Asterix, Gaston Lagaffe and the Goncourt “Veiller sur elle” prize at the top of the best-selling books of 2023

The year is not quite over, but the list of bestselling books of 2023 is now known. Produced by the GFK institute, which collects “cash receipts” from bookstores, cultural and food supermarkets as well as e-commerce sites, and published by Livres Hebdo, the ranking recognizes heritage comics. Unsurprisingly, Asterix's latest adventure takes first place in this top with more than 1.5 million sales for “L'Iris Blanc” (Albert René), an adventure signed by Fabcaro and Didier Conrad.

Second place goes to another well-known character from Franco-Belgian comics: Gaston Lagaffe (Dupuis). Franquin's iconic mail sorter returns to bookstores after 24 years of absence. This unique adventure by Delaf “is already close to half a million sales,” indicates Livres Hebdo, which will publish the complete market figures in February.

While last year’s Goncourt Prize, “Vivre vite” by Brigitte Giraud (Flammarion) only ranked 28th in the 2022 top, the 2023 vintage convinced readers more. “Veiller sur elle” by Jean-Baptiste Andrea (L’Iconoclaste) ranks third best seller of the year with more than 400,000 copies sold.

The rest of the ranking devotes two genres: the “feel good”, which has monopolized the best sales for ten years thanks to authors such as Mélissa Da Costa and Virginie Grimaldi, and the recent trend of “new romance”, driven among others by ... TikTok. The queen of this new type of sentimental novel, the American Colleen Hoover, is in fourth place with her novel “Jamais Plus” (Hugo Poche), but also in rank 20 and 21 with “Hearts and Souls” and “À tout Never".

Note, a few places further (22 and 26), the performance of the first two volumes of the “dark romance” (a genre which features young women under the psychological and sexual influence of perverts) “Captive” (BMR ) by the Algerian Sarah Rivens, again a phenomenon born on TikTok.

Among the other notable performances: “His smell after the rain” by Cédric Defour-Sapin (12th, Stock), surprise success on the place of a dog in the life of his master, the autobiography of Prince Harry “The Substitute“ (Fayard, 13th), and the long seller “Le Monde sans fin” by Jean-Marc Jancovici, released in 2021, number one in sales in 2022 and number 15 in 2023.

TOP 10 best-selling books in France in 2023 (GFK)

Asterix volume 40 - Iris Blanc, Fabcaro and Conrad (Albert René)

Gaston volume 22 - The return of Lagaffe, Delaf (Dupuis)

Watch over her, Jean-Baptiste Andréa (the Iconoclast)

Never again, Colleen Hoover (Hugo Poche)

Kilometer zero: the path to happiness, Maud Ankaoua (I read)

While the coffee is still hot, Toshikazu Kawaguchi (The Paperback)

On the slab, Fred Vargas (Flammarion)

We will be left with this, Virginie Grimaldi (The pocket book)

Phantom Pains, Mélissa Da Costa (The pocket book)

The big world, Pierre Lemaître (The pocket book)