The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1961
This is a list of adult fiction books that topped The New York Times Fiction Best Seller list in 1961.
The most popular titles of the year were Hawaii by James Michener, The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone and Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger with respectively 12, 27 and 10 weeks at the top, Hawaii continuing from a very long run in 1960, and Franney and Zooey continuing into 1962 at the top of the list. The only other book to top the list that year was The Last of the Just by André Schwarz-Bart. That book, a multi-generational saga translated from the French, spent 18 weeks slowly rising to the top, and spent 4 weeks there before being toppled by The Agony and the Ecstasy. It continued among the top 15 best sellers for another 20 weeks.[1]
Franney and Zooey was a huge No. 1 bestseller for J.D. Salinger. His best known book, Catcher in the Rye, first published ten years earlier, never reached the No. 1 spot
| Date |
Book |
Author |
| January 2 | Hawaii | James Michener |
| January 9 |
| January 16 |
| January 23 |
| January 30 |
| February 6 |
| February 13 |
| February 20 |
| February 27 |
| March 5 |
| March 12 |
| March 19 |
| March 26 | The Last of the Just | André Schwarz-Bart |
| April 2 |
| April 9 |
| April 16 |
| April 23 | The Agony and the Ecstasy | Irving Stone |
| April 30 |
| May 7 |
| May 14 |
| May 21 |
| May 28 |
| June 4 |
| June 11 |
| June 18 |
| June 25 |
| July 2 |
| July 9 |
| July 16 |
| July 23 |
| July 30 |
| August 6 |
| August 13 |
| August 20 |
| August 27 |
| September 3 |
| September 10 |
| September 17 |
| September 24 |
| October 1 |
| October 8 |
| October 15 |
| October 22 |
| October 29 | Franny and Zooey | J.D. Salinger |
| November 5 |
| November 12 |
| November 19 |
| November 26 |
| December 3 |
| December 10 |
| December 17 |
| December 24 |
| December 31 |
References
- ↑ John Bear, The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992, pp. 79-83