Explore Kindle best sellers of 2018 in popular genres

Are you looking for the best books you could download to your Kindle e-reader or a Kindle app on your new tablet?

Getting books recommended by editors and reviewers is one way of finding books. Another way is exploring book best seller lists. They reflect how readers vote for books. They vote not only with ratings or reviews. Most of all, they vote with their wallets.

The annual list of Top 100 Kindle best sellers was always on our radar. It shows the state of the Kindle Store and its evolution.

And the Kindle Store is more and more driven by digital subscriptions, mainly Kindle Unlimited. As many as nine books in the Top 10 are available for Kindle Unlimited members, including the 1st book in 2018 and 2017 – Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Only 20 books in the Top 100 are not Kindle Unlimited eligible.

Titles from big publishers (which are usually not available via Kindle Unlimited) are pushed down the list. The first non-subscription title takes the 8th place. It’s Michael Wolff’s controversial biography of Donald Trump, Fire and Fury.

The Top 100 list is flooded with titles from Literature & Fiction genre. This genre dominates the Top 20. That’s why grouping books into genre-specific Top 10 lists can give a chance to books from other categories, like nonfiction, teen & YA fiction, or biographies, which are ranked in the second half of the main list.

If you are a science fiction fan, you will be disappointed to discover that only two books are on the list: The Handmaid’s Tale at #1, and Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman at #98.

Books from Harry Potter series were placed by the publisher in two categories: YA and children’s books. And, as the series is available via Kindle Unlimited, these categories in Top 100 are basically owned by Harry Potter.

Below, you will find books from the list of Top 100 Kindle best sellers of 2018, split into Top 10 category lists. Besides the title and author, each entry includes information about the book’s place in the main Top 100 ranking (brown box).

Plus, if you also see the gray box with the text “KU,” it means the book is available via Kindle Unlimited subscription.

[ef-reco id=”131931″ title=”Read also” info=”Top article”]

Kindle best sellers of 2018 by genre

Top 10 – Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

1. #2KU A Killer’s Mind by Mike Omer – a suspenseful crime thriller about the FBI team trying to descend into a serial killer’s psyche before he kills more women in Chicago.
2. #5KU Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh – after her babysitter is killed, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most deadly case of her lifetime.
3. #9KU The King Tides by James Swain – ex-Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster is hired by parents to protect their daughter from stalking. Soon he starts to face the growing tide of secrets.
4. #12KU White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey – in December 1943, German dissenter Franka Gerber discovers an unconscious airman lying in the snow and takes him to her isolated cabin.
5. #14KU The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen – a haunting novel about a woman who embarks on a healing journey to Tuscany to understand her father’s hidden past.
6. #15KU I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll – a teenage girl disappears the day after she is harassed by strangers. A year later, the woman who witnessed it, starts to receive threatening letters.
7. #21KU The Thinnest Air by Minka Kent – Meredith lives a happy family life in a mountain resort town. Her life has become predictable – until the day she disappears.
8. #22KU A Case of Need by Michael Crichton – when heart surgeon J. D. Randall’s teenage daughter dies during a botched abortion, the Boston medical community explodes.
9. #24KU My Sister’s Grave (Tracy Crosswhite Book 1) by Robert Dugoni – the first book from a best selling series that follows Tracy Crosswhite, a Seattle PD homicide detective dedicated to tracking down killers.
10. #27The President Is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton – an unputdownable political thriller about a terrorist cyberattack, filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know.

Top 10 – Literature & Fiction

1. #5KU Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh – after her babysitter is killed, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most deadly case of her lifetime.
2. #6KU Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King – when a devastating secret is revealed, a family must finally come to terms with the past.
3. #7KU Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan – based on a true story, this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love follows a young Italian and details his incredible courage during World War 2.
4. #10KU The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani – after a third miscarriage, Jaya decides to leave New York and go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past. It’s an epic story of the unrelenting force of love, the power of healing, and the invincible desire to dream.
5. #11KU Beautiful Exiles by Meg Waite Clayton – taking place in Madrid during Spanish Civil War, this stirring novel is based on one of the most volatile love affairs of the 20th century – between an accomplished journalist Martha Gellhorn and the literary titan Ernest Hemingway.
6. #13KU What Have You Done by Matthew Farrell – a mutilated body is found hanging in a motel in Philadelphia. Forensics specialist Liam Dwyer learns the victim was a woman he’d had an affair with – and that’s just the beginning of problems.
7. #14KU The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen – a haunting novel about a woman who embarks on a healing journey to Tuscany to understand her father’s hidden past.
8. #18KU When Never Comes by Barbara Davis – in an Amazon Charts best seller, Barbara Davis explores an emotionally charged landscape of pain, loss, and despair – and the risk one woman will take in the hope of loving again.
9. #19KU Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson – Marnie MacGraw is marrying the man of her dreams. Shortly after she meets her fiancé’s irascible matchmaking great-aunt who tells her everything in her life will change.
10. #20KU The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker – a gripping historical novel taking place in the Germany during World War 2. A perfect read for fans of Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and The Nightingale.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

1. #1KU The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – one of the biggest Amazon best sellers in recent years, this dystopian novel describes life in Gilead, an authoritarian state born out of social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate.
2. #98Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – a fascinating contemporary interpretation of the Norse ethos. Gaiman begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants.

