New York Times Bestsellers – August 2nd

The New York Times Bestseller List
August 2, 2009

Hardcover FictionBook Cover:  The Defector

  1. THE DEFECTOR, by Daniel Silva. When a Russian defector who once saved his life disappears, Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and occasional spy for the Israeli secret service, attempts to rescue him.
  2. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, by Jennifer Weiner.  Childhood friends, estranged in high school, reunite years later when the popular one needs the mousy one’s help.
  3. SWIMSUIT, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.A former cop, now a reporter for The Los Angeles Times, investigates the disappearance of a supermodel.
  4. TWENTIES GIRL, by Sophie Kinsella.  A young woman is haunted by the spirit of her great-aunt, who wants her to find a missing necklace.
  5. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett.  A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.

Hardcover NonfictionBook Cover:  Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

  1. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell.  Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.”
  2. LIBERTY AND TYRANNY, by Mark R. Levin. A conservative manifesto from a talk-show host and president of Landmark Legal Foundation.
  3. UNMASKED, by Ian Halperin.  Michael Jackson’s final years.
  4. CATASTROPHE, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. Stopping President Obama before he transforms America into a socialist state and destroys the health care system.
  5. BOBBY AND JACKIE, by C. David Heymann.  The connection between Bobby and Jackie Kennedy.

Paperback Trade FictionBook Cover:  The Time Traveler's Wife

  1. THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, by Audrey Niffenegger. Life with a dashing librarian who travels back and forth through time.
  2. THE SHACK, by William P. Young. A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God.
  3. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson.  A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.
  4. THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, by Mary Ann Shaffer.  A journalist meets the island’s old Nazi resisters.
  5. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, by Garth Stein. An insightful Lab-terrier mix helps his owner, a struggling race car driver.

Paperback Mass-Market FictionBook Cover:  Smoke Screen

  1. SMOKE SCREEN, by Sandra Brown. Scandalous deaths thwart the investigation of a fatal fire at the police headquarters in Charleston, S.C.
  2. MY SISTER’S KEEPER, by Jodi Picoult.  A girl sues her parents after learning they want her to donate a kidney to her sibling.
  3. TAILSPIN, by Catherine Coulter.  The F.B.I. agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock swoop in to help a colleague when his plane crashes in the Appalachian Mountains.
  4. MOSCOW RULES, by Daniel Silva.  Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and an occasional spy for the Israeli secret service, uncovers a Russian arms sales plot.
  5. DEAD UNTIL DARK, by Charlaine Harris.Sookie Stackhouse falls in love with a bad-boy vampire.

Paperback Non-FictionBook Cover:  Common Sense

  1. GLENN BECK’S ‘COMMON SENSE’, by Glenn Beck. Thomas Paine-inspired thoughts on government.
  2. JULIE & JULIA, by Julie Powell.A memoir of racing to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
  3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  4. THE FAMILY, by Jeff Sharlet. The history of the Fellowship, a secretive evangelical group active in American politics.
  5. ANGELA’S ASHES, by Frank McCourt. cCourt, the Irish-American writer who died last month, recalls his childhood in Limerick.

Hardcover AdviceBook Cover:  Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey

  1. ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A MAN, by Steve Harvey.  Relationship tips from the comedian and host of “The Steve Harvey Morning Show.”
  2. MASTER YOUR METABOLISM, by Jillian Michaels with Mariska van Aalst.  A plan for removing toxins and rebalancing hormones to lose weight, by a trainer and coach from “The Biggest Loser” on NBC.
  3. THE LAST LECTURE, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. After learning he has terminal cancer, a Carnegie Mellon professor shares his thoughts on the importance of “seizing every moment.”
  4. THE SECRET, by Rhonda Byrne.  The law of attraction as a key to getting what you want.
  5. GOT FIGHT?, by Forrest Griffin with Erich Krauss. Advice and lore from Griffin, the mixed martial arts expert.

Paperback AdviceBook Cover:  What to Expect When You're Expecting

  1. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel.  Advice for parents-to-be.
  2. THE LOVE DARE, by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Lawrence Kimbrough.  A 40-day challenge for spouses to practice unconditional love.
  3. COOK YOURSELF THIN, by the staff of Lifetime Television.  How to cut calories, change diets and improve health without sacrificing the foods you love.
  4. SKINNY BITCH, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.  Vegan diet advice from the world of modeling.
  5. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman.  How to communicate love in a way a spouse will understand.

