Letter: Off the shelves

Sir: In "Mapping out the best of the books" (31 May), Debbie Davies makes a point of saying that Terry Pratchett's Hogfather was 25th in the fiction list a few weeks ago with sales of 199 books. But what is her point?

This title was published in early November and topped the hardcover fiction list for five consecutive weeks. Gollancz's sales of Hogfather are now in excess of 130,000, and still to sell several hundred copies a week of a hardback fiction title more than seven months after publication suggests longevity rather than some form of fraud.

COLIN SMYTHE

Colin Smythe Ltd, Publishers

Gerard's Cross,

Buckinghamshire