From 'Fixer Upper' to a USA TODAY best seller
Here’s a look at what’s new on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list…
Sweet ‘Magnolia’: Chip and Joanna Gaines have another notch to add to their tool belt: A USA TODAY best seller.
The married couple, whose Fixer Upper is the top-rated show on HGTV, are busy building a brand along with their home improvement empire in Waco, Texas.
Their new book, The Magnolia Story, published Oct. 18 by Thomas Nelson, lands at No. 2 this week on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list, behind the thriller Escape Clause by John Sandford, which will be No. 1. (The full list will be published on Thursday.)
In their memoir, the Gaineses talk about how they met, developed their business, bought a farm and are raising their four young kids. On their HGTV show, which returns for a fourth season on Nov. 29, they renovate and redecorate homes with the tag line: “Are you ready to see your fixer upper?” Chip does the construction, Joanna is the decorator.
The couple just launched a new magazine, The Magnolia Journal, and they have helped turned Waco into a tourist attraction with their store complex, Magnolia Market.
Chip and Joanna Gaines' key to a happy marriage
They aren’t doing a book tour, but they’ve done high-profile publicity including the Today show and the cover of People magazine.
The No. 2 debut for an HGTV book is impressive. In April, Jonathan and Drew Scott (Property Brothers) made it to No. 56 with their book, Dream Home. And Nicole Curtis, who has the HGTV show Rehab Addict, published a new book the same day as the Gaineses. Her Better Than New will land at No. 116 on Thursday.
Hart and soul: YouTube personality Hannah Hart has cooked up her first USA TODAY top 50 best seller with her new book Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded (Dey Street), which lands at No. 30.
Her first book, My Drunk Kitchen, inspired by her comical YouTube videos documenting her kitchen misadventures while imbibing, peaked at No. 83 in 2014.
This time around, Hart has written a memoir that draws on journals she’s kept for years.
As she writes on her book jacket:
“Hello!
“As a professional digital demigod, I spend a lot of time walking the line between public and private. However, there is only so much that can be communicated through 140 characters or a six-minute vlog. In this book, I’m sharing stories from my life that have taken longer to process, in the hope that maybe it will help you do some internal processing of your own.
“There are tales of family, faith, mental health, lesbian sex, and my ongoing journey to love myself (and not just my selfies). Though sometimes dark, these stories might make you laugh and cry, and hopefully they’ll motivate you to take the time and space you need to fully load.
“Because in spite of our world of constant output and expression, it’s important to let yourself buffer at your own rate."