The New York Times Bestseller List vs. Their Best of List for 2022

I’ve been keeping adjacent way of the New York Times bestseller lists for respective weeks now, and 1 happening I’ve noticed is conscionable however overmuch it differs from the “buzziest” books. If I was going based disconnected online buzz, I’d deliberation Babel by R.F. Kuang had the longest clip connected the bestseller list, and if I was looking astatine the Best of 2022 lists enactment retired by large publications, I’d deliberation it was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. In reality, though, the bestselling books are ones you’ve apt not heard astir connected the bookish internet: connected immoderate fixed week, they’re overmuch much apt to beryllium thing similar measurement 27 successful a long-running enigma bid by James Patterson oregon David Baldacci.

So, arsenic an experiment, I wanted to spot however overmuch overlap determination is betwixt The New York Times’s bestseller database and their Best Books of the Year list. I’ve conscionable concentrated connected the Fiction list, due to the fact that tabulating done a twelvemonth of play bestseller lists successful 1 class was capable for me. I lone considered books released successful 2022, though Colleen Hoover’s backlist would person blown each these different books retired of the water. Here are the books that stayed connected the bestseller database the longest successful 2022.

The New York Time Bestsellers of the Year

Not lone did nary of the books overlap with the bestselling books of the year, successful information nary of these books ever deed the bestseller database astatine all. This shows the immense spread betwixt the books that get the astir designation and the ones that get the astir sales. Are these gems that the speechmaking nationalist is foolishly missing retired on, and astir radical person unspeakable speechmaking taste? Or are these editors hopelessly retired of interaction with what radical are funny successful reading? Who are these “Best Books of the Year” lists for, anyway? What is the benignant of scholar being targeted?

So What are the Best Books?

When I acceptable retired to comparison the bestselling books to the editorially decided “best books,” I expected they wouldn’t enactment up. Best of lists, particularly astatine the NYT, thin to thin towards literate fiction, which is not a class that tends to deed the bestseller list. Still, I expected some statement betwixt the two.

Fairy Tale by Stephen King was 1 of Amazon’s champion books of the year, for instance, and it besides is 1 of the bestsellers of 2022. Between the NYT champion books list, the Washington Post’s, and Barnes and Noble’s, that’s the lone illustration of a publication named that besides shows up connected the bestseller list, though. There’s a large discrepancy betwixt the books we’re told are the champion and the ones radical are reading.

As for Book Riot’s ain Best Books of 2022 list, you’ll person to hold conscionable a small longer to spot whether we broadside much with the bestsellers oregon these publications. (Spoiler alert: we sanction books you won’t person seen connected immoderate different lists, but you decidedly request to cheque out.)

So what’s the verdict: if these lists disagree truthful much, which books are really the best? Well, that depends what you’re looking for. If you’re searching for finely crafted, thought-provoking, literate titles that are successful the moving for awards, thing similar the New York Times editorially determined Best Books of 2022 database volition beryllium person to your speed. If you privation the books the astir radical are speechmaking and talking about, the authors that are auto-buys for galore people, that’s bestseller territory. (That doesn’t mean they’re not besides well-written, of course, but that depends connected the idiosyncratic title.)

But for astir of us, there’s country successful our TBR for some kinds of books — and truthful overmuch more.