List of The New York Times number-one books of 2020 explained

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.

Fiction

The following list ranks the number-one best-selling fiction books, in the combined print and e-books category.^[1] For the second consecutive year, the most frequent weekly best seller of the year was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens with 7 weeks at the top of the list.

Date	Book	Author
January 5	Where the Crawdads Sing	Delia Owens	^[2]
January 12			^[3]
January 19			^[4]
January 26			^[5]
February 2			^[6]
February 9	American Dirt	Jeanine Cummins	^[7]
February 16			^[8]
February 23	Golden in Death	J. D. Robb	^[9]
March 1	American Dirt	Jeanine Cummins	^[10]
March 8	One Minute Out	Mark Greaney	^[11]
March 15	Blindside	James Patterson and James O. Born	^[12]
March 22	House of Earth and Blood	Sarah J. Maas	^[13]
March 29	The Mirror & the Light	Hilary Mantel	^[14]
April 5	The Boy from the Woods	Harlan Coben	^[15]
April 12	Little Fires Everywhere	Celeste Ng	^[16]
April 19			^[17]
April 25			^[18]
May 3	Masked Prey	John Sandford	^[19]
May 10	Walk The Wire	David Baldacci	^[20]
May 17	Camino Winds	John Grisham	^[21]
May 24	The 20th Victim	James Patterson and Maxine Paetro	^[22]
May 31	Camino Winds	John Grisham	^[23]
June 7			^[24]
June 14	Hideaway	Nora Roberts	^[25]
June 21	The Vanishing Half	Brit Bennett	^[26]
June 28	The Summer House	James Patterson and Brendan DuBois	^[27]
July 5	28 Summers	Elin Hilderbrand	^[28]
July 12			^[29]
July 19	The Vanishing Half	Brit Bennett	^[30]
July 26			^[31]
August 2	The Order	Daniel Silva	^[32]
August 9	Near Dark	Brad Thor	^[33]
August 16	Deadlock	Catherine Coulter	^[34]
August 23	Where the Crawdads Sing	Delia Owens	^[35]
August 30			^[36]
September 6	Royal	Danielle Steel	^[37]
September 13	Thick as Thieves	Sandra Brown	^[38]
September 20	All the Devils Are Here	Louise Penny	^[39]
September 27	Shadows in Death	J. D. Robb	^[40]
October 4	The Evening and the Morning	Ken Follett	^[41]
October 11	The Book of Two Ways	Jodi Picoult	^[42]
October 18	The Return	Nicholas Sparks	^[43]
October 25	Troubles in Paradise	Elin Hilderbrand	^[44]
November 1	A Time for Mercy	John Grisham	^[45]
November 8			^[46]
November 15	The Sentinel	Lee Child and Andrew Child	^[47]
November 22	Fortune and Glory	Janet Evanovich	^[48]
November 29	The Law of Innocence	Michael Connelly	^[49]
December 6	Rhythm of War	Brandon Sanderson	^[50]
December 13	Ready Player Two	Ernest Cline	^[51]
December 20			^[52]
December 27			^[53]

Nonfiction

The following list ranks the number-one best-selling nonfiction books, in the combined print and e-books category.

