A decade after the Hunger Games series had apparently ended, readers were clearly ready for more. Suzanne Collins' The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes sold more 500,000 copies in its first week, even as many of the country's bookstores were closed or offering limited service because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The total includes print, e-books and audiobooks, according to Collins' publisher, Scholastic. NPD BookScan, which tracks around 85 percent of the print market, reported Wednesday that Songbirds and Snakes topped last week's list with 270,000 copies sold.
In Collins'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the author reintroduces readers to the world of Panem and the villainous tyrant President Coriolanus Snow.