NEW ON THE LIST AND IN PUBLISHING
‘Girl’ power: Amy Schumer seems to conquer everything she tries: stand-up, TV ( Inside Amy Schumer), movies ( Trainwreck) and now books. Her memoir The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo, released on Aug. 16, lands at No. 4. Schumer, who received a multimilliondollar advance for the book, is just the latest female comedian to do well on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling list. Tina Fey ( Bossypants), Lena Dunham ( Not That Kind of Girl) and Amy Poehler ( Yes Please) all made it to No. 5. Mindy Kaling ’s best showing was No. 4 with Why Not Me? And Chelsea Handler, who has had four USA TODAY best sellers, is queen of them all with Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, which hit No. 2. The title of Schumer’s book cleverly plays off The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the No. 1 thriller by Stieg Larsson.
Presidential picks: Colson Whitehead is certainly feeling the love. On Aug. 2, Oprah Winfrey chose his new novel, The Underground Railroad, as her latest book club pick. Then President Obama revealed that Whitehead’s novel about an escaped slave is on his summer reading list. Railroad, which landed on the USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list at No. 10 on Aug. 11 after Oprah’s announcement, is No. 7 this week. USA TODAY gave the book, in which Whitehead imagines the historic Underground Railroad as a literal means of transportation, out of four, calling it “masterful.” Obama’s eclectic list includes the smash-hit thriller The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, at No. 2; the movie adaptation is due this fall.