Tuesday, October 5, 2004
Best sellers
Hardcover Fiction
1. The Dark Tower, Stephen King (Donald M. Grant/Scribner; $35) Seventh book in a series offers readers the conclusion they've been eagerly awaiting and silently dreading.
2. Trace, Patricia Cornwell (Putnam; $26.95) Kay Scarpetta series.
3. The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom (Hyperion; $19.95) Maintenance man's life is explained by people he meets in heaven.
4. Nights of Rain and Stars, Maeve Binchy (Dutton; $25.95) Sudden endings, new beginnings, friendships forged through tragedy on beautiful island.
5. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury; $27.95) The rise of two magicians in 19th century England.
6. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (Doubleday; $24.95) Murder leads to clues in the works of Leonardo.
7. Are You Afraid of the Dark? Sidney Sheldon (William Morrow; $25.95) Four murders in four cities.
8. The Plot Against America: A Novel, Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin; $26) The story of a boy's pre-WWII childhood.
9. Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen (Knopf; $24.95) Victim of a failed murder attempt gets revenge.
10. The System of the World (the Baroque Cycle, Volume 3), Neal Stephenson (William Morrow; $27.95) Everything that was will be changed forever in this concluding novel .
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show staff (Warner; $24.95) Humorous send-up of American politics.
2. The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, Kitty Kelley (Doubleday; $29.95)
3 Family First: Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family; Dr. Phillip McGraw (Free Press; $26)
4. Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi (Regnery; $27.95)
5. He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (S&S; $19.95)
6. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero-Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss (Gotham; $17.50)
7. The South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, M.D. (Rodale; $24.95)
8. Homegrown Democrat: A Few Plain Thoughts from the Heart of America, Garrison Keillor (Viking; $19.95)
9. The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?, Rick Warren (Zondrvan; $19.99) The spiritual premise in this book is there are no accidents.
10. Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston (Atria; $26) An autobiography by the climber who amputated his arm.
Paperback Fiction
1. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead; $14) Afghanistan's political turmoil.
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (Vintage; $12) Autistic boy solves the pet murder he is accused of.
3. The Known World, Edward P. Jones (Amistad; $13.95) Lines blur between masters and slaves.
4. The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger (Harvest; $14) Love survives past, present and future.
5. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin; $14) A teen tries to discover her mother's past.
6. The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck (Washington Square; $14) A graphic view of China during the last emperor's reign.
7. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (Picador; $15) Hermaphrodite deals with gender identity.
8. The Namesake: A Novel, Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner; $14) A family from India travels to America for a better life.
9. Life of Pi, Yann Martel (Harvest; $14) Surviving a shipwreck alone with a tiger, a boy's faith is tested.
10. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor; $11.95) Series starring private eye Precious Ramotswe.
Paperback Nonfiction
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, Azar Nafisi (Random House; $13.95) A blend of memoir and literary criticism.
2. The Devil in the White City, Eric Larson (Vintage; $14.95) Murder shadows the Chicago World's Fair.
3. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Staff (Norton; $10)
4. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Billy Bryson (Broadway; $15.95)
5. The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide: The Complete and Easy Reference for All Your Favorite Foods, Arthur Agatston (Rodale; $7.99)
6. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Barack Obama (Three Rivers; $13.95) Memoir.
7. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, Patricia Schultz (Workman; $18.95) Guide to exotic locations.
8. Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson, Mitch Albom (Broadway; $12.95) The love between a spiritual mentor and his pupil.
9. The Old Farmer's Almanac 2005, Old Farmer's Almanac, (Old Farmer's Almanac; $6.95)
10. Who's Looking Out for You?, Bill O'Reilly (Broadway; $14) Conservative commentary America's people and institutions.
---
Based on reporting from independent booksellers of the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, Upper Midwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense for week ended Sept. 26.
TEMPO HEADLINES
Vote your pocketbook
Children honor parents with home for holidays
'Psycho' star Janet Leigh, 77, dies
Best sellers
Shelf life: What's happening this week
TV's best bets
20/20 Festival to showcase dancers
|