Current Best Sellers Lists

[MacBeth]

Wall Street Journal:

Jun 25th, 2009 | FICTION

1. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Company)

2. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers)

3. "Along for the Ride" by Sarah Dessen (Viking Children's)

4. "Knock Out: An FBI Thriller" by Catherine Coulter (Putnam Adult)

5. "L.A. Candy" by Lauren Conrad (HarperCollins)

6. "Robert Ludlum's: The Bourne Deception" by Eric Van Lustbader, Robert Ludlum (Grand Central Publishing)

7. "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion Books for Children)

8. "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday)

9. "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe (Voice)

10. "Relentless" by Dean Koontz (Bantam)

11. "The Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)

12. "The 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave" by Jude Watson (Scholastic)

13. "Shanghai Girls: A Novel" by Lisa See (Random House)

14. "Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover" by Ally Carter (Disney-Hyperion)

15. "First Family" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)

NONFICTION

1. "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions)

2. "Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan" by Doug Stanton (Scribner)

3. "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

4. "Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits" by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House)

5. "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" by Bill O'Reilly (Broadway)

6. "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment" by Steve Harvey (Amistad)

7. "Divine Soul Songs: Sacred Practical Treasures to Heal, Rejuvenate, and Transform You, Humanity, Mother Earth, and All Universes" by Zhi Gang Sha (Atria)

8. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)

9. "Believe That You Can: Moving With Tenacity Toward the Dream God Has Given You" by Jentezen Franklin (Charisma House)

10. "StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)

11. "Renegade: The Making of a President" by Richard Wolffe (Crown)

12. "The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise" by Joe Scarborough (Crown Forum)

13. "Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the US Open" by Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein (Little, Brown and Company)

14. "Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood" by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton & Co.)

15. "Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!" by Jillian Michaels and Mariska van Aalst (Crown)

The Wall Street Journal's list reflects nationwide sales of hardcover books during the week ended last Saturday at more than 2,500 Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Bookland, Books-a-Million, Books & Co., Bookstar, Bookstop, Borders, Brentano's, Coles, Coopersmith, Doubleday, Scribners and Waldenbooks stores, as well as sales from online retailers Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.


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Publishers Weekly:

Jun 25th, 2009 | HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "Knock Out: An FBI Thriller" by Catherine Coulter (Putnam Adult)

2. "Robert Ludlum's: The Bourne Deception" by Eric Van Lustbader, Robert Ludlum (Grand Central Publishing)

3. "Relentless" by Dean Koontz (Bantam)

4. "The Angels Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday)

5. "Medusa: A Novel From the Numa Files" by Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos (Putnam)

6. "The Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)

7. "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe (Voice)

8. "Shanghai Girls: A Novel" by Lisa See (Random House)

9. "Skin Trade" by Laurell K. Hamilton (Berkley)

10. "Dead and Gone" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

11. "Gone Tomorrow" by Lee Child (Delacorte Press)

12. "The Neighbor" by Lisa Gardner (Bantam)

13. "Dune Road" by Jane Green (Viking)

14. "First Family" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)

15. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions)

2. "Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan" by Doug Stanton (Scribner)

3. "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

4. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)

5. "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment" by Steve Harvey (Amistad)

6. "Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits" by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House)

7. "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" by Bill O'Reilly (Broadway)

8. "Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the US Open" by Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein (Little, Brown and Company)

9. "The Last Best Hope" Joe Scarborough (Crown Forum)

10. "Renegade: The Making of a President" by Richard Wolffe (Crown)

11. "The Yankee Years" by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci (Doubleday)

12. "Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood" by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton & Co.)

13. "Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!" by Jillian Michaels and Mariska van Aalst (Crown)

14. "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" by Michael J. Fox (Hyperion)

15. "Prairie Tale" by Melissa Gilbert (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS

1. "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult (Pocket)

2. "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

3. "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown (Pocket)

4. "Rogue" by Danielle Steel (Dell)

5. "Living Dead in Dallas" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

6. "The Last Oracle" by James Rollins (Harper)

7. "Sail" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Vision)

8. "From Dead to Worse" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

9. "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet (Vision)

10. "Salvation in Death" by J.D. Robb (Berkley)

11. "Right Next Door: Father's DayThe Courtship of Carol Sommars" by Debbie Macomber (Mira)

12. "The Last Patriot" by Brad Thor (Pocket)

13. "Dead to the World" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

14. "Club Dead" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

15. "The Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer (Grand Central Publishing)

TRADE PAPERBACKS

1. "Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine" by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions)

2. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media)

