Our bestsellers of the year
Did Butter knife Orbital?
Last call for Christmas orders
There’s still time to give a slice of Backstory this Christmas. The deadline for international postage orders has passed, but we can post anything from our website anywhere in the UK by Christmas so long as you order it by this Tuesday at midday.
After that, we can still email you Backstory vouchers and subscription vouchers right up until Christmas Eve.
Here are a few ideas:
Tailored Backstory book subscriptions for adults or children. These are enormously popular gifts. We can post or email you a voucher to give to them on the day
Backstory vouchers to spend in the bookshop. We can post or email the voucher to you
A host of excellent book suggestions in our Christmas gift guide
Upcoming events
THIS FRIDAY, 20 December, 6 for 7pm, Our final Winter Session: Average Ginger Come to the last music night in our current series, for just £5
10 January, 7pm — Poetry Open Mic Night. This is completely free, and there's no need to book in advance. Sign-up is at the door for those wanting to read, and we welcome prose, poetry, or any other form of writing you'd like to share!
15 January, 7.30pm Miranda Sawyer, Uncommon People. From Oasis to Radiohead to Blur and so many more — Who doesn't love 90s Britpop? We're thrilled to welcome Miranda Sawyer to Backstory to discuss her book Uncommon People, where she picks out twenty key songs from the era, delving into the surprising stories behind them and their unlikely creators. With amazing new interviews, and I-was-there insights, this book offers a backstage pass to all the most interesting bits of Britpop's Greatest Hits.
22 January, 7.30pm Polly Barton, Butter. SOLD OUT
29 January, 7.30pm Simon Jenkins, A Short History of British Architecture. By taking us on a journey through history, from prehistoric Stonehenge to the lofty towers of today, Jenkins shows that everyone is a consumer of architecture and makes the case for the importance of everyone learning to speak its language.
Our bestsellers of 2024
‘TIS THE SEASON for round-ups. And while we’re not exactly in reflective mood at Backstory yet — the tills are rather too busy a-ringing for that — it has been fun digging through the stats to compile our bestsellers chart for 2024.
Some of the books we sold most copies of this past year are not surprising: they have been bestsellers everywhere. But it is especially nice to see some titles that we have really championed, or ones we feel will particularly resonate with our customers, do so well.
Hope you enjoy flicking through these charts, with a brief commentary from me on each (and from Denise on the kids titles). If you like the look of anything, all of these books are available in the shop right up until December 23rd (we’re closed on Christmas Eve), or you can order online until midday on Tuesday for free delivery anywhere in the UK.
So, drumroll please…
New releases
TEN — Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst
Yay! Our Backstory non-fiction book of the year (which I’ve been championing for months now) makes the chart. It’s the extraordinary true story of a British couple who built their own boat only for it to sink in the middle of the Pacific, without any means of alerting outsiders. They are left in a tiny raft, to deal with nature — and themselves. What a story.
NINE — The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson
A well-deserved chart ranking for one of my books of the year, a thrilling memoir of a bright young thing who rose up the ranks on the trading floor at Citibank before throwing it all in. He now asks searching questions, of his own youthful excesses, and of the economy itself.
EIGHT — You Are Here by David Nicholls
Another of my books of the year, I lapped up this gorgeous, gently told tale of mud, love and long-distance walking.
SEVEN — Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
Not a bad achievement for a 650-page doorstopper! Megan and I hugely admired this blistering portrait of contemporary Britain told through the story of a successful middle-aged man hurtling towards his downfall.
SIX — We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida
It’s Japanese, it has cats on the cover. Need I say more?
FIVE — Grow Where They Fall by Michael Donkor
This was our book of the month way back in March, but really resonated with locals for its depiction of growing up gay in and around Balham and Tooting. The Devonshire gets name-checked!
FOUR — Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
The second of the two hardback bestsellers that I haven’t yet read, it is evident that for Backstory regulars at least, Coco pops. You made a beeline for her second novel, about three siblings coping with their sister’s death.
THREE — Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna
I devoured this book, set over the course of one sweltering weekend in London, as the deeds and desires of several interconnected characters collide.
