Prince Harry's Memoir Is the Fastest Selling Nonfiction Book in UK

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Prince Harry's memoir Spare hit shelves globally yesterday to much fanfare. Not only has it garnered media attention, however, but it is breaking sales records. In the UK, Spare just became the fastest selling nonfiction book ever.

Transworld Penguin Random House said in a statement yesterday that 400,000 copies have been sold so far, per British sales figures. "We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations," Managing Director Larry Finlay said in a statement."

He added, "As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter)." The last installment in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, holds the record for fastest selling book of all time.

Waterstones, a large British book chain, told the BBC that Spare has been one of its "biggest pre-order titles for a decade."

Ahead of its release, Spare leaked, with some of the more salacious stories from the book hitting the headlines. On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, Prince Harry talked about how the leaks were "hurtful" and "challenging."

"Look, I'm not gonna lie, the last few days have been hurtful and challenging," Harry said. "Not being able to do anything about those leaks that you refer to. Without doubt, the most dangerous lie that they have told is that I somehow boasted about the number of people I killed in Afghanistan."

He continues, "If I heard anyone boasting about that kind of thing, I would be angry. But it's a lie. And hopefully, now that the book is out, people will be able to see the context. And it is—it's really troubling and very disturbing that they can get away with it."

The leaks, however, did not seem to have any impact on sales—if anything, they have generated even more interest in Spare.

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