Rankings reflect sales for the week ending Saturday, Dec. 7, which were reported on a confidential basis by vendors offering a wide range of general interest titles. Every week, thousands of diverse selling locations report their actual sales on hundreds of thousands of individual titles. The panel of reporting retailers is comprehensive and reflects sales in stores of all sizes and demographics across the United States. The New York Times Best Sellers are compiled and archived by The Best-Seller Lists Desk of The New York Times News Department and are separate from the Culture, Advertising and Business sides of The New York Times Co. More information on rankings and methodology: www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/methodology.
FICTION
1. WIND AND TRUTH, by Brandon Sanderson. (Tor) >> The fifth book in the “Stormlight Archive” series. The fate of the Cosmere is imperiled as the fighting and chaos reach an apex.
THIS WEEK: 1
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
2. JAMES, by Percival Everett. (Doubleday) >> A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” shines a different light on Mark Twain’s classic, revealing new facets of the character of Jim.
THIS WEEK: 2
LAST WEEK: 2
WEEKS ON LIST: 23
3. THE WOMEN, by Kristin Hannah. (St. Martin’s) >> In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.
THIS WEEK: 3
LAST WEEK: 1
WEEKS ON LIST: 44
4. THE HOUSE OF CROSS, by James Patterson. (Little, Brown) >> The 33rd book in the “Alex Cross” series. Three candidates to the Supreme Court are violently attacked.
THIS WEEK: 4
LAST WEEK: 3
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
5. COUNTING MIRACLES, by Nicholas Sparks. (Random House) >> A man in search of the father he never knew encounters a single mom and rumors circulate of the nearby appearance of a white deer.
THIS WEEK: 5
LAST WEEK: 5
WEEKS ON LIST: 11
6. NOW OR NEVER, by Janet Evanovich. (Atria) >> The 31st book in the “Stephanie Plum” series. Caught between two fiancés and not knowing what to do, Plum gets back to business as a bounty hunter.
THIS WEEK: 6
LAST WEEK: 4
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
7. IRON FLAME, by Rebecca Yarros. (Red Tower) >> The second book in the “Empyrean” series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training under the new vice commandant might require her to betray the man she loves.
THIS WEEK: 7
LAST WEEK: 6
WEEKS ON LIST: 57
8. TO DIE FOR, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central) >> The third book in the “6:20 Man” series. Devine digs into the deaths of an orphan’s parents and uncovers a large conspiracy.
THIS WEEK: 8
LAST WEEK: 8
WEEKS ON LIST: 4
9. WICKED, by Gregory Maguire. (Morrow) >> A misunderstood girl named Elphaba is declared a witch; the basis of the musical and the film. (Collector’s edition.)
THIS WEEK: 9
LAST WEEK: 10
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
10. HOOKED, by Emily McIntire. (Bloom) >> In the first book of the “Never After” series, Wendy falls for her father’s enemy, who might turn out to be the monster known as Hook. (Collector’s edition.)
THIS WEEK: 10
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
11. SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE, by Claire Keegan. (Grove) >> A coal merchant discovers something that causes turmoil in a small Irish town controlled by the church in 1985; the basis of the film.
THIS WEEK: 11
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
12. ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, by Chris Whitaker. (Crown) >> Questions arise when a boy saves the daughter of a wealthy family amid a string of disappearances in a Missouri town in 1975.
THIS WEEK: 12
LAST WEEK: —
WEEKS ON LIST: 16