The Year-End 2021 Bestseller List

Here is the Year-End 2021 Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide from January 1, 2021, to December 1, 2021.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Hill We Climb
Amanda Gorman, Viking, $15.99, 9780593465271

2. The Midnight Library
Matt Haig, Viking, $26, 9780525559474

3. Klara and the Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro, Knopf, $28, 9780593318171

4. The Vanishing Half
Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books, $27, 9780525536291

5. The Four Winds
Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's, $28.99, 9781250178602

6. Cloud Cuckoo Land
Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $30, 9781982168438

7. Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir, Ballantine, $28.99, 9780593135204

8. The Lincoln Highway
Amor Towles, Viking, $30, 9780735222359

9. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V.E. Schwab, Tor, $26.99, 9780765387561

10. Beautiful World, Where Are You
Sally Rooney, FSG, $28, 9780374602604

11. Malibu Rising
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine, $28, 9781524798659

12. The Last Thing He Told Me
Laura Dave, Simon & Schuster, $27, 9781501171345

13. Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell, Knopf, $26.95, 9780525657606

14. Harlem Shuffle
Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385545136

15. The Madness of Crowds
Louise Penny, Minotaur, $28.99, 9781250145260

 

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99, 9780062976581

2. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32, 9780593230251

3. Untamed
Glennon Doyle, The Dial Press, $28, 9781984801258

4. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir
Michelle Zauner, Knopf, $26.95, 9780525657743

5. A Promised Land
Barack Obama, Crown, $45, 9781524763169

6. The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
John Green, Dutton, $28, 9780525555216

7. World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever, Ecco, $35, 9780062802798

8. Peril
Bob Woodward, Robert Costa, Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781982182915

9. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
Suzanne Simard, Knopf, $28.95, 9780525656098

10. Greenlights
Matthew McConaughey, Crown, $30, 9780593139134

11. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
Michael Lewis, Norton, $30, 9780393881554

12. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Walter Isaacson, Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781982115852

13. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, One World, $38, 9780593230572

14. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
George Saunders, Random House, $28, 9781984856029

15. The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
Dave Grohl, Dey Street Books, $29.99, 9780063076099

 

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller, Ecco, $16.99, 9780062060624

2. Circe
Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99, 9780316556323

3. People We Meet on Vacation
Emily Henry, Berkley, $16, 9781984806758

4. Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens, Putnam, $18, 9780735219106

5. The House in the Cerulean Sea
TJ Klune, Tor, $18.99, 9781250217318

6. The Overstory
Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95, 9780393356687

7. Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell, Vintage, $16.95, 9781984898876

8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17, 9781501161933

9. Dune
Frank Herbert, Ace, $18, 9780593438374

10. The Night Watchman
Louise Erdrich, Harper Perennial, $18, 9780062671196

11. The Dutch House
Ann Patchett, Harper Perennial, $17, 9780062963680

12. Anxious People
Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press, $17, 9781501160844

13. The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides, Celadon Books, $17.99, 9781250301703

14. One Last Stop
Casey McQuiston, St. Martin's Griffin, $16.99, 9781250244499

15. The Rose Code
Kate Quinn, Morrow, $17.99, 9780062943477

 

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18, 9781571313560

2. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19, 9780143127741

3. The Body: A Guide for Occupants
Bill Bryson, Anchor, $17, 9780804172721

4. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari, Harper Perennial, $24.99, 9780062316110

5. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
Merlin Sheldrake, Random House, $18, 9780525510321

6. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah, One World, $18, 9780399588198

7. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
Don Miguel Ruiz, Amber-Allen, $12.95, 9781878424310

8. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Robin DiAngelo, Beacon Press, $16, 9780807047415

9. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot
Mikki Kendall, Penguin, $16, 9780525560562

10. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
Jessica Bruder, Norton, $16.95, 9780393356311

11. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
Cathy Park Hong, One World, $18, 9781984820389

12. The Warmth of Other Suns
Isabel Wilkerson, Vintage, $17.95, 9780679763888

13. My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
Resmaa Menakem, Central Recovery Press, $17.95, 9781942094470

14. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Timothy Snyder, Crown, $9.99, 9780804190114

15. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Richard Rothstein, Liveright, $17.95, 9781631494536

 

EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS

1. Cat Kid Comic Club
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338712766

2. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories
Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99, 9781419756979

