'Grey' is No. 1 for second week
Here's a look at what's new on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list…
'Grey' is golden: Grey continues to dominate, remaining in the No. 1 spot for the second straight week. (The full list will publish on Thursday.) E.L. James' latest Fifty Shades of Grey novel has sold 1.5 million print and digital copies since its June 18 release, says Vintage spokesman Paul Bogaards.
The erotic novel is told from bad-boy billionaire Christian Grey's point of view (his lover Anastasia Steele is the voice of the first three books).
James writes in a preface that she wrote the book in response to fans "who asked…and asked…and asked…and asked for this." And while she delivered, the response has not been universally ecstatic.
The author was greeted with some sarcastic and hostile comments during a Twitter Q&A this week, and not surprisingly, mainstream reviews have not been kind.
Entertainment Weekly gave Grey a D+, describing James' prose as "cringeworthy." She, no doubt, is laughing all the way to the proverbial bank.
Fifty Shades of Grey, the first novel in the series, spent 20 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the list in 2012, a record.
'Martian' landing: There's nothing like a compelling movie trailer to boost book sales. The Martian, Andy Weir's debut sci-fi novel, has seen a bump since the trailer arrived last month. Starring Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars, the Ridley Scott movie will be released on Oct. 2 (moved up from an original planned release date of Nov. 25).
The Martian had an unlikely flight path to success. Weir first released it as a free serial on his website and then self-published a 99-cent e-book. Strong sales made the publishing industry – and movie studios – take notice.
Published in hardcover by Crown in February 2014, The Martian landed at No. 48 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list that month. Its highest ranking was No. 43 on Jan. 1, 2015, until the release of the trailer, when it jumped from No. 66 on June 11 to No. 4 on June 18. This week it is No. 9.
In a 3 (out of four) star review for USA TODAY, Kevin Nance called The Martian a "page-turning techno-thriller."
The book, which has sold nearly 700,000 copies, is currently out in paperback and digitally. A movie tie-in paperback edition will be published on Aug. 18. Crown reports that Weir is working on a new novel.