Top 10 Print Book Sales of 2012 – Adult Fiction

E. L. James made a furor on this year’s adult fiction market. As a result the novels from the trilogy Fifty Shades occupy the first four positions on Nielsen’s Top 10 Print Book Sales of 2012 list. The series scandalized the world with their highly erotic content. Nevertheless, they quickly became favorites of many women and especially those who are housewives. Despite that fact, many critics and even readers think that James’ series do not shine with skillful writing or interesting storyline. But no matter the negativity, the Fifty Shades series managed to sell more than 65 million print copies… till now.

Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is 5th on the Nielsen’s chart. The novel is about a man who desperately tries to find his wife. His beloved mysteriously disappeared on their wedding anniversary. The twist in the story is that the husband is actually the prime suspect for the crime.

On number six is J. K. Rowling’s first attempt in adult writing The Casual Vacancy. This tragicomedy could surpass the success of Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, but who could possibly do that! However, the book entered the list of best-selling book in 2012 in the first week of its release!

John Grisham is also seen among this year’s best. His book The Racketeer is 8th on the chart. Even though the novel is not much different from the other legal thrillers of Grisham it again scored big sales. 1.5 million people bought The Racketeer while it was still in its initial print.

The rest of our list is completed by three romance novels. When modern readers hear romance novels, they probably think of Nicolas Sparks. Like the last few years, Spark again wrote a bestseller. The novel The Lucky One was made into a movie not long after the book was released. The story is a bit similar to the one in another book by Sparks – Dear John.

The other two romantic novels are Sylvia Day’s Bared To You and Nora Robert’s The Last Boyfriend. Bared To You is often compared to Fifty Shades because of the erotic elements in it. The Last Boyfriend, on the other hand, is a typical Nora Roberts book. Although a joy to read, the novel is not one of Robert’s best works.

Now, check out Nielsen’s full list of the best adult fiction books for 2012:

• Fifty Shades Of Grey (Trade Paperback) – E. L. James
• Fifty Shades Darker (Trade Paperback) – E. L. James
• Fifty Shades Freed (Trade Paperback) – E. L. James
• Fifty Shades Trilogy (Boxed Set) – E. L. James
• Gone Girl (Hardcover) – Gillian Flynn
• The Casual Vacancy (Hardcover) – J. K. Rowling
• Bared To You (Trade Paperback) – Sylvia Day
• The Racketeer (Hardcover) – John Grisham
• The Lucky One (Mass Market Paperback) – Nicholas Sparks
• The Last Boyfriend (Trade Paperback) – Nora Roberts