#24 — July 2026 bestsellers + the religious books revival

In Episode 24 of NielsenIQ BookData's The Bestsellers podcast, Belle and Philip count down the UK's bestselling books of July (04.36), share their Beyond the Bestsellers picks (13.26), and, in Under the Spotlight (20.25), explore the resurgence of the religious books market. Tune in to discover which familiar face reaches number one in paperback for the first time in eight years, which TV spin-off, the first of its kind in more than 30 years, has become an instant bestseller, which children's title is the latest to surpass one million copies sold, and why bible sales are reaching record levels around the world.Books featured in this episode that can be purchased at all good booksellers include:— Bear Grylls' The Greatest Story Ever Told— Alice Feeney's My Husband's Wife— Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book— Homer's The Odyssey— The BibleLink to The Bookseller article: "A Homer run: Poetry poised to hit its all-time UK high"Link to Emily Wilson's review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in the London Review of BooksLink to The Guardian article: "‘It’s younger people seeking some sort of spirituality’ — UK Bible sales reach record high" Link to The Bible Society's The Quiet Revival reportLink to BBC iPlayer's Red Dwarf S06 E03 episode, "Gunmen of the Apocalypse"The views expressed in this podcast are those of the presenters and not that of NIQ. For more information about who we are and what we do, visit NielsenIQ BookData Home - NIQ. Follow Nielsen Book on Instagram (@_bookdata) and Linkedin (@nielsen-book). Get in touch with Philip and Belle at [email protected] hosted by Philip Stone and Belle Edelman, and produced and edited by Chris White. Theme music by Nela Ruiz. Thanks for listening!