Bestsellers for the week ending Dec. 19

Publishers Weekly’s U.S. list powered by NPD BookScan for the week ending Dec. 19.

HARDCOVER

FICTION

1. A TIME FOR MERCY, by John Grisham (Doubleday)

2. DEADLY CROSS, by James Patterson (Little, Brown)

3. READY PLAYER TWO, by Ernest Cline (Ballantine)

4. THE RETURN, by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central)

5. THE VANISHING HALF, by Brit Bennett (Riverhead)

6. DAYLIGHT, by David Baldacci (Grand Central)

7. THE SENTINEL, by Lee Child (Delacorte)

8. THE AWAKENING, by Nora Roberts (St. Martin’s)

9. THE LAW OF INNOCENCE, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)

10. THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY, by Matt Haig (Viking)

NONFICTION

1. A PROMISED LAND, by Barack Obama (Crown)

2. GREENLIGHTS, by Matthew McConaughey (Crown)

3. HUMANS, by Brandon Stanton (St. Martin’s)

4. MODERN COMFORT FOOD, by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter)

5. BAG MAN, by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz (Crown)

6. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2021 (Guinness World Records)

7. THE HAPPY IN A HURRY COOKBOOK, by Kathy Doocy and Steve Doocy (Morrow)

8. CASTE, by Isabel Wilkerson (Random House)

9. UNTAMED, by Glennon Doyle (Dial)

10. THE LAST DAYS OF JOHN LENNON, by James Patterson (Little, Brown)

PAPERBACK

1. INTERESTING STORIES FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE, by Bill O’Neill (LAK)

2. HOME BODY, by Rupi Kaur (Andrews McMeel)

3. SHUGGIE BAIN, by Douglas Stuart (Grove)

4. BURN AFTER WRITING, by Sharon Jones (TarcherPerigee)

5. NYPD RED 6, by James Patterson and Marshall Karp (Grand Central)

6. THE STEP-BY-STEP INSTANT POT COOKBOOK, by Jeffrey Eisner (Voracious)

7. THE TRUTHS WE HOLD, by Kamala Harris (Penguin)

8. THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC 2021 (Old Farmer’s Almanac)

9. THE INSTITUTE, by Stephen King (Gallery)

10. CIRCE, by Madeline Miller (Back Bay)