Twice each year, I take this space on the agency blog and make a trip down memory lane to see what books were selling many years ago. If you understand from where books have come, you can understand where books are going.

Below is the New York Times bestseller list from July 2, 1995 and the Christian Booksellers Association list from July, 1995. A lot has happened in twenty years.

NOTE: Check out #3 non-fiction on the New York Times list to see if you think the past doesn’t connect to the present.

The New York Times Best Seller List – July 2, 1995

Fiction

1. THE RAINMAKER, by John Grisham. (Doubleday) A young man barely out of law school tries to expose a corporation’s multibillion-dollar scam.

2. THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, by Robert James Waller. (Warner) A photographer and a farmer’s lonely wife in Iowa.

3. ROSE MADDER, by Stephen King. (Viking) Fleeing an abusive husband, a woman seeks happiness in a strange city by creating her own myth.

4. THE APOCALYPSE WATCH, by Robert Ludlum. (Bantam) Tracking a neo-Nazi movement with designs on American and European officials.

5. THE CELESTINE PROPHECY, by James Redfield. (Warner) An ancient manuscript, found in Peru, provides insights into achieving a fulfilling life.

6. LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART, by Mary Higgins Clark. (Simon & Schuster) An unusual murder case haunts a prosecutor’s career and her private life.

7. POLITICALLY CORRECT BEDTIME STORIES, by James Finn Garner. (Macmillan) Classic tales respun to avoid offending current sensibilities.

8. OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! by Dr. Seuss. (Random House) The problems of finding your way through life; in verse and pictures.

9. ONCE UPON A MORE ENLIGHTENED TIME, by James Finn Garner. (Macmillan) Eight more “politically correct bedtime stories.”

10. STRANGE HIGHWAYS, by Dean Koontz. (Tartikoff/Warner) A collection of suspense tales, including novels, novellas and short stories.

11. LADDER OF YEARS, by Anne Tyler. (Knopf) At 40, a woman leaves her physician husband and children to start a new life in a strange town.

12. REDEMPTION, by Leon Uris. (HarperCollins) In a sequel to “Trinity,” the Larkin family continues to fight for Irish independence.

13. MIND PREY, by John Sandford. (Putnam) Lucas Davenport pursues the kidnapper of a psychiatrist and her two daughters.

14. THE WITNESS, by Sandra Brown. (Warner) A seemingly happy public defender and wife is plunged into a morass of bigotry and hate.

15. MYSTIQUE, by Amanda Quick. (Bantam) A medieval English warrior, on a search for a crystal that will make him the master of new lands, finds love.

Non-Fiction

1. A GOOD WALK SPOILED, by John Feinstein. (Little, Brown) A sportswriter reports on the P.G.A. Tour in 1993 and 1994.

2. DAVE BARRY’S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS, by Dave Barry. (Random House) A humorist explains the strange ways of a species of males called “guys.”

3. THE HOT ZONE, by Richard Preston. (Random House) The discovery of the deadly Ebola virus in Virginia and the efforts to keep it from spreading.

4. SPONTANEOUS HEALING, by Andrew Weil. (Knopf) A physician explains the ways in which the body heals itself.

5. MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, by John Berendt. (Random House) The mysterious death of a young man in Savannah, Georgia.

6. SISTERS, by Carol Saline. Photographs by Sharon J. Wohlmuth. (Running Press) The relationships of 36 sets of sisters, reported in words and pictures.

7. IN RETROSPECT, by Robert S. McNamara with Brian VanDeMark. (Times Books/Random House) The author recalls his role in the Vietnam War.

8. THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE, by Philip K. Howard. (Random House) How governmental rules and regulations are fettering the lives of all Americans.

9. THE BOOK OF VIRTUES, by William J. Bennett. (Simon & Schuster) Moral stories adapted from the Greeks, the Bible, folklore and elsewhere.

10. NEW PASSAGES, by Gail Sheehy. (Random House) How changing social conditions and longer life expectancies are affecting our lives.

11. BY GEORGE, by George Foreman and Joel Engel. (Villard) The autobiography of the heavyweight champion.

12. KATO KAELIN, by Marc Eliot. (Harper Paperbacks) A friend of O.J. Simpson’s on events surrounding the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.

13. FROM BEGINNING TO END, by Robert Fulghum. (Villard) The rituals we practice and the spiritual journeys we take, from childhood to old age.

14. LESLIE NIELSEN’S STUPID LITTLE GOLF BOOK, by Leslie Nielsen and Henry Beard. (Boswell/Doubleday) Reminiscences and tips; humor.

15. DON’T STAND TOO CLOSE TO A NAKED MAN, by Tim Allen. (Hyperion) Anecdotes and meditations on life by the star of “Home Improvement.”

Thanks to the Christian Booksellers Association for opening their archives and providing this list. Their current monthly best-seller lists are here.

July 1995 Best-seller list – (Christian market only)

Fiction

1. The Bluebird and the Sparrow, Janette Oke, Bethany House
2. The Dawning of Deliverance, Judith Pella, Bethany House
3. This Present Darkness, Frank Peretti, Crossway
4. The Thor Conspiracy, Larry Burkett, Nelson
5. The Oath, Frank Peretti, Word
6. The Yukon Queen, Gilbert Morris, Bethany House
7. The Starts for a Light, Lynn & Gilbert Morris, Bethany House
8. Shadow of the Mountains, Lynn and Gilbert Morris, Bethany House
9. Christy, Catherine Marshall, Avon
10. Piercing the Darkness, Frank Peretti, Crossway
11. Prophet, Frank Peretti, Crossway
12. Joshua and the City, Joseph Girzone, Doubleday
13. Hinds’ Feet on High Places, Hannah Hurnard, Barbour, Tyndale, Walker
14. Mercies so Tender, Elaine Schulte, Chariot Books
15. The Knight and the Dove, Lori Wick, Harvest House
16. Secrets, Robin Jones Gunn, Palisades (Questar)
17. Joshua, Joseph Girzone, Simon & Shuster
18. Wall of Fire, Gilbert Morris, Tyndale
19. The Shield of Honor, Gilbert Morris, Tyndale
20. Escape to Freedom, Michael Phillips, Tyndale

Nonfiction

1. Planet Earth- 2000 A.D., Hal Lindsey, Western Front Ltd.
2. God’s Little Instruction Book for Mom, Honor Books
3. Mama, Get the Hammer, Barbara Johnson, Word
4. Woman, Thou Art Loosed, T.D. Jakes, Destiny Image
5. The Bondage Breaker, Neil T. Anderson, Harvest House
6. No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Max Lucado, Multnomah (Questar)
7. God’s Little Instruction Book 2, Honor Books
8. God’s Little Instruction Book, Honor Books
9. A Divine Revelation of Hell, Mary Baxter, Whitaker House
10. Fifteen Minutes Alone With God, Emilie Barnes, Harvest House
11. Victory Over the Darkness, Neil T. Anderson, Regal (Gospel Light)
12. God’s Little Devotional Book for Dad, Honor Books
13. And the Angels Were Silent, Max Lucado, Multnomah (Questar)
14. More Than a Carpenter, Josh McDowell, Tyndale
15. Becoming a Woman of Excellence, Cynthia Heald, NavPress
16. God Came Near, Max Lucado, Multnomah (Questar)
17. Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications
18. Good Grief, Granger Westberg, Fortress Press (Augburg Fortress)
19. Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days, Kay Arthur, Harvest House
20. Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy!, Barbara Johnson, Word