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Paul Hollywood cookbook 'Bake', Daniel Silva thriller get wins on latest best seller list

Mary Cadden
USA TODAY

Delia Owens'  "Where the Crawdads Sing" continues to reign at No. 1 on USA Today's Best Sellers list. It's the fourth week in a row, bringing the total to 18 weeks in the top spot. The film adaptation starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and David Strathairn continues to be the driving force for the book that has spent a total of 203 weeks on the list since its debut in 2018. 

Daniel Silva's "Portrait of an Unknown Woman," (Harper, 448 pp.) has the highest debut of any book on the list this week, coming in at No. 2. The novel features legendary spy and art restorer, Gabriel Allon, who is enjoying the quiet life with his family in Venice until an art dealer asks Allon to investigate a rediscovered, centuries-old painting. Soon he is wrapped up in a possible fraud case that could prove deadly.

Here's what else did well this week:

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

The cover of "Bake" by "Great British Baking Show" judge Paul Hollywood.

Hollywood 'Bakes'

Paul Hollywood makes his debut on the USA TODAY Best sellers list with his cookbook "Bake" (Bloomsbury, 302 pp.) He took the 101th position. It's the first time one of his cookbooks appeared on our list, but not the first time one of his recipes has. "Love to Bake" from The Great British Baking Show included his recipes and appeared on our list in 2020. 

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

Bread features prominently in "Bake," Hollywood's first cookbook in five years, because it's a distillation of his favorite and most essential recipes. But there are also pies, cakes, desserts and other treats in the book, in which he attempts to perfect classic recipes, a project he started noodling with during downtime while filming "Baking" in a pandemic-necessitated bubble. 

More:Paul Hollywood's lime meringue pie puts a twist on the classic lemon meringue

More:Paul Hollywood wants 'Great British Baking Show' to last even after he's 'old and crumbly'

"We were inside this very nice hotel for seven weeks together. (Co-judge) Prue (Leith) who was writing her book, (co-host) Matt (Lucas) was doing scripts for something and I think the same with (co-host) Noel Fielding," Hollywood told USA TODAY's Kelly Lawler. "I had all that time after the tent, going back to my room, I thought, ‘I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do another book, right? It's been five years, it's about time. I've been too lazy.’" 

Hollywood is confident that home bakers will be able to tackle his recipes, even if they look too difficult or complicated on the surface. The recipes are "simple because each stage is simple. It's just that when you put it all together, you look at it and go, ‘Oh, that's quite a lot.'" 

Contributing: Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY

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