Michelle Obama is already 2018's bestselling author


Michelle Obama can now add "best-selling author" to her very long resume.
Obama's political memoir Becoming debuted just over two weeks ago. But it's already sold 3.4 million copies, surpassing every other hardcover released this year to become 2018's bestseller, Axios reports.
In Becoming, Obama recounts everything from "her childhood on the South Side of Chicago" to her time in the White House, per the book's description. Those subjects are common in White House memoirs, but Becoming is sure selling better than all the rest. "Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir Living History needed a month to sell 1 million copies," The Associated Press notes, while Obama more than tripled that in half the time.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Becoming is also making waves around the world, becoming the bestselling adult nonfiction book in Germany, Spain, Greece, Finland, and other countries, per Axios. Obama will soon cater to those international fans by bringing her book tour to London, Paris, and Berlin next week. She's already traveled across the U.S. promoting her memoir, bringing pals like Oprah Winfrey, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Reese Witherspoon along as special guests — and perhaps picking up a few book-selling tips along the way.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Sydney Sweeney's 'great jeans': why American Eagle ad is so controversial
Talking Point Series of adverts featuring American actress Sydney Sweeney cause storm around race and eugenics
-
'This is a humanitarian, developmental and moral emergency'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
July 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include a ghostly presence, fiery rhetoric, and more
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement