Michelle Obama’s Memoir Nears 10 Million Copies Sold

Michelle Obama’s Memoir(-ˌwôr,ˈmemˌwär) Nears 10 Million Copies Sold

Runaway(ˈrənəˌwā) success of ‘Becoming’ affirms(əˈfərm) publisher’s bet(bet) in an industry where other political(pəˈlidək(ə)l) nonfiction(nänˈfikSHən) titles have been hot sellers(ˈselər)

By Sara Germano

Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” has sold nearly 10 million copies globally since its release(rəˈlēs) in November, publisher Penguin(ˈpeNGgwin,ˈpengwin) Random House said Tuesday, adding that the former first lady’s tome(tōm) could set a sales record in its genre(ˈZHänrə).

“We believe this could be the most successful memoir in history,” said Thomas Rabe(räbə), chief executive(iɡˈzekyədiv) of Bertelsmann SE, the German media and services conglomerate(kənˈɡlämərət) that has a controlling(kənˈtrōl) stake(stāk) in Penguin Random House.

Book sales historically(-ˈstär-,hiˈstôrik(ə)lē) have proved difficult to track for reasons ranging from the proprietary(p(r)əˈprīəˌterē) nature of some data to the rise(rīz) of digital(ˈdijitl) channels(ˈCHanl), including Amazon’s, for selling e-books and audiobooks(ˈôdēˌō).

Industry tracker Nielsen said it couldn’t confirm whether “Becoming” would break any sales records in part because it doesn’t track global book sales across markets. NPD Group likewise(ˈlīkˌwīz) doesn’t track sales globally but said “Becoming” is already the second-highest-selling adult biography(bīˈägrəfē) by printed copies sold in the U.S. since the organization began its BookScan tracking in 2004—trailing(trāl) only the 10th anniversary(ˌanəˈvərsərē) edition(əˈdiSH(ə)n) of Elizabeth(əˈlizəbəTH) Gilbert’s(ˈgilbərt) “Eat, Pray(prā), Love.”

Still, “Becoming” has made an especially strong showing in a publishing industry where several nonfiction books involving contemporary(kənˈtempəˌrerē) political figures have been hot sellers.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/michelle-obamas-memoir-on-course-to-be-most-successful-ever-11553601931