Anthony Bourdain Books Sales Soar in Wake of Chef’s Suicide

Anthony Bourdain’s book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, has shot back to the top of the best-seller list after the celebrity chef passed away.

Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in France on Friday. He was mourned widely across social media, and over the weekend, his book was in the number one spot on Amazon‘s best-seller list. The memoir came out in 2000, and helped Bourdain make his way onto TV and into the life of millions of Americans.

The number one spot on Amazon’s best-seller list held the updated edition of Kitchen Confidential in paperback, released in 2007. The kindle version of the book was third on the list, and the audiobook version, narrated by Bourdain himself, was in the fifth spot. On Saturday Bourdain’s second book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, was on the list for a time, though it was gone on Sunday morning.

Bourdain’s other books include A Cook’s Tour, The Nasty Bits, Anthony Bourdain‘s Les Halles Cookbook, Bone in the Throat, Gone Bamboo and No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach. He also wrote a historical investigation called Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. He co-wrote two graphic novels for DC Comics’ Vertigo imprit titled Get Jiro, and a horror anthology called Hungry Ghosts.

According to a report by The New York Post, book collectors went after rare and signed copies of Bourdain’s books online. An autographed copy of Kitchen Confidential reportedly sold for $499 on eBay, and a signed copy of Appetites: A Cookbook sold for $490. A signed copy of No Reservations reportedly went for $300.

On Saturday, Bourdain’s editor at Vertigo, Karen Berger, spoke to reporters at Vulture about his work in comics. She recalled a New York Comic Con panel where Bourdain told the crowd that writing and drawing comics was his first dream.

“Comics are my first love,” Bourdain reportedly told the assembled fans.

Fans are also rallying around Bourdain’s television work, petitioning Netflix and CNN and make all seasons of Parts Unknown available to stream. At the moment, the first eight seasons are streaming on Netflix, but not for long. The show is scheduled to leave the Netflix catalogue on June 16, but some fans are hoping that in the wake of Bourdain’s passing, it will stay up a little longer.

Bourdain’s passing sparked a national conversation about mental health and suicide prevention.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).