After Carrie Fisher’s death, her books are flying off shelves

Books by Carrie Fisher, the legendary actress and writer who died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 60, are flying off shelves. By Wednesday morning, her memoir “The Princess Diarist” was the top-selling book on Amazon.

“The Princess Diarist,” released in November, includes her 1976 diaries from shooting “Star Wars,” when she had an until-now secret relationship with married costar Harrison Ford. The Times’ Meredith Woerner called the book “an unflinching, sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious look inside the mind of a 19-year-old actress.”

Amazon shoppers hoping to start reading right away will have to wait: The book can be ordered from the retailer but it’s listed as temporarily out of stock, with no estimated shipping date.

Los Angeles readers can turn to local retailers, however. Diesel Books in Brentwood has a few copies; it is, as of Wednesday morning, listed as being in stock at Vroman’s Books in Pasadena and Skylight Books in Los Feliz. Yet in the last day, both Skylight and Diesel have sold out of the audiobook versions.

At the Los Angeles Public Library, “The Princess Diarist” is in high demand, with most of the system’s copies listed as checked out or on hold. The e-book edition was listed as unavailable, with 132 patrons waiting to borrow one of the book’s 11 copies.

Sales of two of Fisher’s other books at Amazon also started climbing after her death. “Wishful Drinking,” her 2008 memoir about her struggles with bipolar disorder, alcoholism and drug addiction, was ranked No. 7 overall on Amazon, and was also out of stock. “Postcards From the Edge,” the 1987 autobiographical novel that was her literary debut, was Amazon’s No. 9 bestseller overall, with no copies available for immediate shipping. Only two of her books, the novels “Surrender the Pink” and “Delusions of Grandma,” are currently in stock at Amazon.

On Wednesday morning, Amazon ranked Fisher as the No. 2 bestselling author overall, second only to “Harry Potter” writer J.K. Rowling.

Although best known as an actress, due to her memorable performances in the “Star Wars” films and in movies like “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “When Harry Met Sally,” Fisher was also the author of seven books: four novels and three memoirs.

Older copies of Fisher’s books were listed with high prices at used book retailer AbeBooks.com, with one seller asking $199.75 for a paperback edition of “Postcards From the Edge.” The condition of the book was listed as “fair.”

Several auctions for Fisher’s books appeared on eBay not long after the actress’ death. One seller is asking $439 for a signed copy of “The Princess Diarist.” Another sought $399.99 for a copy of “Postcards From the Edge” that Fisher signed in 1987. The inscription reads, to no one in particular, “Wish you were here.”