High Heat, Lee Child's novella about young Jack Reacher in New York City during the blackout of 1977, topped the Kindle Singles best-seller lists for 12 weeks in 2013, more than any other fiction e-book single.
The Secret Agent, a dazzling true story about a World War II spy who duped the Nazis, ranked as the best-selling Kindle Single for 12 weeks as well, more than any other nonfiction story. The story was written by Stephan Talty, who co-wrote the long-form book A Captain's Duty, which formed the basis of the 2013 hit film Captain Philips.
Each Sunday, Thin Reads freezes Amazon's Kindle Singles best-seller lists, and creates its own weekly top 10 lists for nonfiction and fiction Kindle Singles. Those lists are then published online by Thin Reads. The 2013 Thin Reads best-seller rankings is based on an analysis of its weekly best-seller lists. And, for the record, there are no overall figures for e-book single sales at this present time.
It's clear from studying the 2013 best-seller lists that Kindle Single consumers prefer their fiction from well-known, mass-market authors. The nonfiction list is much more eclectic and the top-sellers appear to be mostly driven by topic, not the author of the piece. Murder, mayhem and war appeal to nonfiction Kindle Single readers, based on the Thin Reads analysis.
Here are the complete rankings for the year. We've linked to some of the Kindle Single reviews that have been posted on Thin Reads in case you want to learn more about a title.
FICTION (weeks as best-selling fiction Kindle Single)
1. High Heat, by Lee Child (12)
2. Pros and Cons, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg ((9)
3. Deep Down, by Lee Child (7)
4. A Textbook Case, by Jeffery Deaver (6)
5. Wilderness, by Dean Koontz (5)
6. The Color War, by Jodi Picoult (4)
7. Rendezvous, by Nelson DeMille (4)
8. Lost and Found, by Debbie Macomber (3)
9. Rules for Virgins, by Amy Tan (1)
10. Phoenix, by Chuck Palahniuk (1)
NONFICTION (weeks as best-selling nonfiction Kindle Single)
1. The Secret Agent, by Stephan Talty (12)
2. Murder in the Yoga Store, by Peter Ross Range (8)
3. Mayflower: The Voyage from Hell, by Kevin Jackson (7)
4. Guns, by Stephen King (5)
5. Dresden: A Survivor's Story, by Victor Gregg (5)
6. An Unexpected Twist, by Andy Borowitz (4)
7. Trial by Fury, by Douglas Preston (3)
8. It's All in Your Head, by Eva Hagberg (2)
9. Searching for Dave Chappelle, by Jason Zinoman (2)
10. Anthony Bourdain: The Kindle Single Interview, by David Blum (1)
11. Gloria Steinem: The Kindle Single Interview, by Salamishah Tillet (1)
12. Cocaine Cowgirl, by Jennie Erin Smith (1)
13. Here's the Deal, by Dave Leonhardt (1)