Best movies of 2023 🍿 How he writes From 'Beef' to 'The Bear' Our free games
Books and Literature

Humans of New York fave 'Tanqueray' and David Baldacci have bestselling new books this week

Mary Cadden
USA TODAY

Delia Owens' juggernaut bestseller "Where the Crawdads Sing" remains at No. 1 on this week's USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list, bringing it to a total of 202 weeks on the list, 17 of which have been No. 1. The film adaptation of the book, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and David Strathairn, brought in $17 million on its opening weekend in theaters, beating expectations. 

But this week's top debut (at goes to David Baldacci for his latest novel, "The 6:20 Man" (Grand Central Publishing, 432 pp.). The book features protagonist Travis Devine, a financial analyst whose life is put in danger when a colleague and former girlfriend is found dead in the office, presumably by suicide. 

Baldacci is no stranger to the bestsellers list: He has had 56 novels on the list and nine No. 1 books, including this year's "Dream Town," the third book in his popular Archer series.  

'Where the Crawdads Sing':The biggest changes between the book and movie

More:'Where the Crawdads Sing' is USA TODAY's No. 1 best-selling book of 2019

Check out: USA TODAY's weekly Best-selling Booklist

Stephanie Johnson, also known as 'Tanqueray' released her eponymous memoir with co-author Brandon Stanton.

'Tanqueray' adds author to her storied life

The lady Tanqueray still holds sway, this time with readers. Fans of Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York project know Stephanie Johnson very well – perhaps not by her legal name but by her stage name, Tanqueray. Her eponymous memoir "Tanqueray" (St. Martin's Press, 192 pp.), as told to Stanton, is this week's top-selling memoir and book, debuting at No. 11 on this week's bestsellers list. 

Humans of New York was started in 2010 by Stanton as a photography project capturing New Yorkers on the street. Eventually, Stanton began to interview the people he was photographing and share their stories on social media. 

"Tanqueray," by Brandon Stanton and Stephanie Johnson

Johnson initially captured people's attention in 2019 when she was featured on Stanton's Humans of New York's Instagram account. A former burlesque dancer, Johnson beguiled followers with tales of her life, from a brutal childhood to brushes with dirty cops and gangsters.  

The memoir features never-told stories and includes some of Johnson's personal photos.

In 2020, Stanton returned with more of Johnson's story in an effort to raise money for her medical expenses. In addition to a new series of posts, a GoFundMe page called The Tanqueray Trust was set up and raised over $2.5 million from more than 128,000 thousand donations. 

While this is Johnson's bestsellers list debut, co-author Brandon Stanton previously made the list with his books "Humans of New York," "Little Humans," "Humans of New York: Stories" and "Humans." 

5 new books this week:Silvia Moreno-Garcia reinvents 'Doctor Moreau,' 'John Wick' oral history

'Illegally Yours':Rafael Agustin revisits the moment he learned he was undocumented

Featured Weekly Ad