Prince Harry’s Spare is a massive bestseller. Millions of copies of Spare have been sold worldwide in dozens of languages. Harry’s audiobook narration has been listened to millions of times as well. The memoir might be the single most successful venture from the Sussexes. Obviously, the British media faces a conundrum: how do they turn this incredible publishing story into a negative? Lying about what Harry wrote didn’t work. They ended up giving him millions of dollars worth of free publicity and drove up sales even more. They’ve tried crying about Spare endlessly. They’ve tried quoting Harry accurately, because his memoir is now part of the historical record and his version is now the record of so much of the past three decades. So now they’re trying a new tack: making wild claims about how people bought the book and then left it behind during their holidays.
Prince Harry’s memoir Spare is the ‘most dumped’ book by holidaymakers this summer, it was claimed today. The 416-page diatribe has reportedly been left in rooms, bins and by pools at holiday hotspots across Europe and further afield, including in Spain, Greece and Turkey.
Tour operator On The Beach said it had received 100 left-behind copies of the autobiography from fed-up hotel workers so far this summer, with school holidays only just getting underway.
Chief customer officer Zoe Harris told the Sun: ‘We’ve never witnessed anything quite like it. Lost property offices in our most popular resorts are brimming with copies of Spare. We thought it was funny at first but, over the past few months, several other hotels have been sending the books back.’
She said the company now has ‘bookcases full of them’ and that she has been forced to ask hotels to ‘please stop sending them over otherwise we’ll never get rid of them all.’
She added: ‘Maybe we should all take a leaf out of Harry’s book and spare ourselves the bother in the first place.’
The holiday company said it would be giving away the discarded copies online. The highly-anticipated tell-all book sold 3.2million copies in the first week of its release back in January this year – 1.4million on the first day alone. It became the fastest selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998.
Congrats to Harry, he is now the John Grisham of memoirists. Grisham, one of the most popular and prolific authors of the past century, has probably seen his paperbacks left behind at vacation spots all around the world. For years, copies of Grisham’s legal dramas could be found anywhere you looked. I think The DaVinci Code was like too – everyone had a copy, copies were always being left behind. It’s quite a big deal for an author to get to that level, where your book is so ubiquitous that everyone has a copy and there are spare (heh) copies lying around wherever you go. Anyway… thanks to all of those people for buying Harry’s book and leaving Spare behind for the next vacationer to read.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” goes on sale at midnight at WH Smith bookstore in Victoria Station, London. Pictured: General view BACKGRID USA 10 JANUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Prince Harry’s memoir was released Tuesday, not only offering new details on the British royal family’s bitter internal feud after days of bombshell revelations and promotional interviews but also describing how he fell headlong in love with his future wife, Meghan Markle. While many of the details from the book, titled “Spare,” have already been reported, its release at midnight Monday local time (7 p.m. ET) will allow the public to get their hands on a copy of a memoir filled with glimpses into a rarified family riven by disagreement and distrust. The title of the Dutch version is called Reserve. Pictured: Prince Harry’s memoir BACKGRID USA 10 JANUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attends the Royal Courts of Justice as the lawsuit against Associated Newspapers enters its final day on March 30, 2023 in London, England. Prince Harry is one of several claimants in a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail. Pictured: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex BACKGRID USA 30 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry arrives at the High Court, Rolls Building. Several high-profile people, including Prince Harry, have taken legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking. Pictured: Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 6 JUNE 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I’ll be completely honest. I read Spare during my vacation, loved it but I’m not really one for holding onto books, I’m trying to slowly downsize. So I deliberately left it behind at the AirBNB I was in, just tucked it into the bookcase along books that were already there. If anyone else staying there after me appreciates it, then great!
