Maw Books Blog

The New York Times Bestseller List
February 17, 2008

Hardcover Fiction

1. THE APPEAL, by John Grisham. Political and legal intrigue ensue when a Mississippi court decides against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste.
2. 7TH HEAVEN, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.  In San Francisco, Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club hunt for an arsonist and a missing teenager.
3. DUMA KEY, by Stephen King. A Minnesota contractor moves to Florida to recover from an injury and begins to create paintings with mysterious power.
4. STRANGER IN PARADISE, by Robert B. Parker.  Jesse Stone, the police chief of Paradise, Mass., must protect a hit man’s intended victim.
5. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, by Khaled Hosseini. A friendship between two women in Afghanistan against the backdrop of 30 years of war.

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. IN DEFENSE OF FOOD, by Michael Pollan. A manifesto urges us to Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
2. AN INCONVENIENT BOOK, by Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe. Beck, the conservative TV and talk-radio host, offers his solutions to problems including global warming, poverty and political correctness.
3. REAL CHANGE, by Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler. How to build a better America, from the former speaker of the House.
4. I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!), by Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Allison Silverman et al. The wit and wisdom of the mock pundit of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.”
5. TOM CRUISE, by Andrew Morton. An unauthorized biography.

Hardcover Advice

1. THE SECRET, by Rhonda Byrne. The law of attraction as a key to getting what you want.
2. YOU STAYING YOUNG, by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz et al. The principles of longevity and how to combat aging’s effects.
3. ONE MONTH TO LIVE, by Kerry and Chris Shook.  Living the way God intended by making each day count. (†)
4. BECOME A BETTER YOU, by Joel Osteen. Seven keys to living with joy.
5. HOW NOT TO LOOK OLD, by Charla Krupp. Advice from a former beauty editor.

Children’s Picture Books

1. GALLOP!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder. Animals seem to move when you flip the page. (Ages 4 to 8 )
2. FLAMINGOS ON THE ROOF, written and illustrated by Calef Brown. “Alphabet sherbet / Have you ever heard of it? / I bought myself a gallon, / and ate about a third of it.” Whimsical poems and paintings. (Ages 8 and up)
3. STAR WARS POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, by Matthew Reinhart. A pop-up look at Luke, Leia, Lord Vader et al. (Ages 7 and up)
4. FIRST THE EGG, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. An egg becomes a chick; a tadpole becomes a frog; a seed becomes a flower. (Ages 2 to 6)
5. SMASH! CRASH!, by Jon Scieszka. Illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon. A truck named Jack and a dump truck named Dan love to smash into things. (Ages 3 to 7)

Children’s Chapter Books

1. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. How Greg embarrassed himself on his summer vacation (ask his older brother, Rodrick); a sequel to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” (Ages 9 to 12)
2. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)
3. THE NIXIE’S SONG, by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.Fire-breathing giants are on the rampage in Florida. (Ages 9 to 12)
4. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, written and illustrated by Brian Selznick. A novel “in words and pictures”; an orphaned thief must decipher his father’s last message. (Ages 9 to 12)
5. GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!, by Laura Amy Schlitz. Illustrated by Robert Byrd.  Voices from a medieval village. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Paperback Books

1. BRATFEST AT TIFFANY’S, by Lisi Harrison.  Crushes divide the girls on the Pretty Committee; a Clique novel. (Ages 12 and up)
2. THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. A girl saves books from Nazi book-burnings and shares them with a Jewish man. (Ages 14 and up)
3. THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE, by Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. A china rabbit learns about loss. (Ages 8 to 12)
4. VALENTINES ARE FOR SAYING I LOVE YOU, by Margaret Sutherland. Illustrated by Amy Wummer. Share the love. (Ages 4 to
5. I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU, by Ally Carter. A girl in spy school falls for a local boy. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Series Books

1. THE TWILIGHT SERIES, by Stephenie Meyer. Vampires and werewolves in high school. (Ages 12 and up)
2. FANCY NANCY, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.  The divine life of a glamour girl with a fancy vocabulary. (Ages 4 to
3. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Siblings find a hidden world. (Ages 6 to 10)
4. JUNIE B., FIRST GRADER, by Barbara Park. Illustrated by Denise Brunkus. School antics. (Ages 4 to
5. MAXIMUM RIDE, by James Patterson. Winged children try to save the world. (Ages 10 and up)

Paperback Trade Fiction

1. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, by Ken Follett. Murder, arson and lust surround the building of a cathedral.
2. ATONEMENT, by Ian McEwan.A chronicle of the disintegration of an English family’s idyllic life.
3. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by Sara Gruen. A young man-and an elephant-save a Depression-era circus.
4. THE 6TH TARGET, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club investigate the disappearance of several children in San Francisco.
5. THE KITE RUNNER, by Khaled Hosseini. An Afghan-American returns to Kabul to learn how a childhood friend has fared.

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction

1. DREAM CHASER, by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Xypher the Dream-Hunter enlists a medical examiner’s help in his demon-fighting quest.
2. HARD TO HANDLE, by Lori Foster.  An extreme fighter in need of rest escapes to the mountains, where his landlady becomes quite the sparring partner.
3. DAWN’S AWAKENING, by Lora Leigh. A part-human, part-feline woman finds it impossible to resist the man she’s been assigned to protect.
4. SISTERS, by Danielle Steel. After a family tragedy, four sisters with very different lives decide to share a Manhattan brownstone.
5. SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE, by Susan Wiggs.  A high-powered lawyer survives a hostage crisis and returns home to family — and passion.

Paperback Non-Fiction

1. EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert. A writer’s yearlong journey in search of self takes her to Italy, India and Indonesia.
2. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
3. THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, by Barack Obama. The Illinois senator proposes that Americans move beyond their political divisions.
4. THE GIFT OF FEAR, by Gavin de Becker. Intuitive signals that can protect us from becoming the victims of violence.
5. THE INNOCENT MAN, by John Grisham. Grisham’s first nonfiction book concerns a man wrongly sentenced to death.

Paperback Advice

1. A NEW EARTH, by Eckhart Tolle. A spiritual teacher prescribes letting go of the ego to help end conflict and suffering.
2. YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, by Louise L. Hay.  A counselor’s prescriptions for regaining confidence and self-esteem through mind-body self-healing.
3. THE SPEED OF TRUST, by Stephen M. R. Covey with Rebecca R. Merrill. How to cultivate trust in politics, business and personal relationships. (†)
4. SKINNY BITCH, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Vegan diet advice from the world of modeling.
5. THE POWER OF NOW, by Eckhart Tolle. A guide to personal growth and spiritual enlightenment.

Source:  The New York Times Best Seller List