3. "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press)

4. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial)

5. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris (Back Bay Books)

6. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith (Quirk Books)

7. "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin)

8. "Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes" by Lifetime Television, (Voice)

9. "The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel" by Garth Stein (Harper)

10. "Olive Kitteredge" by Elizabeth Strout (Random House Trade Paperbacks)

11. "A Summer Affair" by Elin Hilderbrand (Back Bay Books)

12. "Beach House" by Jane Green (Plume)

13. "Vision in White" by Nora Roberts (Berkley Trade)

14. "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin's Griffin)

15. "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho (Harper)



www.salon.com/wires/ap/entertainment/2009/06/25/D991TQ1O1_us_best_sellers_books_pw/


BC US Best Sellers Books USAToday

Jun 25th, 2009 | Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback

1."Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine" by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions) (NF-P)

2. "My Sister's Keeper: A Novel" by Jodi Picoult (Pocket) (F-P)

3. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-P)

4. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-P)

5. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-H)

6. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-H)

7. "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions) (NF-H)

8. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media) (F-P)

9. "Knock Out: An FBI Thriller" by Catherine Coulter (Putnam Adult) (F-H)

10. "Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan" by Doug Stanton (Scribner) (NF-H)

11. "Along for the Ride" by Sarah Dessen (Viking Children's) (F-H)

12. "Relentless" by Dean Koontz (Bantam) (F-H)

13. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial) (F-P)

14. "Robert Ludlum's: The Bourne Deception" by Eric Van Lustbader, Robert Ludlum (Grand Central Publishing) (F-H)

15. "Rogue" by Danielle Steel (Dell) (F-P)

16. "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion Books for Children) (F-H)

17. "L.A. Candy" by Lauren Conrad (HarperCollins) (F-H)

18. "Three Cups Of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) (NF-P)

19. "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown (Pocket) (F-P)

20. "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)

21. "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) (NF-H)

22. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris (Back Bay Books) (NF-P)

23. "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday) (F-H)

24. "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet (Vision)(F-P)

25. "Right Next Door: Father's DayThe Courtship of Carol Sommars" by Debbie Macomber (Mira) (F-P)

26. "Sail" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Vision) (F-P)

27. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith (Quirk Books) (F-P)

28. "Vision in White" by Nora Roberts (Berkley Trade)(F-P)

29. "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment" by Steve Harvey (Amistad) (NF-H)

30. "Say Goodbye" by Lisa Gardner (Bantam) (F-P)

31. "Salvation in Death" by J.D. Robb (Berkley) (F-P)

32. "Medusa: A Novel From the Numa Files" by Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos, (Putnam) (F-H)

33. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion) (NF-H)

34. "The Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)(F-H)

35. "Living Dead in Dallas" by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)

36. "Under the Radar: Sisterhood Series No. 8" by Fern Michaels (Zebra) (F-P)

37. "Matters of the Heart" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press) (F-H)

38. "A Summer Affair" by Elin Hilderbrand (Back Bay Books) (F-P)

39. "Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes" by Lifetime Television, (Voice) (NF-P)

40. "Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits" by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House) (F-H)

41. "The Last Oracle" by James Rollins (Harper) (F-P)

42. "The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel" by Garth Stein(Harper Paperback) (F-P)

43. "The 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave" by Jude Watson (Scholastic) (F-H)

44. "An Inconvenient Book" by Glenn Beck, (Threshold Editions) (NF-P)

45. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw" by Jeff Kinney (Amulet) (F-H)

46. "The Front" by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley) (F-P)

47. "Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1: The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)(F-P)

48. "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe (Voice) (F-H)

49. "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" by Bill O'Reilly (Broadway) (NF-H)

50. "Marked" by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast (St. Martin's Griffin) (F-P)

Reporting stores include: Amazon.com, B. Dalton Bookseller, Barnes & Noble.com, Barnes & Noble Inc., Books-A-Million and Bookland, Booksamillion.com, Borders Books & Music, Bookstar, Bookstop, Brentano's, Davis Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Tenn., Doubleday Book Shops, Hudson Booksellers, Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati, Cleveland), Powell's Books (Portland, Ore.), Powells.com, R.J. Julia Booksellers (Madison, Conn.), Schuler.



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[wheelspinner]

Best Seller Lists are dangerous for me. They make me want to buy more books.

It's depressing how much trash like Stephanie Meyer and Dan Brown dominates these lists. Still the NYT list has alerted me to some damn good authors over the last year or so, such as Roberto Bolano and Jane Mayer. I would not have read them if I hadn't seen them in the Times.