I put up my own “free little library” last month. It’s my first time not living in a condo. I put Spare in and it was gone in a few days. I enjoyed the book but I only keep a few books that I cant live w/o for sentimental reasons. I hate clutter. Meanwhile my husband hoards books. He is a professor and architect. We have to get books when we go to museums or art shows. I have so many coffee table books from these jaunts. ha ha. If I go first not sure they will find my husband in the house behind the stacks.
Yah same! Loved the book but it is not something I plan to read again. So I donated my copy.
Spare = Share 😁
And, Sharing=Caring. This is a great story filled with mistruths. People do leave books behind. D*mn, I purposely bring/rleave a book behind at restaurants we go to after my cat/German Shepherd satellite ears have overheard something. Usually Judi Hendricks, Erica Bauermeister, Kris Radish, Amy Reichert and Louise Penny. Situational.
Resorts are not sending left behind books back to travel agencies. Hotel workers are not complaining about a left behind books. They’d be complaining about obnoxious guests, dirty guests (the ones that literally leave the rooms/suites dirty & nasty AF and never leave a tip for housekeeping).
A quick text to my SIL in the San Diego area, who works for a major hotel chain, lold at this story. Not at books being left behind. That happens all the time. Resorts are not sending books back to travel agencies. “BUT”, if the On the Beach company is giving the books away, FANTASTIC. People who may not be able to afford in their discretionary income, can now get a copy for free. Awesome.
I do that all the time when I travel. Leave what I’ve read behind, occasionally pick up something from the shelf that somebody else left behind. Calling this the ‘most dumped book’ is one of the more bizarre spins to Harry’s success that I’ve seen yet! It’s one of the most bought, most read books ever right now! That’s the story!!
I remember being at a campground somewhere where the DaVinci Code was making the rounds. That’s where I first encountered it.
First of all, kindle is awesome.
Second of all, well you’ve gotta leave something behind otherwise the souvenirs won’t fit or you’ll be over the weight limit.
Nothing better than finding a good book at a resort! It’s a nice way to share.
I agree. I don’t keep books I’ve finished. They take up too much space. And while on vacation, I always leave the books that I finish reading on a table or bookcase or ask around to see if anyone wants it.
Same, if I take a physical book on vacation, I always leave it behind to make room for my vacation finds in my suitcase!
Agree. A copy of SPARE would be a delight to come across. Now, could you imagine, if you were someone named Dan Wootton, and you went off on vacation to visit your family and you left your boyfriend behind. And, your boyfriend found a hidey hole that contained an external hard drive that contained a video of one of Dan’s colleagues having sex. Not only that, but a transcript between a Martin Branning and sexual partner of said colleague in which Martin Branning paid his colleague’s sexual partner 500 pounds to secretly record the sex.
Who does that? The depraved.
This is a cute story, not a negative one! Clearly, even more people are going to pick it up on vacation and read Harry’s story.
I agree, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I find a book left behind on vacation that I really want to read!
Conrats, Harry!
Is this supposed to be a dig at Harry? These people BOUGHT the book and left it behind. Whatever they do with it is their business, but they coughed up money to get it..it’s a win for Harry.
Yep, “most left-behind book” just tells me it was also the #1 book people brought on vacation with them this summer.
Yes! I’ve done this on vacation too. It’s just this year everyone is reading the same book!
Exactly! I almost always leave a book behind on vacation… no reason for it to take up space in my bag and it’s an easy way to pass it on.
Authors whose books I’ve found in hotel rooms: Tom clancey, Dan brown, jk Rowling, Jesus, ya know…big names
Ahahahaha! I haven’t read Spare yet, so I’ll be checking my nightstand drawers on my next vaca
++ @Gruey, awesome. For me it was a left behind copy of Leo Buscaglia’s LOVE. It entered my life when I needed it. SPARE has touched so many people on so many different levels. Share SPARE to all!
I bought the hard copy of SPARE. Using it as reference book of the truth.
i’m in a getting rid of, not collecting phase of my life- i bought Spare- and when i was done, i left it on the pile for the nice man i live with to take to the thrift or used book store (he enjoys shopping at both). I know “new book” sales are a wonderful thing.
