We hop back into our “way-back machine” for our twice yearly trip to the past and see what books were selling before I started losing my hair and life was comparatively simple.

January 6, 1985…thirty years ago today, here are the New York Times bestseller lists:

Fiction

1. The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub. (Viking)
2. The Sicilian, by Mario Puzo. (Linden Press/ Simon & Schuster)
3. Love and War, by John Jakes. (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)
4. The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abromowitz, by Joan Rivers. (Delacorte)
5. So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish, by Douglas Adams. (Harmony)
6. Nutcracker, by E. T. A. Hoffmann. (Crown) With illustrations by Maurice Sendak.
7. The Fourth Protocol, by Frederick Forsyth. (Viking)
8. . . . and Ladies of The Club, by Helen Hooven Santmyer. (Putnam)
9. Lincoln, by Gore Vidal. (Random House)
10. God Knows, by Joseph Heller. (Knopf)
11. Strong Medicine, by Arthur Hailey. (Doubleday)
12. Life Its Ownself, by Dan Jenkins. (Simon & Schuster)
13. Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins. (Bantam)
14. Illusions of Love, by Cynthia Freeman. (Putnam)
15. The Butter Battle Book, by Dr. Seuss. (Random House)

Non-Fiction

1. Iacocca: An Autobiography, by Lee Iacocca with William Novak. (Bantam)
2. Pieces of My Mind, by Andrew A. Rooney. (Atheneum)
3. Loving Each Other, by Leo Buscaglia. (Slack/Holt, Rinehart & Winston)
4. The Good War, by Studs Terkel. (Pantheon)
5. Hey, Wait a Minute, I Wrote a Book! by John Madden with Dave Anderson. (Villard Books)
6. Burns’ Prescription For Happiness, by George Burns. (Putnam)
7. Moses The Kitten, by James Herriot. (St. Martin’s)
8. The Bridge Across Forever, by Richard Bach. (Morrow)
9. Heritage, by Abba Eban. (Summit)
10. Elvis Is Dead And I Don’t Feel So Good Myself, by Lewis Grizzard. (Peachtree Publishers)
11. A Light In The Attic, by Shel Silverstein. (Harper & Row)
12. The Brain, by Richard M. Restak. (Bantam)
13. Son Of The Morning Star, by Evan S. Connell. (North Point Press)
14. The Weaker Vessel, by Antonia Fraser. (Knopf)
15. One Writer’s Beginnings, by Eudora Welty. (Harvard)

1984 had its very own book title…George Orwell’s dystopian work first published in 1949 was intriguing in it’s day and a little ahead of it’s time.

Two books published during 1984 were mega-hits over the next 30 years…You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay has sold around 35 million copies and What to Expect When You Are Expecting has sold 20 million.

For the Christian market, here are the January 1985 bestseller lists of Bibles and books in Christian bookstores, courtesy of the Christian Booksellers Association: (Current bestseller lists here http://cbanews.org/category/bestsellers/)

Bibles/Translations

1. King James Version (Various Publishers)
2. New International Version (Zondervan)
3. The Living Bible/The Book (Tyndale)
4. The Open Bible (Nelson)
5. New American Standard (Moody, Nelson, Riverside, Holman, Cambridge)
6. New King James Version (Nelson)
7. Thompson, Chain Reference (Kirkbride, Zondervan)
8. Good News Bible (Nelson, ABS, Broadman)
9. Scofield Reference Bible (Oxford)
10. Ryrie Study Bible (Moody)
11. Revised Standard Version (Zondervan, Nelson, Oxford, Holman, Riverside)

Clothbound Books

1. Love Must Be Tough, by James Dobson (Word)
2. Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, by Charles Swindoll (Multnomah)
3. Answers to 200 of Life’s Most Probing Questions, by Pat Robertson, (Thomas Nelson)
4. Loving God, by Charles Colson (Zondervan)
5. Beyond Reason, by Pat Robertson (William Morrow & Co)
6. Improving Your Serve, by Charles Swindoll (Word)
7. Strengthening Your Grip, by Charles Swindoll (Word)
8. David, by Marie Rothenberg and Mel White (Fleming H. Revell)
9. Irregular People, by Joyce Landorf (Word)
10. Dropping Your Guard, by Charles Swindoll (Word)

Paperback

1. Free to be Thin, by Neva Coyle and Marie Chapian (Bethany House)
2. The Strong Willed Child, by James Dobson (Tyndale House)
3. Preparing for Adolescence, by James Dobson (Vision House/ Bantam)
4. Dare to Discipline, by James Dobson (Tyndale House/ Bantam)
5. The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges (NavPress)
6. Act of Marriage, by Tim and Beverly LaHaye (Zondervan)
7. Healing for Damage Emotions, by David Seamands (Victor Books)
8. Let’s Make a Memory, by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson (Word)
9. Strike the Original Match, by Charles Swindoll (Multnomah)
10. Hind’s Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard (Tyndale House)

 

Any of the above had an impact on your life?