This is a list of books that topped The New York Times best-seller list in 1944.
The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books.
The most popular books of the year were A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith and Strange Fruit, by Lillian Smith with respectively 22 and 15 weeks at the top. A "sleeper" success, A Tree Grows had been published fully 6 months before it eventually made it to the No. 1 spot. Somerset Maugham's mystical The Razor's Edge spent several weeks at No. 2, four times displacing Strange Fruit at No. 1.[1]
| Date | Book | Author |
|---|---|---|
| January 2 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Betty Smith |
| January 9 | ||
| January 16 | ||
| January 23 | ||
| January 30 | ||
| February 6 | ||
| February 13 | ||
| February 20 | ||
| February 27 | ||
| March 5 | ||
| March 12 | ||
| March 19 | ||
| March 26 | ||
| April 2 | ||
| April 9 | ||
| April 16 | ||
| April 23 | ||
| April 30 | ||
| May 7 | ||
| May 14 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| May 21 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Betty Smith |
| May 28 | ||
| June 4 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| June 11 | ||
| June 18 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Betty Smith |
| June 25 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| July 2 | The Razor's Edge | Somerset Maugham |
| July 9 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| July 16 | ||
| July 23 | ||
| July 30 | The Razor's Edge | Somerset Maugham |
| August 6 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| August 13 | ||
| August 20 | The Razor's Edge | Somerset Maugham |
| August 27 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| September 3 | ||
| September 10 | ||
| September 17 | ||
| September 24 | The Razor's Edge | Somerset Maugham |
| October 1 | Strange Fruit | Lillian Smith |
| October 8 | ||
| October 15 | Green Dolphin Street | Elizabeth Goudge |
| October 22 | ||
| October 29 | ||
| November 5 | ||
| November 12 | Forever Amber | Kathleen Winsor |
| November 19 | ||
| November 26 | ||
| December 3 | Green Dolphin Street | Elizabeth Goudge |
| December 10 | Forever Amber | Kathleen Winsor |
| December 17 | The Green Years | A. J. Cronin |
| December 25 | Forever Amber | Kathleen Winsor |
The following list ranks the number-one best-selling nonfiction books.