• Booksellers enjoyed their best week in three years in the lead-up to Christmas
  • Celebrity books by Jamie Oliver, Miranda Hart and Jamie Oliver were the most popular sellers
By Harriet Cooke


Printed books made a surprise comeback this Christmas after figures revealed the strongest week of sales in three years.
The autobiographies of TV star Miranda Hart and Olympic cyclist Bradley Wiggins were believed to be key factors in the surge of book-buying in the Christmas rush.
Cookbook: Jamie's 15 Minute MealsPhysical books have seen dwindling sales in recent years due to the increased use of e-readers and tablets, but this Christmas their fortunes were reversed.

Success: Jamie Oliver (left) took the crown of most-popular book this Christmas after his 15-Minute Meals sold 140,155 copies in the UK last week


Book: Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart
Right: Is It Just Me? - the memoirs of Miranda Hart (left) - came second in the UK Christmas book chart
The industry saw takings of £75.4million in the week ending December 22 - up by 20 per cent on the previous week and £1.4million higher than the same period in 2011.
Most popular was Jamie Oliver's 15-Minute Meals, which sold 140,155 copies in the UK last week.
Second was comic Miranda Hart's Is It Just Me?, in which the star looks back on her childhood, followed by Bradley Wiggins's account of his journey through the Tour de France and the Olympics.
The titles sold 64,691 and 59,524 copies respectively.

Full story at The Daily Mail