But let the people read!- without cost! Zero badness in this idea.
Unless you are the unhinged british media.
Imagine being so insulated, so removed from reality, but with so much money, you can create any ridiculous narrative you want…. oh, like our own home grown- also murdoch owned- fox “news”
May murdoch rot in hell for eternity.
I love this! It’s like those free neighborhood cubbyholes libraries where you can just take a book someone leaves for other folks. If I find a Spare book, I’m taking it home with me.
I bought and read Spare when it came out and then donated it to a Free Little Library near me after I finished it. I don’t hold on to books. People are constantly taking it and returning it when done. I love that. Gives more people access to the book who might not either be able to afford it or who don’t have a library card.
I got mine and read it within the first month of release. When I was done I checked my county’s library and it had something like 25 copies and 1000 hold requests. I took it to the library in person to donate and the librarian was excited
To the British Media, it’s in the Guinness book for being the fastest selling nonfiction book, nothing you can do about it.
The BM tried their best to tank Spare, all they did was help sales.
They’re really circling the drain with Sussex stories.
I think they’re pulling scraps of paper out of a hat to decide on what to write about at this point. They’re so dried up for new Sussex content that they’re literally working backwards. Tomorrow we’ll get a new story about the Oprah interview or how Meghan emailed people at 4:45am instead of 5am.
I am keeping my hardcover copy of Spare, but I do lend it to people who ask. I’m in a book-swapping group on FB and someone asked to read it and I said they could but I wanted it back. A month later she messaged me and asked if she could keep it for a little while longer because her spouse was reading it and her mom wanted to read it too, I said of course, lol. The more who read it the better!
And if you bought it in an airport or something on your way to vacation, you may not want to haul it back with you.
Similarly, I gave my friend my old phone with my audible app still on it so she could listen to Spare, and now it’s doing the rounds through her family. They wouldn’t ever have bought the book, but this way a few more people know the truth.
I save the books I really like and might possibly go back and re-read one day. I’ll be holding on to Spare indefinitely.
I do this when I vacation at the beach at a rental home. The home usually has books to read and if I bring a trashy romance novel I leave it behind for someone else to read. When I have gone back the new book I bought before looks like it has been read so I keep doing this.
The amount of books that I have read because people do this in VRBO vacations I couldn’t name. And I loved those little library nooks in Toronto. Also I guess they’re trying to go with narrative that people don’t believe him, or hate the book and that’s why they’re leaving it, but honestly if you’ve already paid me I wouldn’t care? It reminds me of the scene in Straight out of Compton where they’re showing the people smashing NWA’s albums before their concert, and Easy E is like they could do what they want they already paid for that s***.
So the last paragraph said the book sold 3.2 million in the first week and beyond a doubt a best-seller.
3.2M first WEEK is insane wow. Well it’s safe to say Archie and Lili D’s college education is paid for if they choose to go lol!
I do this all the time because I don’t like putting books in the bin when I’m done with them and don’t want to hold onto them. I leave them for other people to read. There are free libraries at resorts and communities, it’s a nice way to share literature.
Probably bought at the airport then left it in the hotel. I have done the same. All this article says is they are amazed at the number of people all reading this book on holiday. They’re not dumping the book unread, they’re leaving it behind for someone else because they don’t want to pack it.
During the aftermath of Davinci Code madness, libraries were jokingly building furniture out of donated copies.
I listened to the audio, but I also bought a print copy and donated it to my local library.
Ehehehe. There were stories about libraries doing the same for 50 Shades Of Grey because they got deluged with so many copies.
I bought Spare when it came out. Gave it my sister when I was done reading it. She read it and passed it on to a friend… that is what you do with great books. You share them.
