The Sunday Times Bestseller List is the oldest and most influential book sales chart in the UK, and the one that every author wants to be on. The listings are based on data collected each Saturday for the following Sunday by Nielsen BookScan (which has been collecting digital data since 1998) and the chart is the most accurate and comprehensive estimation of book sales in the country.
• There are four Sarah J Maas novels, all volumes in her Court of Thorns and Roses series, in the paperback fiction charts this week. She has sold two million copies since the first book appeared ten years ago.
• Jack Mosley, a GP registrar, has taken up the mantle of his father, Michael, by writing an intelligent, perky book about health. Food Noise has whizzed straight to the top of the charts.
General hardbacks
1 The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House £22.99)
Stop wasting your time and energy on the things that you can’t control (3,000)
Read our interview with Mel Robbins
2 To the Women by Donna Ashworth (Black & White £12.99)
Poetry collection celebrating the beauty, strength and joy of being a woman (2,735)
3 On Democracies and Death Cults by Douglas Murray (HarperCollins £25)
Why western support for the Palestinian cause could fortify dangerous forces (2,440)
4 Victory ‘45 by James Holland and Al Murray (Bantam £22)
Chronicling the stories behind six surrenders that ended the Second World War (2,425)
5 We Are Not Numbers by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey (Hutchinson Heinemann £14.99)
The stories of young people from Gaza, born under occupation and blockade (1,685)
6 The Mind of the Minister by Tom Brown (Biteback £22)
Exploring the relationship between civil servants and government ministers (1,530)
7 Hope: The Autobiography by Pope Francis (Viking £25)
The late head of the Catholic Church on his upbringing, faith and politics (1,400)
Read our review of Hope: The Autobiography by Pope Francis
8 Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Macmillan £22)
The author’s experiences working at the heart of Facebook (1,170)
Read our review of Careless People
9 Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman (Bloomsbury £20)
Make the world a better place by basing success on impact, not wealth (1,095)
10 Cartier by Helen Molesworth and Rachel Garrahan (V&A Publishing £40)
Official accompaniment to the exhibition (1,085)
General paperbacks
1 Food Noise by Jack Mosley (Octopus £16.99)
Understand the science behind so-called “miracle” weight-loss drugs (7,115)
Read our interview with Jack Mosley
2 A History of the World in 47 Borders by Jonn Elledge (Wildfire £10.99)
How political identities are shaped and why the world looks the way it does (3,740)
3 The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson (Penguin £10.99)
The rags-to-riches memoir of a former City trader and why he gave it all up (3,420)
Read our review of The Trading Game
4 Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson £10.99)
Ten maps that tell you all you need to know about global politics (2,460)
5 A History of Britain in Ten Enemies by Terry Deary (Penguin £10.99)
The Horrible Histories writer on how Britain is defined by the enemies it has made (2,310)
6 The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga (Allen & Unwin £10.99)
A philosopher and a student discuss the means to achieve lasting happiness (2,270)
7 The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin £10.99)
How a shift from free play to smartphones in childhood has affected our health (2,200)
Read our review of The Anxious Generation
8 Atomic Habits by James Clear (Random House Business £17.99)
The minuscule changes that can result in life-altering outcomes (2,040)
9 The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (Penguin £10.99)
A couple of 32 years discover the healing power of the natural world (1,985)
10 The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell (Penguin £10.99)
The story of an unlikely friendship between a flightless bird and a teacher (1,980)
Fiction hardbacks
1 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (Viking £20)
Two writers compete to tell a reclusive heiress’s larger-than-life story (8,945)
2 The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Hodderscape £22)
Seven contenders trained at rival monasteries compete to replace an emperor (7,510)
3 Spellbound by Georgia Leighton (Bantam £16.99)
A feminist retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale (3,425)
4 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Piatkus £25)
As war heightens in Basgiath loyalties are tested; sequel to Iron Flame (3,145)
Read our review of Onyx Storm
5 A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames (HarperVoyager £16.99)
A butcher’s daughter, a sorcerer and a talking cat unlock secrets in their kingdom (2,700)
6 Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz (Century £22)
Clues leading to the truth behind an author’s death are hidden in a mystery novel (2,310)
Read our review of Marble Hall Murders
7 The Tainted Khan by Taran Matharu (HarperVoyager £18.99)
A dragon rider hones his skills, and dreams of leading his people to freedom (1,800)
8 Strangers in Time by David Baldacci (Macmillan £22)
Two teenagers find an ally in a bookshop owner during the Second World War (1,675)
Read our review of Strangers in Time
9 Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine (HarperCollins £20)
An unsolved murder comes to the attention of a late-night radio talk show host (1,410)
Read our interview with Jeremy Vine
10 The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday £20)
After the sudden death of an artist, his four children try to sort out his affairs (1,185)
Read our review of The Homemade God
Fiction paperbacks
1 Precipice by Robert Harris (Penguin £9.99)
On the cusp of war, the prime minister Herbert Asquith has an affair with a socialite (13,190)
Read our review of Precipice
2 Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (Penguin £9.99)
Passengers on a plane receive unsettling predictions about their futures (9,605)
3 In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child (Penguin £9.99)
Jack Reacher wakes up shackled to a bed with no memory of how he got there (9,535)
Read our review of In Too Deep
4 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Penguin £9.99)
One lost poem, two rivers and three lives are connected by a single drop of water (9,470)
Read our review of There Are Rivers in the Sky
5 A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (Bloomsbury £9.99)
After a huntress kills a wolf, a terrifying creature demands retribution (9,135)
6 One of Us Is Dead by Peter James (Pan £9.99)
A man spots an old friend at a funeral whom he gave a eulogy for two years prior (8,580)
7 A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas (Bloomsbury £10.99)
Feyre allies with Rhysand, the High Lord of the feared Night Court (7,585)
8 A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas (Bloomsbury £10.99)
Feyre and Rhysand rally allies, confront Hybern and fight to save Prythian (7,080)
9 A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Mass (Bloomsbury £10.99)
Sparks become flames when Nesta trains with the battle-scarred warrior Cassian (6,650)
10 All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Orion £9.99)
The search for an abductor and an abductee takes place over decades (6,565)
Manuals
1 Cozy Corner by Coco Wyo (Penguin £7.99)
A heartwarming bakery, a reading alcove, a cosy kitchen and more to colour in (8,445)
2 BBC Proms 2025 (BBC Proms £9.99)
The definitive guide to the long-running classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall (7,285)
3 Cozy Cuties by Coco Wyo (Penguin £7.99)
Colour in budding gardens, baby animals and sunny skies for rest and relaxation (6,805)
4 Easy 10 by Amy Sheppard (Quadrille £22)
Dinner recipes based on pasta, cheese, mince, rice and other top supermarket ingredients (6,455)
5 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2025 by Lawrence Booth (Wisden £60)
The latest edition of the annual cricket reference book (4,935)
The lists are prepared by and the data is supplied by (and copyrighted to) NielsenIQ BookData, and are taken from the NielsenIQ BookScan Total Consumer Market for the week ending 26/04/25. Figures shown are sales for the seven-day period.
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