8/12 Audible number ones in 2020 were fiction titles


Audible Audio Download Chart Haig clocks in at audio number one


But in 2020, eight of the year’s monthly number ones (including Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in March and April) were fiction titles, compared to just four in 2019. So far in 2021, two of the three Audible charts have been topped by fiction. Of course, fiction boomed across formats over the pandemic year, as quarantined book-buyers added escapist titles to their bookshelves—both in their homes and on their Kindles. But it looks like Audible consum- ers have switched from commute listening to comfort listening too. Jordan B Peterson’s


Beyond Order débuted in second place. The Canadian professor and YouTuber’s 2018 title 12 Rules for Life may have sold more than 200,000 copies in print in the UK, but it really thrived in audio—returning to the top 20 in March, to join its successor. Around the time of its release,


it led a post-#MeToo wave of male-focused self-help books. Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck also performed strongly at the same time. Echoes of the trend still remain—former Navy SEAL and athlete David


Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me and James Clear’s Atomic Habits have each notched up a string of monthly rankings. Nielsen research shows audiobooks are more likely to be consumed by younger men than any other demographic. Kazuo


Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, narrated by voice actor Sura Sui,


It looks like Audible consumers have switched from commute listening to comfort listening


AUDIBLE CHART FOR MARCH


MATT HAIG TOPPED THE


Title


1 The Midnight Library 2 Beyond Order


3 The Thursday Murder Club 4 A Promised Land


5 Harry... Philosopher’s Stone 6 Atomic Habits 7 Greenlights


8 Klara and the Sun


9 Harry... Chamber of Secrets 10 Harry... Prisoner of Azkaban 11 Harry... Goblet of Fire 12 12 Rules for Life


13 Sherlock Holmes... Collection 14 Orwell Collection...


15 Harry... Order of the Phoenix 16 Can’t Hurt Me 17 Later


18 Harry... Half-Blood Prince 19 Revelation


20 Harry... Deathly Hallows


KAZUO ISHIGURO WAS A NEW ENTRY, IN EIGHTH POSITION


Author


entered the chart in eighth place— the hardback also débuted in the Original Fiction number one for the week of its release. Stephen King’s crime title Later charted in 17th place. Celebrities, as always,


loomed large, with Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights rack- ing up a sixth straight month in the top 10. Russell Brand’s Audible Original Revelation: Connecting with the Sacred in Everyday Light débuted in 19th place in the March chart, too.


Narrator/s Matt Haig Carey Mulligan Imprint Canongate


Jordan B Peterson Jordan B Peterson Penguin Audio Richard Osman Manville, Osman, Keyes Penguin Audio Barack Obama Barack Obama Penguin Audio J K Rowling Stephen Fry


Pottermore


James Clear James Clear Penguin Audio Matthew McConaughey Matthew McConaughey Headline Kazuo Ishiguro Sura Siu J K Rowling Stephen Fry J K Rowling Stephen Fry J K Rowling Stephen Fry


Faber & Faber Pottermore Pottermore Pottermore


Jordan B Peterson Jordan B Peterson Penguin Arthur Conan Doyle Stephen Fry George Orwell Stephen Fry J K Rowling Stephen Fry


Audible Audible


David Goggins D Goggins, A Skolnick Stephen King Seth Numrich J K Rowling Stephen Fry


Pottermore Lioncrest Hodder


Pottermore


Russell Brand Russell Brand Audible J K Rowling Stephen Fry


Audible Audio Download Chart Date Range 1st–31st March 2021 Source Audible Key New Up Same Down


Pottermore


A Promised Land Barack Obama Penguin The former US President’s memoir continues to ride high in the Audible charts, five months on from publication. It’s currently still number one in the weekly Amazon charts for Most- Read: Non-Fiction, despite the


audiobook being 30 hours long.


Exclusive


In the spotlight





Orwell Collection: Animal Farm & 1984 George Orwell Audible Nineteen Eighty- Four has been a staple in the print charts since the one-two of Brexit and Trump in 2016, but its paperback sales have tailed off slightly, despite a notable run- up-to-lockdown bump in 2020— perhaps because everyone’s listen- ing to Stephen Fry narrate it instead.


TheBookseller.com


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