[Georgina]

The words "best seller" on a book generally act as a deterrent to me. A book has to work really hard to overcome that handicap.

I didn't know where else to put this part, but did you know that Sarah Waters has a new book recently published, WS? So far it's performing as wonderfully as her others.

[wheelspinner]

I do. It's in my bookshelf right now, panting to be read.

Interestingly, it's the first novel she's written that doesn't have a lesbian theme. Shouldn't make a difference, but I'm curious about how it goes.

This gives me an idea. Should we have a thread in here about books we re going to read soon, and maybe what attracted us to them?

[wheelspinner]

Jul 18, 2009 1:44:16 GMT -5 Georgina said:

The words "best seller" on a book generally act as a deterrent to me. A book has to work really hard to overcome that handicap.

Totally agree. I'm the same with music - nearly all of popular music leaves me dead cold. I get much more excited by out of the way and little known finds like Tinariwen and the Twilight Singers.

Maybe I'm just a snob.

[MacBeth]

Mass appeal usually means there is something contained for most people, or at least something that will not turn off too many people.....if a personal taste is pretty specific, best sellers will probably not appeal. If a personal taste is more general, it will probably tend toward popular fare because it has some of this and that.

Does not make you a snob, does not make other mundane. Just different personal tastes.

And that mass appeal is probably the reason some of those top hits in music stick in our brains and repeat over and over, even when we do not particularly care for the song....

[Georgina]

I've got whole rows of books on my shelves sitting waiting to be read, WS. But yes, "up next" would be a fine thread to have.

I'll have to beg to differ with you a bit, Beth. Maybe ones reading preferences doesn't necessarily make a person a snob, but some reading preferences that are mass market are definitely pedestrian. Generally popular fiction is pure shlock. It's not particularly well written, there isn't much depth of character or stories, there's generally nothing original about the construction of the narrative. It doesn't take a whole bunch of effort to read and with the same token that renders it not very challenging. That's not to say it can't be engaging.

I liken it to people who enjoy nice restaurants as opposed to people who more frequently eat at McDonalds. The nice restaurant is an experience; eating a McDonalds is quick and satisfies a certain palate. And a lot of people never get past fast food restaurants. I would comfortably say that they are missing out on a richer experience.

Mass appeal books, I think, operate the same way as mass appeal eating establishments. Better restaurants don't serve 10 million (or however many) people a month, but the fast food places are more accessible to wider range of people.

And that's not to say that, from time to time, people can't engage in pure shlock as a mindless bit of entertainment, but I sure don't want it as a steady diet.

Maybe it is personal tastes. I just see one situation as wanting something with more quality and depth of experience. I'm not explaining this well.

[MacBeth]

You are explaining it very well. And while I wish everyone wanted a richer experience, no matter if we are talking books, food, music, relationships or anything else, the reality is that many want the ordinary, the simpler (and often than means less, but sometimes it does not). To me that is just different. Sort of like when people discuss great art - when we are talking the old masters, I get what they are saying, but when they are talking modern artists, I struggle to see what they see. If those styles that do not appeal to me in the least makes me more pedestrian and thier experience richer, I am OK with that - mostly because I am also OK with not liking what others deem 'great art'. Does not make me feel bad or think they are seeing things that are not there, just that we are looking for different things from art.

Bad writing. Bad art. Good writing. Good art. Hmmmmmm.....so much there that is subjective.

But my main point was that WS is not a snob for liking what he likes.

[Georgina]

Fair enough.

[wheelspinner]

There is also a little bit of an environmental influence on choice of reading.

There was a term I've not heard much lately: "airport novel". It seemed to be applied to writers like Arthur Haley and Leon Uris. Big, not-too-challenging books that would keep you absorbed over a long flight.

I have also found that I need a different type of book on a flight. For me, there are too many distractions to read something challenging. I go for something that has very short chapters, so that I can put it down readily. German fantasist Walter Moers is ideal - he writes big books, packed with imaginative, entertaining writing, but can be set down and picked up readily. (Anyone who thinks Rowling is inventive should read Moers; he puts her in the shade).

Similarly, I read a lot on public transport while commuting. Some books simply cannot fit in my briefcase, so that dictates the type of book I will read. Generally a 250-350 pp book is the max. I like to lose myself on the commute, and get 1.5 hours each trip, so this is a good time for weightier stuff.

When I read myself to sleep, I never read non-fiction. I need the brain to slow down, not tick over.

I remember reading Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy entirely on my bed. It was so big and heavy, I couldn't read it anywhere else.