Loyalty is a motivating factor for Copperfield's Books customers,
particularly when it comes to California authors. Copperfield's
bestseller lists (for the week ending August 13) represent the chain's
five locations in Sonoma and Napa counties.
Mystery scribe and Sonoma County resident Marcia Muller "is a strong seller for us," said Copperfield's buyer Ty Wilson. Vanishing Point, Muller's latest book featuring San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone, appears at No. 5 on the hardcover fiction list.
The No. 4 spot belongs to Lolly Winston and her new novel, Happiness Sold Separately. Winston, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, "was part of out literary lunch series for her first book, Good Grief," said Wilson.
Another author benefiting from appearances in years past is T.C. Boyle. He hails from farther down the California coast in Santa Barbara, but that hasn't stopped Talk Talk from achieving bestseller status at Copperfield's. "We've hosted him a number of times. Again, I think it's that loyal following," noted Wilson. "His books have always done well here."
Customer loyalty extends beyond works of fiction. Area author Anne Lamott has appeared at Copperfield's on many occasions, and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith graces the quality paperbacks list at No. 9. "This book has been out in paperback for a while now," said Wilson, "and it speaks to how popular she is with our customers."
Other nonfiction tomes with California connections include The Sonoma Diet by Dr. Connie Guttersen, a weight loss book that according to the publisher is "inspired by the sun-drenched foods and vibrant lifestyle of California's breathtakingly beautiful wine country." The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D., a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco, received a boost from a San Francisco Chronicle review. The Devil's Teeth "is a serious book for us," said Wilson of New York City journalist Susan Casey's narrative about the population of great white sharks that congregate each fall in the waters surrounding the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco. "We've had shark attacks off the Sonoma Coast, even recently," Wilson added.
Authors from other parts of the country whose books do not contain a correlation to the Golden State can take heart, though: they, too, are well-represented among Copperfield's bestsellers. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards is currently No. 1 on the quality paperbacks list, although for the last few weeks, noted Wilson, it has traded places with Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad about My Neck debuted at No. 1 and remains on the hardcover nonfiction list at No. 8. Running with Scissors is receiving added momentum due to the upcoming movie version. And along with The Sonoma Diet, food-related bestsellers include The Omnivore's Dilemma and Ultrametabolism. "The stereotype about us being food-obsessed here holds, I guess," commented Wilson.
From diets to dilemmas, sleuths to sharks, it's the diversity of Copperfield's title selection that appeals to Wilson. "It's an exciting chain to buy for," he said, "because we've got the literary and the commercial. And left and right."--Shannon McKenna
Copperfield's Books' bestsellers during the week ended Sunday, August 13:
Hardcover Fiction
1. Judge and Jury by James Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown, $27.99, 0316013935)
2. Pegasus Descending: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke (S&S, $26, 0743277724)
3. The Ruins by Scott Smith (Knopf, $24.95, 1400043875)
4. Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston (Warner, $21.99, 0446533068)
5. Vanishing Point by Marcia Muller (Mysterious Press, $24.99, 0892968052)
6. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Algonquin, $23.95, 1565124995)
7. The Keep by Jennifer Egan (Knopf, $23.95, 1400043921)
8. Talk Talk by T. C. Boyle (Viking, $25.95, 0670037702)
9. The Hard Way: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child (Delacorte, $25, 0385336691)
10. Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky (Knopf, $25, 1400044731)
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas Ricks (Penguin Press, $27.95, 159420103X)
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (Penguin, $26.95, 1594200823)
3. Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss by Mark Hyman, M.D. (Scribner, $25, 07432725520)
4. The Sonoma Diet: Trimmer Waist, Better Health in Just 10 Days! by Connie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D. (Meredith, $24.95, 0696228319)
5. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Morrow, $25.95, 006073132X)
6. The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D. (Morgan Road Books, $24.95, 0767920090)
7. Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper (HarperCollins, $24.95, 0061132381)
8. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (Knopf, $19.95, 0307264556)
9. The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 by Ron Suskind (S&S, $27, 0743271092)
10. The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine, Ph.D. (HarperCollins, $24.95, 0060595841)
Quality Paperbacks
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin, $14, 0143037145)
2. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (Rodale, $21.95, 1594865671)
3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Vintage, $14, 1400078776)
4. The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant (Scribner, $15, 0743225740)
5. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin, $24, 0143036696)
6. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (Norton, $13.95, 0393328627)
7. Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs (Picador, $14, 031242227X)
8. The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey (Owl Books, $14, 0805080112)
9. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead, $14, 1594481571)
10. The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer (Hyperion, $14.95, 0786888768)
Mystery scribe and Sonoma County resident Marcia Muller "is a strong seller for us," said Copperfield's buyer Ty Wilson. Vanishing Point, Muller's latest book featuring San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone, appears at No. 5 on the hardcover fiction list.