3. A Wolf Called Wander
Rosanne Parry, Greenwillow Books, $7.99, 9780062895943

4. New Kid
Jerry Craft, Quill Tree Books, $12.99, 9780062691194

5. When Stars Are Scattered
Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, Dial Books, $12.99, 9780525553908

6. Pax
Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen (Illus.), Balzer + Bray, $8.99, 9780062377029

7. Guts: A Graphic Novel
Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $12.99, 9780545852500

8. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure
Jeff Kinney, Amulet, $14.99, 9781419749094

9. Allergic
Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (Illus.), Graphix, $12.99, 9781338568905

10. The One and Only Bob
Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao (Illus.), Harper, $18.99, 9780062991317

11. Friends Forever
Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), First Second, $12.99, 9781250317568

12. The Christmas Pig
J.K. Rowling, Jim Field (Illus.), Scholastic, $24.99, 9781338790238

13. The Beatryce Prophecy
Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall (Illus.), Candlewick, $19.99, 9781536213614

14. The One and Only Ivan
Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780061992278

15. Ground Zero
Alan Gratz, Scholastic, $17.99, 9781338245752

 

YOUNG ADULT

1. They Both Die at the End
Adam Silvera, Quill Tree Books, $12.99, 9780062457806

2. We Were Liars
E. Lockhart, Ember, $10.99, 9780385741279

3. Firekeeper's Daughter
Angeline Boulley, Henry Holt and Co. BYR, $18.99, 9781250766564

4. One of Us Is Lying
Karen M. McManus, Delacorte Press, $17.99, 9781524714680

5. Concrete Rose
Angie Thomas, Balzer + Bray, $19.99, 9780062846716

6. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316453691

7. The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas, Balzer + Bray, $18.99, 9780062871350

8. Hatchet
Gary Paulsen, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9781481486293

9. The Girl from the Sea: A Graphic Novel
Molly Knox Ostertag, Graphix, $14.99, 9781338540574

10. Legendborn (An Indies Introduce Title)
Tracy Deonn, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $19.99, 9781534441606

11. The Book Thief
Markus Zusak, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 9780385754729

12. Cemetery Boys (An Indies Introduce Title)
Aiden Thomas, Swoon Reads, $17.99, 9781250250469

13. Iron Widow
Xiran Jay Zhao, Penguin Teen, $17.99, 9780735269934

14. The Giver
Lois Lowry, HMH Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9780544340688

15. These Violent Delights
Chloe Gong, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $19.99, 9781534457690

 

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED

1. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780694003617

2. Change Sings: A Children's Anthem
Amanda Gorman, Loren Long (Illus.), Viking Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780593203224

3. We Are Water Protectors
Carole Lindstrom, Michaela Goade (Illus.), Roaring Brook Press, $17.99, 9781250203557

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle, World of Eric Carle, $10.99, 9780399226908

5. Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak, Harper, $19.95, 9780060254926

6. Room on the Broom
Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus.), Dial Books, $8.99, 9780593110409

7. The Snowy Day
Ezra Jack Keats, Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780670012701

8. Dragons Love Tacos
Adam Rubin, Daniel Salmieri (Illus.), Dial, $18.99, 9780803736801

9. Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn
Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), Abrams, $18.99, 9781419750915

10. Antiracist Baby
Ibram X. Kendi, Ashley Lukashevsky (Illus.), Kokila, $8.99, 9780593110508

11. Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Dr. Seuss, Random House, $18.99, 9780679805274

12. Little Blue Truck
Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), Clarion Books, $8.99, 9780358451228

13. Woodland Dance!
Sandra Boynton, Workman, $7.95, 9781523514687

14. Jungle Night
Sandra Boynton, Workman, $7.95, 9781523513604

15. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners
Joanna Ho, Dung Ho (Illus.), Harper, $17.99, 9780062915627

 

CHILDREN'S SERIES

1. Dog Man
Dav Pilkey, Graphix

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Jeff Kinney, Amulet

3. Wings of Fire
Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic

4. Magic Tree House
Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illus.), Random House Books for Young Readers

5. Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling, Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books

6. Elephant and Piggie
Mo Willems, Hyperion

7. I Survived
Lauren Tarshis, Scholastic

8. Shadow and Bone
Leigh Bardugo, Henry Holt and Co. BYR

9. Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo, Henry Holt and Co. BYR

10. The Bad Guys
Aaron Blabey, Scholastic