NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In episode 22 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the UK's bestselling books in the month of May (01.51), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (13.12), and put colouring books "Under the Spotlight" (21.40). Tune in to discover which writer returns to familiar territory and tops the chart, which series celebrates its 20th birthday in style, the latest book to get a small-screen boost, and what gems can be found in the colouring book long tail.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Freida McFadden's The Divorce
— Keir Radnedge's FIFA World Cup 2026: The Official Guide
— The Disneyland Parks Colouring Book
— Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris's The Book of Birds
— Bobbie Goods' Do Dia Para a Noite 

Link to The Bookseller article on Usborne's Sticker Dolly Dressing range
Link to Springer Nature paper on anxiety reduction during adult colouring
Link to Healthline article on the benefits of adult colouring
Link to The Guardian article on the British birdwatching boom
Link to NHS/Rethink Mental Illness "Stress Bucket" resource (.pdf)

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 21 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Chris count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of April (02.35), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (12.34), and put film and TV adaptations "Under the Spotlight" (26.28). Tune in to discover which books have benefitted from big and small-screen boosts, and the vital importance of books to the film and TV industries.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:

— Lena Dunham's Famesick
— Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah
— Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary
— Katie Kirby's The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks
— Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

Link to the Publishers Association's "Books on Screen" study
Link to IMDB's "based on novel" title search 

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 12 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of July (01.03),  reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (06:47), and put travel books "Under the Spotlight" (16:48). Along the way Belle and Philip discuss a first adult number one for an established children's writer, celebrate and reflect on the podcast's first birthday, highlight two books enjoying sales boosts for very different reasons and, inspired by Slutty Chef, reveal their go-to cheeky Nando's order.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include: 

— Slutty Chef's Tart
— Holly Jackson's Not Quite Dead Yet
— Ozzy Osbourne's I Am Ozzy
— Michael Palin's Himalaya
— Richard Osman's We Solve Murders

Further reading:

— The Bookseller on travel book sales
— The Observer on The Salt Path
— Service95 interview with Slutty Chef
— BBC article on potty training
— The Story Exchange on Gen Alpha Slang 101

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

In episode 11 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast Philip and Belle count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of June (01.52) and reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (08:52). Then, in "Under the Spotlight" (21:35), Belle sits down with our colleagues down under, Olivia and Abbey, to chat about the Australian book market. Tune in to find out where Richard Osman and Freida McFadden rank in this month's chart, what non-fiction books were unwrapped by dads on Father's Day in June, which authors, titles and characters (spoiler alert: Bluey) are proving popular across the globe, and Belle and Philip's favourite dinosaurs.  

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include: 

— Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm
— Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep
— Nagi Maehashi's Recipe Tin Eats Tonight
— Bluey: My Dad is Awesome
— Scott Pape's The Barefoot Investor

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

Philip and Belle count down the top 20 bestselling books in the UK in the month of May (01.35), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (11.14) and, in "Under the Spotlight",  discuss what cookbooks have been selling like hot cakes  (21.40). Along they way they discuss football memoirs, air fryers, an international superhit, the ultimate BBQ side dish, video-game inspired cookbooks and celebrate a writer with an enviable Sunday Times number one record. 

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include: 

— Jamie Oliver's Easy Air Fryer
— Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club
— The Highway Code
— Snoop Dogg's From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes From Tha Boss Dog's Kitchen
— David Attenborough and Colin Butfield's Ocean

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

This episode's Spotlight segment features a special guest, NielsenIQ BookData's expert on Books and Consumers research, Steve Bohme. Steve sits down with Belle to discuss book purchasing behaviour in the UK and the various interconnected factors behind individual purchases. 

Prior to that, Philip and Belle count down the UK's top 20 bestselling books in the month of April (01.45) and reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (10.31). Along the way they discuss the surge in paperback fiction sales brought in by warmer weather, how the passing of Pope Francis influenced the book charts, and how two former members of pop band McFly are now bestselling children's authors. Belle also receives a rude awakening that she has worked in the book industry for a decade.

