Fiction

1 THE VANISHING HALF (Riverhead, $27). By Brit Bennett. Identical twin sisters grow into women with different racial identities, leaving their daughters to grapple with issues of identity and authenticity.
2 HAMNET (Knopf, $26.95). By Maggie O’Farrell. An account of Shakespeare and his wife’s early marriage and the grief they share over their only son’s untimely death.
3 THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY (Viking, $26). By Matt Haig. A regretful woman finds herself in a magical library, where she gets to play out her life had she made different choices.
4 THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE (Tor, $26.99). By V.E. Schwab. A young woman’s bargain for immortality renders her cursed to be forgotten by anyone she meets.
5 ANXIOUS PEOPLE (Atria, $28). By Fredrik Backman. A failed bank robber holds a group of anxious strangers as hostages.
6 THE PROPHETS (Putnam, $27). By Robert Jones, Jr. The love between two enslaved men in the antebellum South becomes a threat to their plantation’s harmony.
7 OUTLAWED (Bloomsbury, $26). By Anna North. A childless young woman runs from a fertility-centered society and joins a band of outlaws.
8 THE SEARCHER (Viking, $27). By Tana French. A Chicago police officer retires to Ireland and gets drawn into a local disappearance case.
9 READY PLAYER TWO (Ballantine, $28.99). By Ernest Cline. Contest winner Wade Watts discovers another puzzle and a new quest.
10 MEXICAN GOTHIC (Del Rey, $27). By Silvia Moreno-Garcia. A young woman is sent to her cousin’s decaying house in the Mexican countryside, where all is not as it seems.

Nonfiction

1 CASTE (Random House, $32). By Isabel Wilkerson. America’s racial divisions are examined and reframed as a caste system.
2 A PROMISED LAND (Crown, $45). By Barack Obama. In this first volume of his memoir, the former president reflects on his political rise and his initial term in the White House.
3 A SWIM IN A POND IN THE RAIN (Random House, $28). By George Saunders. The award-winning author shares his approach to fiction by analyzing the short stories of four Russian writers.
4 UNTAMED (Dial, $28). By Glennon Doyle. A memoir and a wake-up call for people who want to learn to listen to themselves.
5 THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE (Harper One, $22.99). By Charlie Mackesy. The British illustrator brings fables about unlikely friendships to life.
6 WINTERING: THE POWER OF REST AND RETREAT IN DIFFICULT TIMES (Riverhead Books, $24). By Katherine May. The author illuminates ways to persist during life’s hardships.
7 GREENLIGHTS (Crown, $30). By Matthew McConaughey. The award-winning actor shares lessons and stories gleaned from his 35 years of keeping diaries.
8 THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE (Crown, $32). By Erik Larson. A look at how Winston Churchill led Britain through World War II that explores his political gamesmanship and his family dynamics.
9 KEEP SHARP (Simon and Schuster, $28). By Sanjay Gupta. The neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent for CNN offers advice on how to prevent cognitive decline.
10 BREATH (Riverhead Books, $28). By James Nestor. A journalist gathers scientific research showing how breathing properly plays a vital role in good health.

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Jan 17. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from the American Booksellers Association, the trade association for independent bookstores in the United States, and indiebound.org. Copyright 2021 American Booksellers Association. (The bestseller lists alternate between hardcover and paperback each week.)