The No. 4 spot belongs to Lolly Winston and her new novel, Happiness Sold Separately. Winston, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, "was part of out literary lunch series for her first book, Good Grief," said Wilson.
Another author benefiting from appearances in years past is T.C. Boyle. He hails from farther down the California coast in Santa Barbara, but that hasn't stopped Talk Talk from achieving bestseller status at Copperfield's. "We've hosted him a number of times. Again, I think it's that loyal following," noted Wilson. "His books have always done well here."
Customer loyalty extends beyond works of fiction. Area author Anne Lamott has appeared at Copperfield's on many occasions, and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith graces the quality paperbacks list at No. 9. "This book has been out in paperback for a while now," said Wilson, "and it speaks to how popular she is with our customers."
Other nonfiction tomes with California connections include The Sonoma Diet by Dr. Connie Guttersen, a weight loss book that according to the publisher is "inspired by the sun-drenched foods and vibrant lifestyle of California's breathtakingly beautiful wine country." The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D., a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco, received a boost from a San Francisco Chronicle review. The Devil's Teeth "is a serious book for us," said Wilson of New York City journalist Susan Casey's narrative about the population of great white sharks that congregate each fall in the waters surrounding the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco. "We've had shark attacks off the Sonoma Coast, even recently," Wilson added.
Authors from other parts of the country whose books do not contain a correlation to the Golden State can take heart, though: they, too, are well-represented among Copperfield's bestsellers. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards is currently No. 1 on the quality paperbacks list, although for the last few weeks, noted Wilson, it has traded places with Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad about My Neck debuted at No. 1 and remains on the hardcover nonfiction list at No. 8. Running with Scissors is receiving added momentum due to the upcoming movie version. And along with The Sonoma Diet, food-related bestsellers include The Omnivore's Dilemma and Ultrametabolism. "The stereotype about us being food-obsessed here holds, I guess," commented Wilson.
From diets to dilemmas, sleuths to sharks, it's the diversity of Copperfield's title selection that appeals to Wilson. "It's an exciting chain to buy for," he said, "because we've got the literary and the commercial. And left and right."--Shannon McKenna
Copperfield's Books' bestsellers during the week ended Sunday, August 13:
Hardcover Fiction
1. Judge and Jury by James Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown, $27.99, 0316013935)
2. Pegasus Descending: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke (S&S, $26, 0743277724)
3. The Ruins by Scott Smith (Knopf, $24.95, 1400043875)
4. Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston (Warner, $21.99, 0446533068)
5. Vanishing Point by Marcia Muller (Mysterious Press, $24.99, 0892968052)
6. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Algonquin, $23.95, 1565124995)
7. The Keep by Jennifer Egan (Knopf, $23.95, 1400043921)
8. Talk Talk by T. C. Boyle (Viking, $25.95, 0670037702)
9. The Hard Way: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child (Delacorte, $25, 0385336691)
10. Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky (Knopf, $25, 1400044731)
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas Ricks (Penguin Press, $27.95, 159420103X)
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (Penguin, $26.95, 1594200823)
3. Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss by Mark Hyman, M.D. (Scribner, $25, 07432725520)
4. The Sonoma Diet: Trimmer Waist, Better Health in Just 10 Days! by Connie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D. (Meredith, $24.95, 0696228319)
5. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Morrow, $25.95, 006073132X)
6. The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D. (Morgan Road Books, $24.95, 0767920090)
7. Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper (HarperCollins, $24.95, 0061132381)
8. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (Knopf, $19.95, 0307264556)
9. The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 by Ron Suskind (S&S, $27, 0743271092)
10. The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine, Ph.D. (HarperCollins, $24.95, 0060595841)
Quality Paperbacks
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin, $14, 0143037145)
2. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (Rodale, $21.95, 1594865671)
3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Vintage, $14, 1400078776)
4. The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant (Scribner, $15, 0743225740)
5. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin, $24, 0143036696)
6. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (Norton, $13.95, 0393328627)
7. Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs (Picador, $14, 031242227X)
8. The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey (Owl Books, $14, 0805080112)
9. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead, $14, 1594481571)
10. The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer (Hyperion, $14.95, 0786888768)