Colleen Hoover Dominating 2022 With 6 Of Year’s 10 Best-Selling Books

Topline

Romance and young-adult author Colleen Hoover wrote six out of the top 10 best-selling books of 2022 through the end of November, according to market research company NPD BookScan, fueled by her dedicated fanbase and the massive influence of readers on TikTok.

Key Facts

Big Number

8.6 million. That’s how many print books Hoover had sold by October—more than the Bible—according to the New York Times. She has sold more books in 2022 than Dr. Seuss, and more than James Patterson and John Grisham combined, according to the Times.

Chief Critic

Despite her rabid fan base (which calls itself as the “CoHort”), Hoover’s novels have been accused of being “trauma porn” by some and dismissed by critics. “There’s something adolescent about the belief that trauma automatically makes a person interesting or deep, but Hoover’s characterization needs all the help it can get to make her heroes and heroines seem more than generic,” wrote Slate critic Laura Miller. Other publications, like the New York Times Book Review and The New Yorker, largely ignore her works. “‘Verity’ delivers the grand slam of thriller twists — the holy grail of “what the…?!” moments. I didn’t like it, but it lit up my brain, and that’s got to count for something,” the Washington Post wrote this year.

Key Background

Hoover self-published her first book, Slammed, in 2012, which made the New York Times’ best-seller list. Her books are often a dramatic mix of romance and plot twists. The 43-year-old has released 24 novels since starting her writing career a decade ago, including two this year. As of October, It Ends With Us had sold 4 million copies. Hoover was dubbed “the queen of BookTok” by Slate, referring to the influential corner of the video-sharing app where readers gush over their favorite stories and drive sales. Last year, the U.S. book market was up 9% compared to 2020, and an analyst told Forbes at the time BookTok had “definitely been a factor” in the surge. Hoover herself has 1.1 million followers on TikTok, and the hashtag #colleenhoover has over 3 billion views on the app. Hoover is the No. 1 most-followed on GoodReads.

What To Watch For

Hoover is under contract to release six more in the next five years, through publishers Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Amazon Publishing, according to the Times.

Best Selling Books Of 2022 So Far

1. It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover
2. Verity, Colleen Hoover
3. Where The Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
4. It Starts With Us, Colleen Hoover
5. Ugly Love, Colleen Hoover
6. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
7. Reminders Of Him, Colleen Hoover
8. Atomic Habits, James Clear
9. November 9, Colleen Hoover
10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

Further Reading

The Unlikely Author Who’s Absolutely Dominating the Bestseller List (Slate)

How TikTok Helped Fuel The Best-Selling Year For Print Books (Forbes)

How Colleen Hoover Rose to Rule the Best-Seller List (The New York Times)

Author Colleen Hoover went from tending cows to writing bestsellers (NPR)

Why We Can’t Stop Reading Colleen Hoover’s Trauma-Filled Novels (Time)

How Colleen Hoover Conquered the Bestseller List (Wall Street Journal)