Yes. It comes straight from the New York Times Books API, the same real bestseller lists published weekly.

Why does it need a pipeline?

The NYT API requires a free key, which stays on your pipeline machine and never reaches the browser.

Register for free at the NYT Developer portal — no cost, approval is usually immediate.

Yes — free to use; only the pipeline's NYT key requires a free signup.

Is the bestseller list just total sales?

No. The Times describes it as based on weekly sales reports from selected stores and wholesalers, so it is not an exact count of copies sold.

Why can a book sit on one list but not another?

The Times publishes separate lists by category, such as fiction, nonfiction and young adult, and each is compiled on its own. A book may qualify for one category and not another.

Why does the Times not name the stores it uses?

It keeps its sources confidential to avoid pressure on booksellers and to prevent the lists being gamed.

Book Bestsellers Screensaver

The Book Bestsellers screensaver flips through this week's real bestseller list — title, author and rank — refreshed by a background pipeline from the official New York Times Books API, using your free key. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Book Bestsellers screensaver works

A background pipeline reads the real current bestseller list from the New York Times Books API, using your free key.

Each book flips onto the board in rank order with its title and author.

Choose from a few real published lists, including fiction, nonfiction and young adult.

The list refreshes weekly, matching the real publication's own cadence.

How the New York Times bestseller list is compiled

The New York Times Best-Seller Lists are compiled by a dedicated Best-Seller Lists Desk in the newspaper’s news department, kept separate from its advertising and business sides. The Books API exposes the current lists, grouped into categories such as combined print and e-book fiction, nonfiction and young adult, with each entry giving rank, title, author and a count of weeks on the list.

The rankings are not a simple tally of copies. The Times says they rest on weekly sales reports from selected samples of independent and chain bookstores and wholesalers across the United States, covering a Sunday-to-Saturday sales week. It keeps its reporting sources confidential to avoid pressure on booksellers and to make the lists harder to game. Its notices also flag titles for which some stores reported bulk orders, since the aim is to reflect what individual readers are buying.

Because a list describes a past sales week, a ranking on screen reflects sales that finished before the date it is published. Each list has its own category, so a title appearing on one and missing from another does not necessarily mean it sold less. A bestseller label is a statement about sales, not about quality.

A worked example

Set it to Hardcover Fiction and this week's actual #1 title leads the board — the same real ranking published in the newspaper's own list.

Settings & tips

List switches between real published bestseller categories.
Accent recolours the rank numbers.
Run automation/run.py bookbestsellers on your pipeline machine to refresh the data.
A free NYT API key is required — see the site's setup notes.

Frequently asked questions

Is the data real?: Yes. It comes straight from the New York Times Books API, the same real bestseller lists published weekly.
Why does it need a pipeline?: The NYT API requires a free key, which stays on your pipeline machine and never reaches the browser.
How do I get a key?: Register for free at the NYT Developer portal — no cost, approval is usually immediate.
Is it free?: Yes — free to use; only the pipeline's NYT key requires a free signup.
Is the bestseller list just total sales?: No. The Times describes it as based on weekly sales reports from selected stores and wholesalers, so it is not an exact count of copies sold.
Why can a book sit on one list but not another?: The Times publishes separate lists by category, such as fiction, nonfiction and young adult, and each is compiled on its own. A book may qualify for one category and not another.
Why does the Times not name the stores it uses?: It keeps its sources confidential to avoid pressure on booksellers and to prevent the lists being gamed.

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