The more books are left behind the more people will likely read about his life in the toxic royal institution and the slimy British tabloids. I’ll take that as a win for the Sussexes. 👍
I…don’t see how this is anything but a poor reflection on these book buyers. Use the flipping library. This is so wasteful, my goodness. Do I think that reflects anything at all on Prince Harry? No, except that people are still clearly interested in his words. But I also don’t think leaving books in hotel rooms or AirBnBs does anything but leave something for somebody else to eventually throw out. Many library services now have ebooks you can read on a Kindle or a tablet or your phone, if you’re worried about losing a library book on vacation.
I couldn’t personally leave a book behind that I paid for but I love the idea of leaving a book behind for someone else to read. Books are expensive (especially hardback imo) so being able to give someone access for free is great.
I thought everyone did this on vacation! I always pack a bunch of books and as I read them, I leave them. I don’t want to pack them as I generally won’t re-read a book and I don’t have the space at home to store them.
My husband and I always go to Aruba once a year to a timeshare. At the beach bar they also have some shelves with books people have left behind after they finished reading them. I have left many a book behind. I don’t know who the British press think they are fooling with this big nothing burger of a story.
Never ceases to amaze me how they keep putting out these crazy stories over absolutely nothing with these two.
I don’t feel strongly about the Sussexes one way or the other. I will click on stories if they attend events to see what outfits are being worn but that’s about it. But the visceral reaction these two seem to illicit from people by just breathing really is disturbing.
Another baffling and bizzare article about the Sussexes. Over one million copies of Spare sold in just 24 hours and the article is about 100 books being left behind?
Honestly what is the end goal here. What did Harry and Meghan do that was so egregious that the press wants them to unalive themselves. I am not being dramatic, I just don’t see what alternative outcome could be the end goal if not that.
So then more people are reading it and seeing for themselves how toxic the system (press and BRF) are-sounds like a win to me.
@MaryContrary. So true. Thanks to those who share Harry’s book Spare. Imagine the pass-on readership this will create. More people will learn the truth about the corrupt British media and the useless Royal Family.
1.) As somebody who travels for their job, it’s incredibly easy to leave things in hotel rooms lol. Even a veteran like me does it. If it’s a best selling novel, it’s not surprising it’s one of the things being left.
2.) Most people don’t hold on to books these days lol. Millennials and Gen Z don’t have the space, and biographies don’t tend to have huge reread value. Why would they give away the book when they’re done? Most do. Whenever I buy books, it’s almost always from a thrift store or used book store. I just trade them back in or donate them again.
This only proves that Harry’s book is one of the biggest sellers in years thanks in part to the Sun. Also, I’m going to bet that the tour company is paying the Sun for publicity in this piece.
I’m sure Harry will be like Neil Garman when it comes to people “leaving” his book:
“Don’t apologize to this author for buying books second hand, or getting them from bookcrossing or borrowing a friend’s copy. What’s important to me is that people read the books and enjoy them, and that, at some point in there, the book was bought by someone”
I had never heard this, it’s so lovely!
Hey, thanks for the heads up, it saves people having to shell out Money at the airports, now they know they can get a number one world wide best seller for free.! Bet the gift and book shops are going to be soooo happy about the dent you have put in their trade 😅😕😅
I like the sharing element too and have recently been donating great books at the library and book nooks around town. It’s great to pick up a good read on holiday or wherever you are. Harry is King and they just can’t stomach it. Cry harder, derangers.
I often leave paperback books behind for others to read, too. But there are some books I want to keep on my shelf, and “Spare” is one of them. Hoping my royalist English sister-in-law notices it LOL.
The fact is they bought the book, red it. What thy do with it is nobody’s business
ROTFL! They think this is a bad thing? Poor things. All this means is the book gets read even more. Harry and Meghan just have them hemmed in everywhere.
“Congrats to Harry, he is now the John Grisham of memoirists. Grisham, one of the most popular and prolific authors of the past century, has probably seen his paperbacks left behind at vacation spots all around the world.”
I chose to repeat the above quote for emphasis – This is the sunlight needed to re-emphasize a particular positive of Spare that goes beyond sales.
