Michelle Obama’s Memoir the Fastest-Selling Book of the Year

"Becoming" flew off shelves at a rate of nine per second.

Becoming
"Becoming", a book by former first lady Michelle Obama, is displayed at the 57th Street Books bookstore in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, sold almost nine copies-per-second on its U.S. launch day earlier this month, making it the fastest-selling book of the year.

The former First Lady’s book — dubbed a “polished pearl of a memoir” by The New York Times and “dignified” with a “refreshing level of honesty” by The Guardian — had a first print run of 1.8 million copies by its publisher, Penguin Random House, for the U.S. and Canada but 800,000 additional hard-covers have since been ordered to keep up with demand.

The publisher said on Monday that Becoming sold an “extraordinary” 725,000 copies in its first 24 hours on sale, The Guardian reported.

“(It) is among the fastest sellers in Barnes & Noble history,” said the bookseller’s senior director of merchandising, Liz Harwell.

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