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased from all good booksellers include:

— Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
— Conclave by Robert Harris 
— Hope by Pope Francis
— Gary Stevenson's The Trading Game
— Little Easter Bunnies by Martha Mumford. 
— The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Nagawe
— Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
— BBC Proms Guide 2025

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

Philip and Belle count down the UK's top 20 bestselling books in the month of March (01.40), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (10.27), and discuss international markets and bestsellers in "Under the Spotlight" (23.14). Along the way they discuss the huge sales of the fifth Hunger Games novel, how TV adaptations impact book sales, the global popularity of puzzle books, and bookshelf aesthetics. Belle also ranks her favourite Beatles and Philip finally pronounces Dav Pilkey's first name correctly (as in "Dave").

Link to Ash Sarkar's "I'm a communist" moment
Link to The Bookseller's article about books' exclusions from Trump's tariffs
Link to The Bookseller's article on "sporror"
Link to The Sunday Times bestseller lists

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased from all good booksellers include:

— Donna Ashworth's To the Women
— Morgan Housel's The Psychology of Money
— Joël Dicker's Wild Animal
— James Clear's Atomic Habits
— Ian Leslie's John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

Philip and Belle count down the UK's top 20 bestselling books in the month of February (04.03), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (13.18), and discuss World Book Day in "Under the Spotlight" (23.34). Along the way they discuss the huge popularity of Bluey, World Book Day costumes, the enduring success of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and get all nostalgic reminiscing about Choose Your Own Adventure books, the life of Steve Irwin, and a Chinese restaurant in Chesterfield.

Link to Bluey: Rug Island episode page
Link to World Book Day website
Link to BBC article: World Book Day: How to make a last-minute costume

Books featured in this episode that can be purchased from all good booksellers include:
— Julia Donaldson's Tales from Acorn Wood: Who's in Acord Wood?
— Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back
— Tom Fletcher's There's a Bunny in Your Book
— Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
— Stephenie Meyer's Twilight

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

Philip and Belle count down the UK's top 20 bestselling books in the month of January (02.21), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (11.24), and discuss New Year, New You season in "Under the Spotlight" (24.39). Along the way they discuss the record-breaking sales of a new fantasy novel, the dramatic rise in sales of personal development titles over the past decade, books that change your life, Plato, Stoicism, linocut Christmas cards, and get all nostalgic looking back at diet fads in years gone by (The Dukan Diet! Dr Atkins! GI Hip and Thigh!).
 
Link to The Guardian's article on the rise in childhood anxiety
Link to The Bookseller's article on sales of Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm
Link to Knowledge at Wharton: Life Hacks from Marcus Aurelius
Link to Exupery Design's New Year's Resolutions Generator
 
Books featured in this episode that can be purchased from all good booksellers include:
— Jamie Oliver's Easy Air Fryer
— Jennie Godfrey's The List of Suspicious Things
— Coco Wyo's Girl Moments
— Daniel Levitin's Music as Medicine
— Anthony Kessel's American Mystery

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!

Philip and Belle count down the UK's top 20 bestselling books in the month of December (02.48), reveal their "Beyond the Bestsellers" picks (11.10), and review book sales in 2024 in "Under the Spotlight" (19.41). Along the way they discuss the bestselling books of the year, two writers that dared to sell more books that Richard Osman, why books are great value for money, and which of us was on Santa's Naughty List (as they didn't receive any books this Christmas).
 
Link to The Bookseller's article on predictions for 2025
Link to Brandon Sanderson's $40M Kickstarter
Link to Nielsen BookData book market overview blog for the UK and Ireland in 2024
Link to Nielsen BookData blog about audiobook listening in 2024 
 
Books featured in this episode that can be purchased from all good booksellers include:
— Asako Yuzuki's Butter (translated by Polly Barton)
— Richard Osman's We Solve Murders
— Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning
— Brandon Sanderson's Wind and Truth
— Freida McFadden's The Housemaid

For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on X (@bookdata), Linkedin (@nielsen-book) and Instagram (@nielsenbook). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at thebestsellerspodcast@nielseniq.com.

Episode hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. 

Thanks for listening!