1996 in books
Who ruled 1996? James Redfield was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1996, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Redfield | 462 | 5 | 31 |
| 2 | Danielle Steel | 291 | 4 | 17 |
| 3 | John Grisham | 260 | 5 | 18 |
| 4 | Mary Higgins Clark | 228 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | Anonymous | 220 | 9 | 14 |
| 6 | Tom Clancy | 199 | 5 | 15 |
| 7 | Nicholas Evans | 188 | 1 | 14 |
| 8 | Terry McMillan | 183 | 0 | 11 |
| 9 | Shel Silverstein | 173 | 0 | 8 |
| 10 | Jacquelyn Mitchard | 157 | 6 | 11 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7, 1996 | The Christmas Box | Richard Paul Evans | 2 |
| Jan 21, 1996 | The Horse Whisperer | Nicholas Evans | 1 |
| Jan 28, 1996 | Intensity | Dean Koontz | 3 |
| Feb 18, 1996 | Primary Colors | Anonymous | 9 |
| Apr 21, 1996 | Moonlight Becomes You | Mary Higgins Clark | 4 |
| May 19, 1996 | How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Terry McMillan | 2 |
| Jun 2, 1996 | The Runaway Jury | John Grisham | 7 |
| Jul 21, 1996 | Cause of Death | Patricia Cornwell | 5 |
| Aug 25, 1996 | Servant of the Bones | Anne Rice | 1 |
| Sep 1, 1996 | Executive Orders | Tom Clancy | 5 |
| Oct 6, 1996 | The Deep End of the Ocean | Jacquelyn Mitchard | 6 |
| Oct 13, 1996 | Desperation | Stephen King | 2 |
| Dec 1, 1996 | Silent Honor | Danielle Steel | 4 |
| Dec 29, 1996 | Airframe | Michael Crichton | 1 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Notebook | Nicholas Sparks | #3 | 56 | 361.8 |
| 2 | The Runaway Jury | John Grisham | #1 | 23 | 254.5 |
| 3 | Executive Orders | Tom Clancy | #1 | 24 | 244.2 |
| 4 | The Deep End of the Ocean | Jacquelyn Mitchard | #1 | 29 | 236.4 |
| 5 | Primary Colors | Anonymous | #1 | 25 | 219.2 |
| 6 | The Tenth Insight | James Redfield | #2 | 24 | 184.9 |
| 7 | How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Terry McMillan | #1 | 21 | 179.2 |
| 8 | Falling Up | Shel Silverstein | #3 | 30 | 176.7 |
| 9 | Airframe | Michael Crichton | #1 | 17 | 159.1 |
| 10 | Moonlight Becomes You | Mary Higgins Clark | #1 | 17 | 142.5 |
Author of the Year and the rankings are the ChartReign Power model: the author with the most chart power over the year, not the most #1s. Crowns are weeks crowned Author of the Week. How it works