The 100 Bestselling Books at Readings in 2012

It’s almost the end of the year which means it’s time to look back at the 100 bestselling books at Readings in 2012! This list combines sales from all six Readings shops and our website (but excludes ebooks.) Different editions of titles have been combined to reflect total sales of each title. The list includes all genres. It covers sales from 1 Jan 2012 to 14 December 2012.



The list includes a great range of Australian books (including Gaysia, The Chemistry Of Tears, The Essential Leunig, Autumn Laing), some word-of-mouth sensations released this year (HHhH, Gone Girl, The Dinner), popular trilogies (The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey) and prize-winners (Bring Up The Bodies, Behind the Beautiful Forevers).

Scroll down to see our number one selling book!

100. The Spinoza Problem by Irvin D. Yalom

99. The Convent by Maureen McCarthy

98. Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law

97. Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver

96. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 6: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

95. The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do

94. Where Is The Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

93. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

92. Memoirs of an Addicted Brain by Marc Lewis

91. Foal’s Bread Gillian Mears

90. Lola Bensky by Lily Brett

89. Tasting India by Christine Manfield

88. The Little Veggie Patch Co: How to Grow Food in Small Spaces by Fabian Capomolla and Mat Pember

87. Annie’s Garden to Table by Annie Smithers

86. The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler

85. A Song of Ice and Fire Book 4: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

84. Melbourne by Sophie Cunningham

83. Gough Whitlam: His Time (Volume 2) by Jenny Hocking

82. Free Will by Sam Harris

81. Phantom by Jo Nesbo

80. The Family Hour in Australia by Tai Snaith

79. A Song Of Ice And Fire Book 2: A Clash Of Kings by George R.R. Martin

78. Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood

77. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

76. Sunday’s Garden: Growing Heide by Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan

75. Mr Wilkinson’s Favourite Vegetables by Matt Wilkinson

74. Beastly Things by Donna Leon

73. The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

72. Mortality by Christopher Hitchens

71. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

70. NW by Zadie Smith

69. Stasiland by Anna Funder

68. On The Road by Jack Keroac

67. The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

66. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Book 7: Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney

65. A Song Of Ice And Fire Book 3: A Storm Of Swords Part 2: Blood and Gold by George R.R. Martin

64. 1835: The Founding Of Melbourne & The Conquest Of Australia by James Boyce

63. Eleven Seasons by Paul D. Carter

62. Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner

61. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

60. The Dinner by Herman Koch

59. HHhH by Laurent Binet

58. Whole Larder Love by Rohan Anderson

57. Quarterly Essay 45: Us And Them: The Importance Of Animals by Anna Krien

56. The Second World War by Antony Beevor

55. A Song Of Ice And Fire Book 3: A Storm Of Swords Part 1: Steel and Stone by George R.R. Martin

54. A Universe From Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing by Lawrence Krauss

53. My Journey by Jim Stynes

52. Standing in Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin

51. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

50. Canada by Richard Ford

49. The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

48. A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

47. Quarterly Essay 46: Great Expectations: Government, Entitlement and an Angry Nation by Laura Tingle

46. A Cook’s Life by Stephanie Alexander

45. The Hanging Garden by Patrick White

44. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson

43. QF32: The Captain’s Extraordinary Account of How One of the World’s Worst Air Disasters Was Averted by Richard De Crespigny

42. A Song Of Ice And Fire Book 5: A Dance With Dragons by George R R Martin

41. The New Graded Word-Book For Australian Schools by W. Foster & H. Bryant

40. The Woman Who Changed Her Brain by Barbara Arrowsmith-Young

39. The Casual Cyclist’s Guide To Melbourne by Matt Hurst and Guests

38. Speechless: A Year In My Father’s Business by James Button

37. Jamie’s Thirty Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver

36. Mateship With Birds by Carrie Tiffany

35. True North: The Story Of Mary And Elizabeth Durack by Brenda Niall

34. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

33. Just Doomed! by Andy Griffiths

32. The Age Cheap Eats 2012 edited by Nina Rousseau and Simone Egger (out of print)

31. Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver

30. Behind The Beautiful Forevers: Life Death And Hope In A Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

29. The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

28. Autumn Laing Alex Miller

27. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

26. The Engagement by Chloe Hooper

25. The Age Good Food Guide 2013 by Janne Apelgren

24. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

23. Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

22. James Halliday Wine Companion 2013 by James Halliday

21. A Song Of Ice And Fire Book 1: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

20. The Australian Moment by George Megalogenis

19. The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman

18. The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund De Waal

17. The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska

16. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

15. The Chemistry Of Tears by Peter Carey

14. The Essential Leunig: Cartoons From A Winding Path by Michael Leunig

13. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James

12. Quarterly Essay 47: Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbott by David Marr

11. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

10. Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

9. The Sense Of An Ending by Julian Barnes

8. The Hunger Games Book 3: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

7. Religion For Atheists: A Non Believer’s Guide To The Uses Of Religion by Alain de Botton

6. Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

5. The Hunger Games Book 2: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

4. The Hunger Games Book 1: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

3. Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel

2. Fifty Shades Of Grey by E. L. James

1. All That I Am by Anna Funder

Australian Women Writers Challenge

and the

Stella Prize

, we are delighted that a novel by an Australian woman is our number one selling book of 2012!

All That I Am

has had an incredible run – last year, it was our number #4 bestseller, and this year it just kept on selling, easily slotting into the number one spot. Books written by women also round out our top five, with the EL James juggernaut

Fifty Shades of Grey

, Hilary Mantel’s masterpiece

Bring Up the Bodies

and the ever popular

Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins.