The inspiring collection of thoughts on resilience and friendship, by the British illustrator Charles Mackesy, sold 4,999 copies in the last week, according to figures published by NielsenIQ Bookdata.
It beat the ever-green annual Guinness Book of Records into second place. Meanwhile, those who have asked to receive an Irish book as a present for Christmas stand a good chance of getting The Dodger by Eimear Ní Bhraonáin, the story of how former Kilkenny hurler faked cancer, which sold 4,138 copies last week.
The Boy, The Mole, the Fox and the Horse was published in October 2019, having its origins in Mackesy’s Instagram posts, which quickly resonated with readers. The book became a huge hit during the Covid lockdown, and went on to break publishing records.
It holds the record for the most consecutive weeks in the UK non-fiction bestsellers list, and has now reached an estimated 10 million readers worldwide.
Always Remember features the return of the characters from the previous book. It is also the Christmas number 1 in UK bookshops, having sold over 43,000 copies there, easily beating Richard Osman’s cosy crime caper The Impossible Fortune to the top spot.
It is the first time since 2022 that the Irish and UK number ones have been the same. Other titles have hit the top at Christmas on either side of the Irish Sea include Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code in 2004, and Alex Ferguson’s My Autobiography in 2013.
In fourth place in the Irish list is Ninety-Nine Words for Rain, by the late Manchán Magan, which sold 4,038 copies last week. It finished ahead of The Only Way I Know, by Irish rugby manager Andy Farrell, on 3,845.
Other Irish books in the top ten include The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor, which got a sales bounce from being announced as the overall ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year 2025’. It is in seventh place with 3,141 sales.
In ninth is Matt Cooper’s Dynasty, which tells the story of Dunnes Stores, and just behind it is An Irish Word a Day by broadcaster Hector Ó hEochagáin, on 2,640 sales.
The top 10 is completed by Dog Man 14: Big Jim Believes by Dav Pilkey, which is in eighth place with 2,846 sales.