Glass Series) by Sarah J. Maas
9. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
10. DanTDM: Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal by DanTDM and Doreen Mulryan
11. The Crown by Kiera Cass
12. A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses) by Sarah J. Maas
13. Amulet Book Seven: Firelight by Kazu Kibuishi
14. Glass Sword (Red Queen) by Victoria Aveyard
15. Calamity (The Reckoners) by Brandon Sanderson
16. The Last Star: The Final Book of The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
17. What Do You Do with a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
18. Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Lisa Damour
19. Discipline without Damage: How to Get Your Kids to Behave Without Messing Them Up by Vanessa Lapointe and Dr. Laura Markham
20. Theodore Boone: The Scandal by John Grisham

Some interesting findings from the Kids & Teens list include:

• For the second consecutive year, author Sarah J. Maas has two books in the top 20, with Empire of Storms (Throne Of Glass Series) and A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses) at numbers eight and 12, respectively. Both books are sequels to those in last year's list of best-selling books for Kids & Teens.
• Young Canadians showed their love for the Wizarding World with two of the top 20 books coming from J.K. Rowling including, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script), and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Illustrated Edition.
• Nine of the top 20 books are from authors who were included on last year's list, including Jeff Kinney who wrote Diary of a Wimpy Kid #11: Double Down, and had the number one book on the 2015 list.
• Two authors have two books each on the list, which are Rick Riordan – the author of The Trials of Apollo Book One The Hidden Oracle, and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2 The Hammer of Thor – and Sarah J. Maas – the author of Empire of Storms (Throne Of Glass Series), and A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses).

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SOURCE Amazon.ca

Andrew Gouveia, NATIONAL Public Relations, [email protected], 416-848-1385