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A New Milestone
Sunday, January 08, 2006
On Friday morning, the Wall Street Journal's new nonfiction bestseller list came out. And Marley & Me was .... (drumroll, please) #1. The top-selling nonfiction hardcover book in America last week, by the Journal's count. A writer friend of mine, who is no stranger to the bestseller list herself, said, "That one goes on the wall." You're darned straight it does. As if that weren't enough to give me a serious case of the butterflies all day, I then learned that I also had made #1 on the Publisher's Weekly nonfiction list. And in today's (Sunday, Jan. 8) New York Times, Marley & Me moved up from #4 to #3, its tenth consecutive week on the Times list.
The Book Standard nonfiction bestsellers list, which clumps hardcover and paperbacks together, placed me at #2 after the Oprah pick A Million Little Pieces. In its e-newsletter, Book Standard wrote:
John Grogan's Marley & Me continues to climb the Nonfiction Chart as it moves one spot to No. 2 after selling 27,000 units last week. As a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Grogan wrote about his crazy dog, Marley. In November, he immortalized Marley with the book after the canine died in 2003. With Grogan currently on tour and USA Today calling Marley & Me the dog lover's book of the year, Grogan's ode to "the world's worst dog" captured hearts over the holiday season (selling more than 100,000 units the week before Christmas) and looks to stay strong into 2006.
So Friday was a total rollercoaster ride for me. I'm just hanging on for dear life and seeing where the ride takes me -- and how long it lasts. My literary agency sent a giant bouquet of red-and-white balloons to my house to help me celebrate (Thanks Brian, Laurie and Kate!). And my editors and publishers at William Morrow sent me a giant mounted print of the cover of Marley & Me (Thanks, everyone!). Every time I see that goofy dog's big face looking out at me, I just start laughing. If he only knew what a splash the obedience-school flunkie was making.
Also Friday, an Associated Press reporter and photographer came to my house to interview me about the success of Marley & Me for a story that will run on the AP's national feature wire. The reporter wanted my theory on why the book has sold so well. I wasn't quite sure what to tell him, but I do know that I am receiving hundreds and hundreds of letters from readers who thank me for giving voice to the intense and richly satisfying relationship that exists between people and canines -- a relationship many say they never felt they could freely express without risking rolled eyes from those who never experienced the connection.
One last note, many of you told me you were having trouble posting photos of your dogs on the "Share Your Stories" page of this site. Based on your feedback, HarperCollins has revamped the platform that the page runs on, allowing easier uploads directly from your computers. So you may want to give it another try... I just posted a photo of our new Lab Gracie there, and it worked just fine. -- jg
posted by John Grogan at 9:28 PM
 
1 Comments:
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mr. grogan, i have yet to read your book , but i am planning on purchasing it today. i am the proud mommy of a 5 year old chocolate labrador retriever. i was reading the story on cnn's website about your book, and had tears running down my face, i was laughing that hard. marley's escapades sound all too familiar when i think of what abbey (said chocolate lab) has gotten into in the short time i've known her.
i absolutely love that you wrote this book about your dog, and i'm so excited to hear the story (as i usually am when i come across anyone who is as ridiculously in love with their pet as i am with mine).
can't wait to read it!
amanda