Top 10 best-selling books at Texas Star in 2024
By Glenn Dromgoole
We’ve compiled our list of the best-selling books at Texas Star Trading in 2024, and guess what – our top 10 are all by local authors.
Jay Moore’s latest informative and entertaining Abilene historical account, Abilene’s War With Whiskey and Other Hometown Commotions, topped the list. It came out late in October and no doubt found its way to a lot of Abilene stockings on Christmas morning.
Number two was popular Abilene author Penny Parker Klostermann’s new children’s tale, Merry Christmas, Dear Mars. Texas Star was privileged to host Penny’s book launch in September, and she kept coming back all fall to sign more books.
Janice Six’s Confessions of a Female Pastor and Other Prayers of the People was our number one best-seller in 2023 and continued to do very well in 2024, finishing third on our top 10.
Meanwhile, Janice’s new book, Life Lessons for Littles, consisting of 26 spiritual values to read and discuss with young children, came in at number four.
A perennial cookbook favorite, Perini Ranch Steakhouse by Tom and Lisa Perini, was our fifth best seller last year.
Coming in at number six was Potosi novelist Charlie Russell’s twelfth title, A New Beginning, which didn’t even hit the shelves until Dec. 3. Charlie has a loyal and growing following for his upbeat ranch-family tales.
Abilene physician Dr. Sandi Mathur grabbed spots seven and eight on the best-seller list with the second and third books in his Cowboys and Indian trilogy about his early years as a physician transplanted in Coleman, Texas. Number two in the series, Cowboys and Indian: The Great British Hospital of Texas, came in seventh, just ahead of the third title, Cowboys and Indian: Specialist in the Field.
The new paperback edition of an old favorite, Abilene Stories from Then to Now, edited by Jay Moore, Joe Specht, and Glenn Dromgoole, finished ninth on the top ten list. The book first came out, in hardcover, in 2013 and features about a hundred stories related to Abilene history and culture.
Rounding out the top 10 was a delightful new children’s book, They Called Him Bucky, written by Abilene author Jeannette McQueen and illustrated by Abilene artist Nancy Capra. They had a very successful book signing at Texas Star less than two weeks before Christmas, and it just kept selling after they left.
Happy reading in 2025. We’re featuring books by a variety of Texas storytellers this month. And we have more than a hundred titles by local authors. Come in and see what they have to offer.