While I am in no way discounting sales as an indication;I am pleased for Harry and Meghan that he was able to successfully reclaim his personal narrative as his own and so many people were willing to buy and read his book.
It was inevitable that he will have to deal with the wrathful reaction to his success by his detractors, their indignation and spite and particularly their envy.
This is awesome. Read a good book, don’t have space for it or don’t hold onto books – pass it on! We have “little libraries” in my neighborhood where people leave books to be taken. They are wooden stands that look like little tree houses. The hope is that someone will leave a book and take a book. And the books get rotated often.
Same here….
People leave them in front of their homes…
DM says “dumped at lodgings.” I say “gifted to the next lodger.” I can only imagine the brief that DM gave the writer: “Take this unequivocally positive information and repackage it as a negative story. We don’t care how you spin it. Just spin, baby, spiiiiiiiin!”
Agreed…
Yep.
If these people are so concerned that Harry will never come back to England, maybe they should stop making England the least hospitable place in the solar system. I think Harry would choose Pluto, at this point.
Exactly – if it were dumped they would have found it in the wastebasket. Duh.
I have a little free library. I’m not parting with my copy of Spare, but I love sharing books, or reading something I wouldn’t otherwise because a copy was left behind.
I love to read and I read quickly. I love it when we go somewhere and there is a little collection of books! I will often add to it.
Train stations often offer free books for commuters. Commuters will leave donated books at stations for commuters to read and keep. Libraries often have book giveaways or sales. This is nothing new
There’s a bit of bullshit here: why would the international hotels be sending then books to a British tour operator? It’s not worth the cost of the postage for them.
It’s not like On The Beach owns the hotels.
I am sure there are books left behind by holiday makers – that happens with every best seller. Which is why most hotels have a bookcase somewhere in a bar or lounge area. If they end up with more copies than they can store than putting them straight into the recycling would be a lot easier than sending them anywhere!
Word. Someone typed some bullshit, and England spits it out. Never mind that it doesn’t make any logical sense, someone, somewhere, is going to believe that Harry’s book is a blight on the planet.
The follow-up will be a person who owns a house they list on vrbo, saying they have had to spend a million dollars to get landfill space, to dispose of the copies of Spare left behind, and how the cover isn’t biodegradable, but thank fucking Christ, William has the Earthshot initiative to fix it. That’s exactly how bonkers they are.
Donate them to the library! We have more than 150 people waiting to read it, we would gladly accept donations. I’ve never seen a list this long.
Duly noted! I’ll do that with mine!
I grew up poor.
A brand new hard back book is my favorite gift to me.
I keep a few after I’ve read them bc I put lamps on a stack of books to get more light up.
Mostly tho, now days when I finish reading a new book, I donate it to the local VA, Library or Assisted Living/Nursing Home.
New books are expensive and once I know the ending, why would I reread it?
The only books I’ve reread? Lee Childs Jack Reacher series and John Sanfords Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers books.
The dialogue and plotting are very, very good. Each series is getting a bit old now, let’s face it book #19 is gonna be a bit of a rehash, not matter how well done.
Ridiculous to try to bad mouth “Spare”. Once you’ve read a book , fine to leave it for others to enjoy. Doubly true if you finish reading while traveling.
Prince Harry has done a fine job of “YOLO, be happy!”
I listened to the book and own audible and kindle version. I don’t have many physical copies of books. I would just have too many because I read a lot. I did enjoy the book though. I don’t think that if reread a memoir as a whole again. I mostly listen to paranormal books repeatedly if anything.
…and Harry cried, all the way to the bank.
Complete jealousy from the deranged British rota. They cannot fathom why their smear campaign of Harry’s book didn’t turn out to their desired results. The total opposite happened. Harry’s Spare became the no. 1 best-selling book of all time worldwide. This only proves that you cannot bring down a good man/ a good book. Hurray Harry !