Romance

1. #42KU Her Last Goodbye (Morgan Dane Book 2) by Melinda Leigh – after her babysitter is killed, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most deadly case of her lifetime.
2. #44KU Hate Notes by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward – “Keeland and Ward double team on this sweet, funny contemporary…Excellent escapist fodder.” —Publishers Weekly.
3. #52KU Bones Don’t Lie (Morgan Dane Book 3) by Melinda Leigh – the third book in an Amazon Chart best seller series starring attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger.
4. #72KU Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale – a best selling debut romance novel explores the devastation of loss and the euphoria of finding love again.
5. #91KU The Drowned Girls (Angie Pallorino Book 1) by Loreth Anne White – detective Angie Pallorino joins a task force investigating cases of sexually assaulted, mutilated, drown women. Could they be the victims of the same serial rapist who disappeared two years ago?

Teen & Young Adult

1. #4KU Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.
2. #34Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – soon to be a Hulu series, this riveting novel traces the fates of the Richardson family in a picture-perfect suburb of Cleveland.
3. #36Educated by Tara Westover – the best book of 2018, according to Amazon editors – a stirring memoir that chronicles how she survived her upbringing, eventually earning a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
4. #68KU The Selection by Kiera Cass – the first book in the captivating best selling Selection series, perfect for those who loved Divergent and Delirium.
5. #71KU Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.
6. #94KU Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.
7. #100KU Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.

Children’s Books

1. #4KU Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.
2. #71KU Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.
3. #92KU What If Everybody Said That? (What If Everybody?) by Ellen Javernick – this lightheartedly illustrated companion book to the best seller What If Everybody Did That? explores the power of words and shows kids that the things we say matter.
4. #94KU Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.
5. #100KU Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.

Top 10 – Nonfiction

1. #3KU The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey – one of the most inspiring books on leadership ever written. It has transformed the lives of presidents, innovators, businessmen, and parents.
2. #8Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff – this riveting and explosive account of Trump’s administration has become one of the most famed books of 2018.
3. #16KU The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores by Diana Marcum – from a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer comes an exuberant memoir of personal loss and longing, and finding connection on the remote Azores Islands.
4. #17Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward – in another explosive biography released this year, Woodward reveals in the harrowing life inside the White House and paints the most intimate portrait of the sitting president.
5. #46Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson – What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? Contemplate the cosmos with the world’s most celebrated astrophysicist.
6. #79Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis – with painful honesty, a celebrated blogger exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively.
7. #84Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Dr. Danny Penman – a life-changing set of simple yet powerful practices that you can incorporate into daily life to help break the cycle of anxiety, stress, unhappiness, and exhaustion.

Top 10 – Biographies & Memoirs

1. #8Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff – this riveting and explosive account of Trump’s administration has become one of the most famed books of 2018.
2. #16KU The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores by Diana Marcum – from a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer comes an exuberant memoir of personal loss and longing, and finding connection on the remote Azores Islands.
3. #17Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward – in another explosive biography released this year, Woodward reveals in the harrowing life inside the White House and paints the most intimate portrait of the sitting president.
4. #36Educated by Tara Westover – the best book of 2018, according to Amazon editors – a stirring memoir that chronicles how she survived her upbringing, eventually earning a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
5. #37KU An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew by Annejet van der Zijl – born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew – beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated – embodies the tumultuous Gilded Age.
6. #38KU Hell’s Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter – a suspenseful, gripping account of one of the most notorious female killers in the history of the United States. It has “all the elements of a classic mystery.”
7. #66Becoming by Michelle Obama – in her mesmerizing memoir, the former First Lady invites readers into her world, from her childhood in Chicago to her years as an executive, and her time spent at White House.
8. #69KU The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Joakim Palmkvist – in summer 2012, a millionaire went missing from his farm in Sweden. With no body, there was no crime, and the case went cold. But for Missing People investigator Therese Tang it became an obsession.

⇢ Kindle best sellers

• • •

How to find book best sellers on Amazon

Besides Amazon’s list of best selling books of the year, there are also other ways to spot most popular books:

Amazon Charts – innovative Top 20 lists that are updated weekly and include latest trending books across all reading formats: print, Kindle, audiobooks, and digital subscriptions. The charts will let you quickly spot most popular titles, based not only on sales but also user statistics, such as the speed of reading or number of pre-orders.

Today’s Top 100 Book Best Sellers – every major category in the Amazon store has its own list of best-selling items. Top 100 lists get updated a few times a day, so they are a great tool to find the hottest titles. The lists, both for print and Kindle books, are split into genres and subgenres, making it easy to find most popular titles in your favorite category.

New York Times Best Sellers – Amazon runs special sections featuring books that made it to weekly best sellers lists by The New York Times. The NYT lists can be found in both print and Kindle sections. We link to the second directory. It features books from the combined charts (print and ebook editions) for fiction and nonfiction.

• • •

To get more posts like this, please subscribe by RSS or email. Let’s also connect on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Are you interested in the Kindle? Check out more posts:

[ef-archive number=5 tag=”kindle”]