As the decade draws to a close, it’s time to again acknowledge the power
of flat-footed erotica: The NPD Group reports that “Fifty Shades of Grey” is the best-selling book of the decade.
The E.L. James title sold 15.2 million copies between 2010 and
2019. More depressing? The second-biggest seller is the sequel, “Fifty Shades Darker,” at 10.2 million copies. And the third is “Fifty Shades Freed,” at 9.3 million.
But despite the enduring appeal of the of that unhappy billionaire Christian Trevelyan Grey, NPD’s analysis of the best-selling titles for the last ten years uncovers some important trends in
book-buying.
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Perhaps the biggest winner is books themselves, with 6.5 billion in print sold in the decade. That compares to just 1.8 billion e-books, which many expected to pulverize sales of
paper books. “After a high point in 2013, e-books have continuously lost share to print books every year,” says Kristen McLean, books industry analyst, NPD Bookscan, in the
announcement.
“Looking ahead, the growth in audiobooks is another trend expected to continue well into the next decade, as people shift some of their reading to listening on smart
devices.”
The ten biggest books of the decade are all novels, with the three E.L. James titles followed by “The Hunger Games,” “The Help,” “The Girl on The
Train,” “Gone Girl,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and “Divergent.” And three of those titles “The Hunger
Games,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” and “Divergent” — were originally published for the Young Adult market.
But while those titles, all helped by screen
adaptations, dominated the decade’s best sellers, reader preferences shifted to nonfiction as the decade wore on. In 2010, about 80% of the best-selling titles were novels. By this year, that
percentage had fallen to 32%. Cookbooks, self-help and politics have been among the biggest winners.
McLean also notes that as the years ticked by, average page count has dropped, as more
people read books on tablets and mobile phones.