Last summer, an unknown book came out of nowhere to debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for Young Adult books. Its short time at the top exposed some flaws in bestseller lists and provoked questions about why we care so much about bestsellers. This episode is sponsored by: TryAudiobooks.com The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer Further reading: Constance Grady on the bestseller list landscape Lila Shapiro's profile of Lani Sarem Lila Shapiro's profile of Justina Ireland