The American daily newspaper The New York Times publishes multiple weekly lists ranking the best selling books in the United States. The lists are split in three genres—fiction, nonfiction and children's books. Both the fiction and nonfiction lists are further split into multiple lists.
The following list ranks the number-one best selling fiction books, in the combined print and e-books category.[1] The most popular books of the year were The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt and Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn with 4 weeks at the top.
| Date | Book | Author | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 5 | Sycamore Row | John Grisham | |
| January 12 | |||
| January 19 | |||
| January 26 | The Invention of Wings | Sue Monk Kidd | |
| February 2 | The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt | |
| February 9 | |||
| February 16 | |||
| February 23 | |||
| March 2 | Private L.A. | James Patterson and Mark Sullivan | |
| March 9 | Concealed in Death | Nora Roberts | |
| March 16 | The Chance | Robyn Carr | |
| March 23 | Words of Radiance | Brandon Sanderson | |
| March 30 | Night Broken | Patricia Briggs | |
| April 6 | Missing You | Harlan Coben | |
| April 13 | Shadow Spell | Nora Roberts | |
| April 20 | The King | J. R. Ward | |
| April 27 | Carnal Curiosity | Stuart Woods | |
| May 4 | The Collector | Nora Roberts | |
| May 11 | The Target | David Baldacci | |
| May 18 | |||
| May 25 | Unlucky 13 | James Patterson | |
| June 1 | |||
| June 8 | The One and Only | Emily Giffin | |
| June 15 | Skin Game | Jim Butcher | |
| June 22 | Mr. Mercedes | Stephen King | |
| June 29 | Written in My Own Heart's Blood | Diana Gabaldon | |
| July 6 | Top Secret Twenty-One | Janet Evanovich | |
| July 13 | Invisible | James Patterson | |
| July 20 | |||
| July 27 | Act of War | Brad Thor | |
| August 3 | The Book of Life | Deborah Harkness | |
| August 10 | Fifty Shades of Grey | E. L. James | |
| August 17 | Big Little Lies | Liane Moriarty | |
| August 24 | Outlander | Diana Gabaldon | |
| August 31 | |||
| September 7 | |||
| September 14 | The Long Way Home | Louise Penny | |
| September 21 | Personal | Lee Child | |
| September 28 | Festive in Death | J. D. Robb | |
| October 5 | Edge of Eternity | Ken Follett | |
| October 12 | Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn | |
| October 19 | |||
| October 26 | |||
| November 2 | |||
| November 9 | Gray Mountain | John Grisham | |
| November 16 | Blood Magick | Nora Roberts | |
| November 23 | The Burning Room | Michael Connelly | |
| November 30 | Revival | Stephen King | |
| December 7 | Captivated by You | Sylvia Day | |
| December 14 | Hope to Die | James Patterson | |
| December 21 | Gray Mountain | John Grisham | |
| December 28 | All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr |
The following list ranks the number-one best selling nonfiction books, in the combined print and e-books category.[2] The most frequent weekly best seller of the year was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand with 12 weeks at the top of the list.
| Date | Book | Author | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 5 | Things That Matter | Charles Krauthammer | Crown Forum |
| January 12 | |||
| January 19 | Lone Survivor | Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson | Little, Brown |
| January 26 | |||
| February 2 | Duty | Robert M. Gates | Knopf |
| February 9 | Lone Survivor | Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson | Little, Brown |
| February 16 | |||
| February 23 | |||
| March 2 | The Monuments Men | Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter | Center Street |
| March 9 | |||
| March 16 | |||
| March 23 | Twelve Years a Slave | Solomon Northup | Various publishers |
| March 30 | |||
| April 6 | |||
| April 13 | Thrive | Arianna Huffington | Harmony Books |
| April 20 | Flash Boys | Michael Lewis | Norton |
| April 27 | |||
| May 4 | Heaven Is for Real | Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent | Thomas Nelson |
| May 11 | |||
| May 18 | |||
| May 25 | Finding Me | Michelle Knight with Michelle Burford Weinstein | Weinstein Books |
| June 1 | Capital in the Twenty-First Century | Thomas Piketty | Belknap/Harvard University |
| June 8 | One Nation | Ben Carson with Candy Carson | Sentinel |
| June 15 | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou | Random House |
| June 22 | One Nation | Ben Carson with Candy Carson | Sentinel |
| June 29 | Hard Choices | Hillary Rodham Clinton | Simon & Schuster |
| July 6 | |||
| July 13 | Blood Feud | Edward Klein | Regnery |
| July 20 | Unbroken | Laura Hillenbrand | Random House |
| July 27 | |||
| August 3 | |||
| August 10 | |||
| August 17 | |||
| August 24 | |||
| August 31 | |||
| September 7 | |||
| September 14 | |||
| September 21 | What If? | Randall Munroe | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| September 28 | 13 Hours | Mitchell Zuckoff with members of the Annex Security Team | Twelve |
| October 5 | |||
| October 12 | Killing Patton | Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard | Holt |
| October 19 | |||
| October 26 | |||
| November 2 | |||
| November 9 | |||
| November 16 | Yes Please | Amy Poehler | Dey St./Morrow |
| November 23 | |||
| November 30 | 41 | George W. Bush | Crown |
| December 7 | |||
| December 14 | Unbroken | Laura Hillenbrand | Random House |
| December 21 | |||
| December 28 | |||