Toronto Star bestsellers for Oct. 9, 2024

At the dawn of the new millennium, February 2000, journalist Malcolm Gladwell established himself as a canny popularizer of ideas — new ways of understanding the stuff of everyday life — with his debut book, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.” The book explored social epidemics, when trends or behaviours suddenly cross an invisible threshold and are suddenly everywhere.
Now, the Ontario-reared, New York-based journalist returns to his topic with “Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering,” a darker look at tipping points in our current moment.
Gladwell’s new book was the most-purchased book in Canada over the past week.
The non-fiction list this week features three other cultural heavyweights with new books.
“This Is Our Life” is a 130,000-word-oral and visual history of The Tragically Hip, from the five-member group’s beginning at the same high school in Kingston, Ont. It debuted this week at No. 2
At No. 3, superstar home cook, the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten offers her first memoir, “Be Ready When Luck Happens.” It documents a life that includes luck — but mostly hard work and an exquisite ability to make what she does look easy.
Finally, Ta-Nehisi Coates, the pre-eminent African-American essayist, joins the list at No. 6 with “The Message,” three connected essays: on his first trip to Africa; to South Carolina, where his bestselling “Between the World and Me” was banned; and, most controversially, to Palestine, where he, a Black man, finds common cause with the people he encounters.
1. The Boyfriend, Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen (1)
2. Intermezzo, Sally Rooney, Knopf Canada (2)
3. When the Moon Hatched, Sarah A. Parker, Avon (1)
4. The Book of Bill, Alex Hirsch, Hyperion Avenue (3)
5. Counting Miracles, Nicholas Sparks, Doubleday Canada (2)
6. Triangle, Danielle Steel, Delacorte (1)
7. The Armor of Light, Ken Follett, Penguin (1)
8. The Pumpkin Spice Café, Laurie Gilmore, One More Chapter (2)
9. Lies He Told Me, James Patterson, David Ellis, Little Brown (1)
10. It Starts with Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria (38)
 
1. Revenge of the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown (1)
2. This Is Our Life, The Tragically Hip, Genesis (1)
3. Be Ready When the Luck Happens, Ina Garten, Crown (1)
4. Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari, Signal (4)
5. Guinness World Records 2025, Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records (4)
6. The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World/Ballantine (1)
7. The Knowing, Tanya Talaga, HarperCollins Canada (7)
8. Who We Are, Murray Sinclair, Sara Sinclair, Niigaan Sinclair, McClelland & Stewart (2)
9. The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Press (28)
10. Something Lost, Something Gained, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Simon & Schuster (3)
 
1. Proof, Beverley McLachlin Simon & Schuster
2. The Mistletoe Mystery, Nita Prose, Viking 
3. The Last Secret, Maia Caron, Doubleday Canada
4. When the World Fell Silent, Donna Jones Alward, One More Chapter
5. What Have You Done?, Shari Lapena, Doubleday Canada
6. The Lightning Bottles, Marissa Stapley, Simon & Schuster
7. Wild Eyes, Elsie Silver, Bloom
8. Butcher and Blackbird, Brynne Weaver, Zando
9. The Forgotten Home Child, Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster
10. Till Death Do Us Part, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Simon & Schuster
 
1. Revenge of the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown
2. This Is Our Life, The Tragically Hip, Genesis
3. The Knowing, Tanya Talaga, HarperCollins Canada
4. Who We Are, Murray Sinclair, Sara Sinclair, Niigaan Sinclair, McClelland & Stewart
5. Above the Noise, DeMar DeRozan, Dave Zarum, Collins
6. Strange, Spooky and Supernatural, Mike Browne, Collins
7. Iron Mike, Mike Keenan, Scott Morrison Random House Canada
8. At a Loss for Words, Carol Off, Random House Canada
9. What She Said, Elizabeth Renzetti, McClelland & Stewart
10. The Traitor’s Daughter, Roxana Spicer, Viking
1. The Wild Robot, Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
2. Nothing Like the Movies, Lynn Painter, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
3. Ms. Rachel and the Special Surprise, Ms. Rachel, Monique Dong, Random House Books for Young Readers
4. Kristy and the Walking Disaster (Baby-Sitters Club #16), Ann M. Martin, Ellen T. Crenshaw, Graphix
5. Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #7), Rick Riordan, Disney-Hyperion
6. Class Action (InvestiGators #8), John Patrick Green, First Second
7. Karen’s Grandmothers (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #9), Ann M. Martin, D.K. Yingst, Graphix
8. The Wild Robot Escapes, Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
9. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry, Clarion
10. Love You Forever, Robert Munsch, Sheila McGraw, Firefly
 
1. The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene, Joost Elffers, Penguin
2. The Mountain Is You, Brianna Wiest, Thought Catalog
3. The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk, Penguin
4. 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, Brianna Wiest, Thought Catalog
5. The Creative Act, Rick Rubin, Penguin
6. Re-Regulated, Anna Runkle, Hay House
7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson, Harper
8. Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill, TarcherPerigee
9. The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz, Janet Mills, Amber-Allen
10. The Pivot Year, Brianna Wiest, Thought Catalog
* Weeks on list.