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Colleen Hoover's Hopeless, a self-published mature young adult novel about the darker side of sex, enters the list at an eye-popping position: No. 2. Hoover's reaction? "This entire experience has been surreal," she tells USA TODAY. Hoover had two books on the list last year: Point of Retreat, which reached No. 31 in July, and Slammed, which peaked at No. 17. Hoover says she turned down the chance to have Hopeless published by a major house and opted for self-publishing. It's obviously working.

'Freed' at last: What was the top-selling book of 2012 on Amazon? Fifty Shades Freed, the third book in E.L. James' erotic trilogy. No. 2 was Gillian Flynn's twisty thriller, Gone Girl. (Amazon did not count the first and second books in James' trilogy because they were released in 2011.) Read the entire list, which includes print and digital sales.

The story of 2012 in publishing was the story of "Fifty Shades of Grey," in more ways than one. E L James' erotic trilogy was easily the year's biggest hit, selling more than 35 million copies in the U.S. alone and topping bestseller lists for months. Rival publishers hurried to sign up similar books and debates started over who should star in the planned film version. Through James' books and how she wrote them, the general public was educated in the worlds of romance/erotica, start-up publishing and "fan fiction."

Here's a look at the new and noteworthy books on sale the week of Nov. 4: Child's most recent Reacher novel – A Wanted Man – entered USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list at No. 2 on Sept. 20, and next up is Tom Cruise's controversial turn (he's too short!) in Jack Reacher, hitting theaters on Dec. 21.

There are two newcomers to the graphic books hardcover best-seller list this week, and both shine a spotlight on artists — a trend worth supporting. “Dave Stevens’ Stories and Covers,” at No. 6, takes a look at the cover work of Mr. Stevens, who created the Rocketeer and was also well known for his renderings of women in a ’50s-pinup style.

Mitch Albom's third inspirational novel, The Time Keeper, lands on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list at No. 10, short of his first two fictional works. Both For One More Day (2006) and The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003) were No. 1 on the list.

Helen Gurley Brown, who fed the sexual revolution of the 1960s with her best-seller “Sex and the Single Girl” and then turned around the failing Cosmopolitan magazine by injecting her philosophy that women could have it all -- “love, sex and money” -- has died. She was 90.

Oprah Winfrey — once an unrivaled force in selling books — is back. Her impact can be seen on USA TODAY's Best-Selling books list as Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild, the first title in Winfrey's relaunched club (announced June 1), rises from No. 92 to No. 14.

Bella Andre isn’t a household name, and no wonder. The California-based author of romance fiction, profiled in The Post last year, finally made her first non-retailer bestseller list last week. “If You Were Mine” clocked in at No. 111 on USA Today’s list.

The perfect alignment of the gift-giving season and anticipation for The Hunger Games movie is boosting sales for Suzanne Collins' popular young-adult trilogy. The first book, The Hunger Games, reaches No. 1 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list for the first time (its previous peak was No. 2, on Sept. 29). Catching Fire is No. 7, Mockingjay is No. 8, and the boxed set is No. 27. "As strongly as The Hunger Games trilogy has been selling all year, it's been amazing to see how many new readers continue to discover the books every day through word-of-mouth recommendations, holiday gifts, and the incredible buzz for the upcoming movie," says Scholastic's Ellie Berger. The movie, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, opens March 23.