5 Books Trending On Amazon Today (and Why)

This book by Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa was published in 2022, so it’s surprising to see it trending right now. In How to Stand Up to a Dictator, Ressa discusses corruption in her home country of the Philippines while also warning about threats to democracy around the world right now, especially when it comes to disinformation. Ressa was recently named the Harvard Commencement speaker for 2024, which is the only recent relevant news I can find for why this climbing the charts. It had a 120,171% increase, going from a #220,096 rank to #183.

Anne Lamott is a beloved author, and this is her 20th book! It’s easy to know why it’s popular today: Somehow came out yesterday. Each chapter examines different kinds of love and how it changes our lives: “Love is our only hope. It is not always the easiest choice, but it is always the right one, the noble path, the way home to safety, no matter how bleak the future looks.” It rose 3,160% in sales rank, going from #163 to #5.

Here’s another Nobel Prize-winning author, this time in Chemistry. In this new release, he talks about the biological reasons for mortality — and whether scientific advancement may make it a thing of the past. This came out in March, but it’s continued to get a lot of coverage in scientific publications, and it was also recently recommended on CNN. It’s gone up 2,950% to reach #187 in book sales (it was #5,705).

You might recognize Amanda Montell from her popular podcast and book, Sounds Like a Cult and Cultish. This is her second book, and it just came out yesterday! In The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell goes over cognitive biases and how our age of overwhelming information has exacerbated them. It rose 466% to go from #822 to #145 in sales rank.