Children’s Picture BooksBook Cover:  Listen to the Wind

  1. LISTEN TO THE WIND: THE STORY OF DR. GREG AND THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth.  A school grows in Pakistan.
  2. GALLOP!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder.  Animals seem to move when you flip the page. (Ages 4 to 8)
  3. GOLDILICIOUS, written and illustrated by Victoria Kann.  An ethereal pet and protector joins Pinkalicious. (Ages 5 to 8)
  4. SWING!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder.  Children seem to move when you flip the page. (Ages 4 to 8)
  5. EXPLORER EXTRAORDINAIRE!, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser..  Fancy Nancy meets the outdoors in the finest tradition of the great explorers. (Ages 4 to 7)

Children’s Chapter Books

  1. L.A. CANDY, by Lauren Conrad. Excitement in TV land by someone who has been there.
  2. ALONG FOR THE RIDE, by Sarah Dessen.  A summer on two wheels for a girl ripe to learn more about herself and the people she cares about. (Ages 14 and up)
  3. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)
  4. THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, by Jay Asher.  Before committing suicide a girl records and sends explanatory audiotapes to 13 people. (Ages 14 and up)
  5. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Dave McKean.  To avoid a killer, a boy lives in a cemetery. (Ages 10 and up)

Children’s Paperback Books

  1. BLUE MOON, by Alyson Noël.  An immortal girl. (Ages 12 and up)
  2. THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.  An alien hunter seeks the Prayer, a killer mantis. (Ages 12 and up)
  3. THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. A girl saves books from Nazi burning and shares them with a Jewish man in hiding. (Ages 14 and up)
  4. EVERMORE, by Alyson Noël. Immortals in school. (Ages 12 and up)
  5. LOCK AND KEY, by Sarah Dessen.  Loss and change crack Ruby’s cynicism. (Ages 12 and up)

Children’s Series BooksBook Cover:  Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

  1. THE TWILIGHT SERIES, by Stephenie Meyer. Vampires and werewolves in high school. (Ages 12 and up)
  2. HARRY POTTER, by J. K. Rowling.  A young wizard hones his skills while fighting evil. (Ages 10 and up)
  3. PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan.  Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)
  4. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney.  A boy records the hazards of adolescent life. (Ages 9 to 12)
  5. HOUSE OF NIGHT, by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast.  Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)

Hardcover Graphic BooksBatman

  1. BATMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER?, by Neil Gaiman and others.  This collection chronicles the last days of Batman, the secret origin of the villainous Poison Ivy and a tale which depicts the Dark Knight and the Joker as actors in a television show.
  2. ASTERIOS POLYP, by David Mazzucchelli. The title character is an architect who is suffering from a midlife crisis. But will leaving New York City for small-town America help?
  3. THE HUNTER, by Darwyn Cooke. Meet Parker, the antihero created by the novelist Richard Stark, in the first of four planned graphic novel adaptations.LOST GIRLS, by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie. Brace yourselves for the shocking, adult (as in maturity and pornography) adventures of Wendy from “Peter Pan,” Alice from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz.”
  4. ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL, VOL. 4, by Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch.  Angel fights a battle that will forever decide his fate and that of Los Angeles.

Paperback Graphic Books

  1. WATCHMEN, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. This epic tale from 1986 signaled a new maturity in comic books.
  2. EMPOWERED, V. 5, by Adam Warren.  The costumed crimefighter known as Empowered can’t get any respect. Even after saving her fellow heroes, they still think she’s a villain in waiting.
  3. THE SANDMAN: PRELUDES AND NOCTURNES, by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III. (Dream of the Endless must rebuild his empire after several years of imprisonment at the hands of humans.
  4. FABLES, VOL. 1, by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina.  After being exiled from their homes, Snow White, Big Bad Wolf and other characters from various fairy tales form their own community in New York City.
  5. V FOR VENDETTA, by Alan Moore, K. C. Carlson and David Lloyd.  A vigilante tries to free London from its authoritarian leadership.

Manga

  1. FRUITS BASKET, VOL. 23, by Natsuki Takaya.  This series is about a family that is possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac. Secrets from the past are revealed and Akito, head of the clan, finds her control slipping.
  2. NARUTO, VOL. 45, by Masashi Kishimoto.  Jiraiya, ninja and mentor to Naruto, put everything he learned about the Akatsuki organization in code. Can Naruto decipher it in time?
  3. FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, VOL. 19, by Hiromu Arakawa.Two brothers harmed in a ritual that was half magic/half science seek the legendary Philosopher’s Stone to make things right. This installment reveals their father’s origin.
  4. NEGIMA! MAGISTER NEGI MAGI, VOL. 23, by Ken Akamatsu.  Will it be victory or death for Negi, the boy wizard, as faces his rival, Fate Averruncus?
  5. NARUTO, VOL. 43, by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto’s former teammate, Sasuke, learns vital details about his family’s past.

Source: The New York Times Best Seller List

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2 comments


  1. Am I the only crazy person that takes out the NY Times bestsellers list every Sunday and checks off the books I’ve read?

    (I hope people pick up the paperback edition of The Art of Racing In the Rain. I loved that book)

    on August 5th, 2009 at 11:01 am
  2. @Alison–I do that too! I also write in my name at the bottom of the fiction list. :)

    I wonder about so many books being made into movies. Sometimes it seems great books don’t translate into great films or even good ones. :(

    on August 8th, 2009 at 11:47 am
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