New York Times Bestseller List – November 15th

The New York Times Bestseller List
November 15, 2009

Hardcover FictionBook Cover:  Ford County

  1. FORD COUNTY, by John Grisham. Stories set in rural Mississippi.
  2. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon among the Masons.
  3. KINDRED IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb.  Lt. Eve Dallas investigates the brutal murder of a colleague’s daughter; by Nora Roberts, writing pseudonymously.
  4. THE GATHERING STORM, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.  Book 12 of the Wheel of Time fantasy series.
  5. THE LACUNA, by Barbara Kingsolver. A young American growing up in Mexico becomes friends with Diego Rivera, Frieda Kahlo and Leon Trotsky; later, in the United States, he is menaced by ­McCarthyism.

Hardcover Nonfictionhave a little faith

  1. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom.  A suburban rabbi and a Detroit pastor teach lessons about the comfort of belief.
  2. SUPERFREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  A scholar and a journalist apply economic thinking to everything: the sequel.
  3. WHAT THE DOG SAW, by Malcolm Gladwell. A decade of New Yorker essays.
  4. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others.  The case against big government.
  5. THE BOOK OF BASKETBALL, by Bill Simmons.  ESPN.com’s Sports Guy crunches big questions in N.B.A. history.

Paperback Trade FictionBook Cover:  Push

  1. PUSH, by Sapphire.  An abused, illiterate 16-year-old in Harlem meets a teacher who helps change her life; the basis for the film “Precious.”
  2. BED OF ROSES, by Nora Roberts.  A wedding florist has her eye on her business partner’s brother’s best friend; Book 2 in the Bride Quartet.
  3. SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM, by Uwem Akpan.  Stories set in Africa, told from the point of view of wise and resilient children.
  4. THE SHACK, by William P. Young.  A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to an isolated shack, apparently by God.
  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 FictionBook Cover:  Born of Fire

  1. BORN OF FIRE, by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The bounty hunter Shahara Dagan must decide whether to bring Syn, an assassin and family friend, to justice; a League novel.
  2. THE ASSOCIATE, by John Grisham. An idealistic law-school graduate is forced to take a job at a large, brutalizing law firm.
  3. CROSS COUNTRY, by James Patterson.  Alex Cross chases the leader of a teenage gang.
  4. YOUR HEART BELONGS TO ME, by Dean Koontz. A man is stalked by a woman who resembles the donor of the heart he received in a transplant operation.
  5. ANGELS AT CHRISTMAS, by Debbie Macomber.  A reissue of two stories: “Those Christmas Angels” (2003) and “Where Angels Go” (2007).

Paperback Non-FictionBook Cover:  The Blind Side

  1. THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis.  The evolving business of football, viewed through the rise of the left tackle Michael Oher.
  2. OUR CHOICE, by Al Gore.  The former vice president offers a plan for solving the climate crisis with the tools we have now.
  3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  4. FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  A scholar and a journalist apply economic theory to nearly everything.
  5. THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Walls. The author recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings moved constantly.

Hardcover AdviceBook Cover:  It's Your time

  1. IT’S YOUR TIME, by Joel Osteen. Prayers, stories and tools for moving forward in Christian faith.
  2. THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS, by Ree Drummond.  Cowboy-tested recipes from the proprietor of ThePioneerWoman.com.
  3. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2010, edited by Craig Glenday. Tallest, fastest, youngest, most.
  4. KNOCKOUT, by Suzanne Somers.  Advice and interviews with doctors offering innovative cancer treatments.
  5. REINVENTING THE BODY, RESURRECTING THE SOUL, by Deepak Chopra.  Ten steps for self-transformation.

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. NEW MOON, by Mark Cotta Vaz.  The illustrated companion to the movie based on the second book in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight vampire romance series.
  3. MORE DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES, by Guy Fieri with Ann Volkwein. Another culinary road trip, with recipes.
  4. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman.  How to communicate love in a way a spouse will understand.
  5. BUY KETCHUP IN MAY AND FLY AT NOON, by Mark Di Vincenzo.  Lots of answers to the question “What’’s the best time to … ?”

Children’s Picture BooksBook Cover:  Splendiferous Christmas

  1. SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser.  There’s no such thing as too much tinsel for Fancy Nancy. (Ages 4 to 8)
  2. THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER, adapted by Chris Schoebinger from the story by Glenn Beck. Illustrated by Brandon Dorman..  Seeking the meaning of Christmas. (Ages 4 to 7)
  3. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft.  An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
  4. NUBS, by Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson.  A wild dog in Iraq makes a friend for life. (Ages 4 to 8)
  5. WADDLE!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder. Animals in motion, with color. (Ages 4 to 8)

