USA Today Names "Deathly Hallows" Top Book of 2007

There is a new set of stories online from USA Today regarding the spectacular sales of the final book in author J. K. Rowling's series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," and of the impact this, and other books, had on the publishing industry this past year. In a series of reports, the magazine notes the smashing of "records with its 12-million-copy first printing" and the staggering "8.3 million [copies] sold in its first 24 hours" when the novel finally hit bookshelves on July 21, 2007. In the first article, USA Today names the Harry Potter novels, along with the sudden increase in popularity of paperback editions of books, the biggest trends of 2007.

"Deathly Hallows" also received the top honor when the online edition of the paper released their list of Top 100 books for 2007, naming the seventh installment of the series number one. Interestingly enough, the previous six Harry Potter novels, each of them having been in print for many years, were also ranked among 2007's top books. The sixth novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," came in at number 11 on the list while the remaining books of the series ranked as follows:

33. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
36. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
70. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
88. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
96. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Finally, the paper takes a look back at the number one books for each week of 2007, attempting to decipher the reading habits and influences which made that particular book tops during a specific time. Noting that no another book came close to the sales of "Deathly Hallows" in 2007, the report says this of the novel's place at number one:

The weekend of July 21 marked the end of an era. That's when the seventh and final Harry Potter book went on sale, pulling the other six books in the series high onto the list. Even the Harry Potter Schoolbooks ("Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages") made an appearance on the Top 150 list. Rowling is such a giant force that Potter books accounted for 8% of all sales tracked on the list in 2007. She is the year's top-selling author, selling nearly three times as many books as No. 2 author James Patterson. Deathly Hallows is the No.1 book of 2007, selling nearly three times as many copies as its nearest competitor, No. 2 The Secret.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)