scope=col	Issue date	scope=col	Title	scope=col	Author(s)	scope=col	Publisher	scope=col class=unsortable
scope=row		Educated	Tara Westover	Random House	^[54]
scope=row					^[55]
scope=row					^[56]
scope=row					^[57]
scope=row		Just Mercy	Bryan Stevenson	Spiegel & Grau	^[58]
scope=row		A Very Stable Genius	Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig	Penguin Press	^[59]
scope=row		Profiles in Corruption	Peter Schweizer	HarperCollins	^[60]
scope=row		Open Book	Jessica Simpson with Kevin Carr O'Leary	Dey Street	^[61]
scope=row					^[62]
scope=row		The Mamba Mentality	Kobe Bryant	Melcher Media	^[63]
scope=row		The Splendid and the Vile	Erik Larson	Crown	^[64]
scope=row					^[65]
scope=row		Untamed	Glennon Doyle	The Dial Press	^[66]
scope=row		The Splendid and the Vile	Erik Larson	Crown	^[67]
scope=row					^[68]
scope=row					^[69]
scope=row		Hidden Valley Road	Robert Kolker	Doubleday	^[70]
scope=row		Untamed	Glennon Doyle	The Dial Press	^[71]
scope=row					^[72]
scope=row					^[73]
scope=row					^[74]
scope=row					^[75]
scope=row					^[76]
scope=row					^[77]
scope=row		White Fragility	Robin DiAngelo	Beacon Press	^[78]
scope=row					^[79]
scope=row		How to Be an Antiracist	Ibram X. Kendi	Random House	^[80]
scope=row		The Room Where It Happened	John Bolton	Simon & Schuster	^[81]
scope=row					^[82]
scope=row					^[83]
scope=row		Too Much and Never Enough	Mary L. Trump	Simon & Schuster	^[84]
scope=row					^[85]
scope=row					^[86]
scope=row		Live Free or Die	Sean Hannity	Threshold Editions	^[87]
scope=row					^[88]
scope=row		Untamed	Glennon Doyle	The Dial Press	^[89]
scope=row		His Truth Is Marching On	Jon Meacham	Random House	^[90]
scope=row		Melania and Me	Stephanie Winston Wolkoff	Gallery Books	^[91]
scope=row		Disloyal	Michael Cohen	Skyhorse Publishing	^[92]
scope=row		Rage	Bob Woodward	Simon & Schuster	^[93]
scope=row					^[94]
scope=row		The Meaning of Mariah Carey	Mariah Carey with Michaela Angela Davis	Andy Cohen / Holt	^[95]
scope=row		Humans	Brandon Stanton	St. Martin's Press	^[96]
scope=row		Caste	Isabel Wilkerson	Random House	^[97]
scope=row		Greenlights	Matthew McConaughey	Crown	^[98]
scope=row					^[99]
scope=row		Clanlands	Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish	Quercus	^[100]
scope=row		Humans	Brandon Stanton	St. Martin's Press	^[101]
scope=row		A Promised Land	Barack Obama	Crown	^[102]
scope=row					^[103]
scope=row					^[104]
scope=row					^[105]

See also

• Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 2020s

Notes and References

1. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Books – Best Sellers . The New York Times. 2019-12-26. en.
2. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 5, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
3. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 12, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
4. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 19, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
5. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 26, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
6. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 2, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
7. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 9, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
8. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 16, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
9. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 23, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
10. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 1, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
11. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 8, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
12. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 15, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
13. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 22, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
14. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 29, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
15. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 5, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
16. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 12, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
17. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 19, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
18. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 26, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
19. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 3, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
20. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 10, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
21. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 17, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
22. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 24, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
23. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 31, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
24. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 7, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
25. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 14, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
26. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 21, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
27. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 28, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
28. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 5, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
29. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 12, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
30. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 19, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
31. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 26, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
32. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 2, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
33. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 9, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
34. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 16, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
35. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 23, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
36. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 30, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
37. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 6, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
38. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 13, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
39. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 20, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
40. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 27, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
41. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 04, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
42. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 11, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
43. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 18, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
44. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 25, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
45. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 1, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
46. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 8, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
47. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 15, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
48. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 22, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
49. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 29, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
50. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 6, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
51. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 13, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
52. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 20, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
53. News: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 27, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
54. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 5, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
55. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 12, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
56. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 19, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
57. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jan. 26, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
58. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 2, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
59. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 9, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
60. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 16, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
61. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Feb. 23, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
62. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 1, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
63. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 8, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
64. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 15, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
65. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 22, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
66. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Mar. 29, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
67. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 5, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
68. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 12, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
69. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 19, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
70. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Apr. 26, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
71. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 3, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
72. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 10, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
73. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 17, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
74. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 24, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
75. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – May. 31, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
76. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 7, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
77. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 14, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
78. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 21, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
79. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jun. 28, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
80. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 5, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
81. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 12, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
82. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 19, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
83. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Jul. 26, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
84. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 2, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
85. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 9, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
86. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 16, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
87. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 23, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
88. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Aug. 30, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
89. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 6, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
90. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 13, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
91. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 20, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
92. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Sep. 27, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
93. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 04, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
94. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 11, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
95. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 18, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
96. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Oct. 25, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
97. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 1, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
98. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 8, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
99. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 15, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
100. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 22, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
101. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Nov. 29, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
102. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 6, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
103. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 13, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
104. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 20, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.
105. News: Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction – Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 27, 2020 – The New York Times. 2024-01-26. The New York Times.