Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

Best-Sellers

Best-Sellers

HARDBACK FICTION

1. THE LOST SYMBOL

by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon among the Masons. 2. PURSUIT OF HONOR

by Vince Flynn. The counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp must teach politicians about national security following a new Qaeda attack. 3. NINE DRAGONS

by Michael Connelly. The Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch fights crime at home and in Hong Kong. 4. THE HELP

by Kathryn Stockett. A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi. 5. THE LAST SONG

by Nicholas Sparks. A 17-year-old girl spends the summer with her divorced father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love. 6. A TOUCH OF DEAD

by Charlaine Harris. The complete Sookie Stackhouse stories. 7. HALF BROKE HORSES

by Jeannette Walls. A re-creation of the life of the author's grandmother, a mustang breaker, schoolteacher, ranch wife and mother of two who grew up in the Southwest in the early 20th century, by the author of "The Glass Castle." 8. ROUGH COUNTRY

by John Sandford. Virgil Flowers investigates a string of murders at a Minnesota resort for women. 9. AN ECHO IN THE BONE

by Diana Gabaldon. The descendants of Jamie Fraser and his wife, Claire, search for clues about their flight from North Carolina during the Revolution; the seventh Outlander novel. 10. THE PROFESSIONAL

by Robert B. Parker. Rich women are turning up dead, and the Boston P.I. Spenser investigates.

HARDBACK NONFICTION

1. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH

by Mitch Albom. A suburban rabbi and a Detroit pastor teach lessons about the comfort of belief. 2. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS

written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others. The case against big government. 3. HIGHEST DUTY

by Chesley B. Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow. The importance of preparing for the unexpected, by the pilot-hero of Flight 1549. 4. TRUE COMPASS

by Edward M. Kennedy. The late senator's autobiography. 5. MOONWALK

by Michael Jackson. A reissue of a best-selling 1988 autobiography. 6. OUTLIERS

by Malcolm Gladwell. Why some people succeed, from the author of "Blink." 7. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

by Richard Dawkins. Evidence for evolution; a counterattack on advocates of intelligent design. 8. WHERE MEN WIN GLORY

by Jon Krakauer. The story of Pat Tillman and the Army's cover-up of his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan. 9. THE MURDER OF KING TUT

by James Patterson and Martin Dugard. Investigating the Boy King's sudden death. 10. THE TIME OF MY LIFE

by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi. A memoir by the actor, who died in September, and his wife.

PAPER TRADE FICTION

1. SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM

by Uwem Akpan. Stories set in Africa, told from the point of view of wise and resilient children. 2. THE SHACK

by William P. Young. A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God. 3. THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE

by Audrey Niffenegger. Life with a dashing librarian who travels back and forth through time. 4. OLIVE KITTERIDGE

by Elizabeth Strout. A seventh-grade math teacher is the link in 13 stories set on the Maine coast; a 2009 Pulitzer winner. 5. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

by Stieg Larsson. A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.

PAPERBACK MASS MARKET FICTION

1. THE ASSOCIATE

by John Grisham. An idealistic law-school graduate is forced to take a job at a large, brutalizing firm. 2. CROSS COUNTRY

by James Patterson. Alex Cross chases the leader of a teenage gang. 3. HEAT LIGHTNING

by John Sandford. Virgil Flowers investigates a string of murders in which a lemon was left in the mouth of each victim. 4. TRUE DETECTIVES

by Jonathan Kellerman. In the 24th Alex Delaware novel, the interracial half-brothers from "Bones" investigate a young woman's death. 5. JUST AFTER SUNSET

by Stephen King. Short stories blending fantasy and psychological realism.

PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL

by Tucker Max. Life as a self-absorbed, drunken womanizer. 2. THREE CUPS OF TEA

by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 3. GLENN BECK'S 'COMMON SENSE'

by Glenn Beck. Thomas Paine-inspired thoughts on government. 4. THE GLASS CASTLE

by Jeannette Walls. The author recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings moved constantly. 5. THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE

by Max Brooks. The comedy writer offers a plan for safeguarding yourself from the living dead.