Children’s Chapter Bookscatching fire

  1. CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins.The protagonist of “The Hunger Games” returns. (Ages 12 and up)
  2. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up).
  3. THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT, by Kate DiCamillo and Yoko Tanaka.  An orphan in search of his sister follows a fortuneteller’s mysterious instructions. (Ages 7 and up)
  4. MILLION-DOLLAR THROW, by Mike Lupica.  In tough economic times, the pressure is on for a young quarterback with an unusual opportunity. (Ages 9 to 12)
  5. TRICKS, by Ellen Hopkins. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster,  A novel in verse about five teenagers who become prostitutes. (Ages 14 and up)

Children’s Paperback Booksthe_book_thief.jpg

  1. 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)
  2. BLUE MOON, by Alyson Noël.  An immortal girl. (Ages 12 and up)
  3. EVERMORE, by Alyson Noël.  Immortals in school. (Ages 12 and up)
  4. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, by Sherman Alexie. Illustrated by Ellen Forney.  A young boy leaves his reservation for an all-white school. (Ages 12 and up)
  5. THREE CUPS OF TEA: YOUNG READERS EDITION, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. A former climber builds schools in Pakistani and Afghan villages. (Ages 9 to 12)

Children’s Series Booksdiary_of_a_wimpy_kid.jpg

  1. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney.  A boy records the hazards of adolescent life. (Ages 9 to 12)
  2. THE TWILIGHT SERIES, by Stephenie Meyer. Vampires and werewolves in high school. (Ages 12 and up)
  3. HOUSE OF NIGHT, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)
  4. THE 39 CLUES, by various authors. A brother and sister travel the world in search of the key to their family’s power. (Ages 9 to 12)
  5. PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan.  Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)

Hardcover Graphic Booksthe book of genesis

  1. THE BOOK OF GENESIS: ILLUSTRATED, by R. Crumb. The legendary artist tackles the first book of the Bible.
  2. FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS, by Geoff Johns and George Perez.  When facing a seemingly unstoppable assemblage of their enemies, the Legion recruits other-dimensional versions of themselves for help.
  3. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, by Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus. Jane Austen’s classic tale gets the graphic novel treatment.
  4. THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. Dorothy travels to the land of OZ, graphic novel style.
  5. ULTIMATUM, by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. The end, and rebirth, of Marvel’s “Ultimate” universe, in which its classic heroes were re-imagined for modern times, happens here.

Paperback Graphic Bookslogicomix

  1. LOGICOMIX – AN EPIC SEARCH FOR TRUTH, by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna.  The life of the philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell, and his passion for mathematics, is recounted in this graphic novel.
  2. THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE: RECORDED ATTACKS, by Max Brooks. If you want to survive a zombie attack, there may be no better way than to see how past cultures have done it.
  3. WATCHMEN, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. This epic tale from 1986 signaled a new maturity in comic books.
  4. V FOR VENDETTA, by Alan Moore, K. C. Carlson and David Lloyd.  In a dystopian future, an anarchist sets out to topple the oppressive and totalitarian government of the United Kingdom.
  5. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON 8, VOL. 5, by various. Will things ever get better for Buffy? Now she has to deal with “Harmony Bites,” a reality show starring a former-classmate-and-current-vampire. Plus: more from the mysterious Twilight.

Mangavampire knight vol 8

  1. VAMPIRE KNIGHT, VOL. 8, by Matsuri Hino. Cross Academy has day and evening students, but the latter have a secret: they are vampires.
  2. NARUTO 46, by Masashi Kishimoto.  Naruto’s friends are threatened, the mysteries of Pain deepen and Naruto must fight to protect his village.
  3. NEGIMA! MAGISTER NEGI MAGI, VOL. 24, by Ken Akamatsu.  Negi, the boy wizard, takes part in the Festival of Ostia, which includes a martial arts tournament. Will a team of bounty hunters ruin the plans for the day?
  4. OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB, VOL. 13, by Bisco Hatori. Haruhi, a poor girl at a rich school, is forced to work – as a boy – for the school’s all-male club.
  5. BLACK BIRD, VOL. 2, by Kanoko Sakurakoji.  Misao Harada can see into a magical realm where she is the bride demon of prophecy. How will she survive the pursuit of demons who want the power in her blood?

Source: The New York Times Best Seller List

4 comments


  1. Psst… I think you have up the wrong picture for BORN OF FIRE up. The one on the list is BORN OF FIRE by Kenyon. The one in the picture is BORN IN FIRE by Nora Roberts, which I read a few years ago and liked too. =)

    on November 16th, 2009 at 11:09 am
  2. Great to see “Push” getting the recognition it deserves. I recently wrote a blog post about how this book and the film “Precious” are shining a light on the problem of illiteracy: http://kafkacotton.com/blog/?p=24

    on November 19th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
  3. Wow–didn’t realize the Immortals series (by Alyson Noel) was so popular. I’ve reviewed them as audiobooks (am listening to Shadowland, the 3rd one right now).

    They are great for teens (but I would not let my 11 year old read them anytime in the next few years).

    on November 21st, 2009 at 4:17 pm
  4. Hi,

    My friend’s child loved Harry and Horsie.
    What did Cybil think about it?

    C. James Dale

    on November 21st, 2009 at 5:55 pm

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