Well, we can’t say we didn’t see this coming: Only four days after its Nov. 13 release, Penguin Random House announced on Friday that our forever first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, sold more than 725,000 units in all formats and editions in the United States and Canada on the first day of its publication (including preorders). Her success comprises the largest single-day sales total for any 2018 book release by the world’s largest trade publisher.
In fact, the demand for Obama’s first book has been so high that the publisher has already ordered a printing of 800,000 additional hardcover copies in addition to the initial 1.8 million release, bringing the number of printed copies in just the U.S. and Canada alone to 2.6 million. According to PopVortex, Becoming is also currently topping the iTunes ebook and audiobook charts, and the book is also being published in 32 languages around the world, including a simultaneous Spanish language release.
Speaking on the incredible success of Michelle Obama’s first effort as an author, Madeline McIntosh, CEO of Penguin Random House U.S. said, “We are thrilled by the extraordinary response to Mrs. Obama’s beautifully rendered and deeply personal memoir, and we are confident that Becoming will inspire millions of readers.”