Best-selling hardcover books in the fiction, nonfiction and advice categories

New York Times

Last update: October 19, 2010 – 2:01 PM

FICTION

1. FALL OF GIANTS, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $36.) Five interrelated families from five countries are caught in the upheavals of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Book One of the Century trilogy.

2. DON’T BLINK, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. (Little Brown, $27.99.) After a gruesome murder in a New York steakhouse, a reporter finds himself involved in a war between the Italian mob and the Russian mafia.

3. FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years; by the author of “The Corrections.”

4. SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central, $25.99.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.

5. SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK, by David Sedaris. (Little Brown, $21.99.) The humorist looks at human nature through stories with animals as characters.

6. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist.

7. NAKED HEAT, by Richard Castle. (Hyperion, $24.99.) Nikki Heat’s latest murder investigation is complicated by a reunion with journalist Jameson Rook.

8. LEGACY, by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte, $28.) A writer’s stunning family discovery leads to Paris, the French aristocracy and a mysterious Sioux ancestor.

9. BAD BLOOD, by John Sandford. (Putnam, $27.95.) Virgil Flowers is summoned to investigate a monstrous multigenerational conspiracy.

10. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.

NONFICTION

1. OBAMA’S WARS, by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster, $30.) How decisions were made on the war in Afghanistan, the campaign in Pakistan and the fight against terrorism.

2. EARTH (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart and others. (Grand Central, $27.99.) A visitor’s guide to the human race, presented by “The Daily Show.”

3. ——– FINISH FIRST, by Tucker Max. (Gallery, $25.99.) Stories of bad decisions, debauchery and sexual recklessness.

4. THE ROOTS OF OBAMA’S RAGE, by Dinesh D’Souza. (Regnery, $27.95.) D’Souza argues that Obama’s policies are defined by the anti-colonialist sentiments of his father.

5. THE GRAND DESIGN, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. (Bantam, $28.) Central questions of philosophy and science, from the author of “A Brief History of Time.”

6. PINHEADS AND PATRIOTS, by Bill O’Reilly. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The Fox News commentator scrutinizes the meaning of change in the era of Obama.

7. OPERATION DARK HEART, by Anthony Shaffer. (Thomas Dunne, $25.99.) An intelligence officer discusses the role of spycraft and special operations in Afghanistan.

8. —- MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.

9. EVEN SILENCE HAS AN END, by Ingrid Betancourt. (Penguin Press, $29.95.) Betancourt, a Colombian presidential candidate at the time, was kidnapped by leftist guerrillas in 2002 and held for six years.

10. CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY, by David Limbaugh. (Regnery, $29.95.) A political indictment of Obama’s presidency. (b)

11(x). WHITE HOUSE DIARY, by Jimmy Carter. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $30.) The diary Carter kept during his presidency, with annotations.

ADVICE, HOW-TO AND MISCELLANEOUS

1. DELIVERING HAPPINESS, by Tony Hsieh. (Business Plus, $23.99.) Lessons from business (pizza place, worm farm, Zappos) and life. (b)

2. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2011, edited by Craig Glenday. (Guinness, $28.95.) Tallest, fastest, youngest, most.

3. THE POWER, by Rhonda Byrne. (Atria, $23.95.) Living the life of your dreams, from the author of “The Secret.”

4. LOVE, LUST AND FAKING IT, by Jenny McCarthy. (Harper/HarperCollins, $24.99.) At look at relationships, love and sex, from the TV personality and former Playboy model.

5. POWER THOUGHTS, by Joyce Meyer. (FaithWords, $21.99.) A Bible teacher’s strategies for overcoming negative thinking.

Rankings reflect sales for the week that ended Oct. 2 at thousands of venues nationwide. An (x) indicates that a book’s sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A (b) indicates that some bookstores report receiving bulk orders.

Source: startribune.com

Filed under: Uncategorized

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