TWO — Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Thirty copies ahead of its nearest rival, for my money this is Rooney’s best novel yet. I galloped through this story of awkward sibling relationships, chess — and, of course, sex.
AND IN AT NUMBER ONE…
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
By a whisker, our favourite novel published in hardback this year is also our bestselling hardback of the year. Which seems about right. If you haven’t heard me bang on about it already, this is an engrossing, claustrophobic novel set in the Dutch countryside in the early 1960s, where a young woman tends the family home, long after her mother died and her brothers moved out. When her brother’s girlfriend comes to stay, odd things begin to happen…
Paperbacks
TEN — Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver is a genius at animating the voices of those with lives very different to her own. This recasting of David Copperfield for opioid-strewn America is masterful.
NINE — Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshananthan
The winner of this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, an extraordinary book that was a decade in the making, set in the Sri Lankan civil war.
EIGHT — Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
A darkly funny break-up tale by one of the writers of Schitt’s Creek
SEVEN — Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Still riding high 18 months after it was first released in paperback, a tale of love, youthful creativity and video games.
SIX — Kala by Colin Walsh
A well-deserved chart position for one of my favourite debuts of recent years, a dark, twisty tale of friendship and suspicion set on the Irish coast.
FIVE — In Memoriam by Alice Winn
Last year’s Backstory book of the year holds its own in paperback too. Be warned: you will cry.
FOUR — Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang
A thrilling, darkly funny, gossipy tale of race, revenge and the publishing industry.
THREE — Damascus Station by David McCloskey
Sun, sex, spies, Syria. I really enjoyed McCloskey’s debut spy novel about the Assad regime. Read it amid its ruins.
TWO — Orbital by Samantha Harvey
For a while, I really thought this year’s Booker Winner might clinch the top spot. It has been flying out these last few weeks, and rightly so. It is a beautiful, strange, highly original read about life aboard the International Space Station that is as much about Earth as it is about space. Highly recommended by Denise and me (as well as the Booker judges obv!)
Still, nothing could stop the juggernaut that is…
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Outstripping its nearest rival by more than 100 copies, this Japanese novel about a cook-turned-killer has been nothing short of a sensation. Congratulations to those lucky enough to get tickets to hear its translator, Polly Barton, come to talk about it at Backstory early next year — the event sold out extremely quickly.
Kids
TEN — Wowzers! by Lou Carter (illustrated by Magda Brol)
Rabbit has saved up for a brand new car and really wants to outdo his friends — a hilarious tale of friendship
NINE — Kitchen Disco by Clare Foges (illustrated by Al Murphy)
A rhyming picture book with partying fruit that come to life in the dark of the kitchen
EIGHT — Oi Frog! by Kes Gray (illustrated by Jim Field)
Jam-packed with animals and silliness. Part of a bestselling rhyming series
SEVEN — Octopus Shocktopus! by Peter Bently (illustrated by Steven Lenton)
A brilliantly bonkers story about welcoming newcomers featuring a football-playing octopus
SIX — The Girl and The Dinosaur by Hollie Hughes (illustrated by Sarah Massini)
A special book about a girl who wishes the dinosaur bones she digs for come to life
FIVE — There’s a Tiger on the Train by Mariesa Dulak (illustrated by Rebecca Cobb)
Will dad, who is too busy looking at his phone, notice that a tiger, and other animals, have boarded the train to the seaside?
FOUR — Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey
The hilarious 12th book in the graphic novel series all about Dog Man, part policeman-part dog
THREE — Harriet, The Strongest Girl in the World by Ben Lerwill (illustrated by Beatrice Blue)
A powerful story about a little girl with a lot of strength who is thrilled when a circus arrives in town
TWO — Amy Gets Eaten by Adam Kay (illustrated by Henry Paker)
Follow Amy, a piece of sweetcorn, as she travels through Noah, a little boy who has eaten her in this funny, anatomically accurate adventure through the human body
AND TOP OF THE POPS…
Bunny vs Monkey: Bunny Bonanza! by Jamie Smart
The 9th book in this popular series sees Monkey and the gang hunting to find Bunny after he mysteriously disappeared
— Tom and Denise