Recordpub.com - One for the Books: For the Ladies

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! But those of us who aren't moms, or who don't have our moms anymore, feel cheated. There's no holiday for aunts, or for the other women who keep the world humming. So I found some books to honor all the ladies.

Let's start at the top. "The Uncommon Reader" by Alan Bennett won't take long to read; the novella has only about 100 pages. But it is an absolute jewel -- a royal jewel -- as the reader of the title is Queen Elizabeth II. When the yapping Corgis lead the queen to a British bookmobile parked near the castle, she apologizes to the librarian, then feels she should be polite and borrow a book. "She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people." She first picks books because she knows the authors personally, but soon becomes addicted, even reveling in controversial material recommended by her subversive reading partner, Norman. "What she was finding also was how one book led to another, doors kept opening wherever she turned and the days weren't long enough for the reading she wanted to do." "She enjoyed reading like nothing else and devoured books at an astonishing rate." She goes through Proust, Dickens, Shakespeare, Pepys, Virginia Woolf, "the perpetually irritating Henry James" and many more. I just loved this book. It's light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek, silly, satirical fun for book lovers, and it humanizes the queen into a lovable character.

"... And His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man" by Connie Schultz, Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is her true account of the 2006 campaign of her husband, then U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, for the U.S. Senate from Ohio. It's also a love story about two people who meet and marry in mid-life. Schultz talks about their life together and the decision to run for the Senate. At first, she worried how it would affect her marriage, and she was afraid of losing her career, but they both decided that "championing the working men and women of Ohio who felt betrayed by their own government" was worth all the risks. Schultz, who grew up in Ashtabula, says her hard-working father "raised us never to date bankers or Republicans." She talks about her fear of flying -- she was "Continental Airlines' frequent fretter" -- and why she kept her name after marriage. Schultz's easy-to-read style makes her account of these two likable people original, warm, feisty and funny. It's about politics, but it's also about a feminist who puts her own career on hold to support the man -- and the cause -- she loves. My favorite exchange in the book is about being a single mom: "My dear friend ... asked me, 'Is it hardest to be alone when you have bad news?' 'No,' I said, 'it's harder when you've got good news.' "

"The Complete Book of Aunts" by Rupert Christiansen and Beth Brophy is a handy little compendium dedicated to real and fictional aunts of all kinds. The authors tell us that aunts weren't particularly recognized until the last couple of centuries, and in some cultures there isn't even a word for them. Say the authors, "This book prefers to present aunts in a positive light, as beacons ofvilizing loving-kindness, at one remove from the intensely emotional power struggle that underlies parenthood." They discuss motherly aunts, heroic aunts, villainous aunts and even, uncomfortably, "X-Rated Aunts." My favorites are Auntie Mame, Bertie Wooster's aunts from P.G. Wodehouse, and Mayberry's Aunt Bee. (The book includes two of her recipes, but not the one for her kerosene pickles!)

"Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration" comes from Marcia Ann Gillespie, Rosa Johnson Butler and Richard A. Long and contains a foreword written by Oprah Winfrey. This very nice gift book was written in honor of Angelou's 80th birthday on April 4. It's designed to look like a scrapbook, with plenty of sepia photographs showing that infectious smile of hers, and it serves as a biography of the "Renaissance woman" who has been a poet, actress, political activist, dancer, playwright and author. "In books of poetry and prose she discovered a world of possibilities and the rich, complex, ever unfolding tapestry of the human experience," say the authors. My favorite Maya Angelou quotation is this: "When people show you who they are, believe them the first time." I've admired her for decades. I'm not sure there's anything she can't do -- and with grace.

In "The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible," author Joan Chittister presents an overview of friendship, "a spiritual force that touches the soul," and uses 12 women of scripture to illustrate the desired traits of friends, such as support, acceptance and joy. She quotes biblical figures, saints and sages from Buddha to Helen Keller. History has documented mostly men's friendships, says the author. "It is not easy to find models of women's friendships. By and large they were not recorded, lost like so much else of the history of women to the dust of time, underestimated in their own times." "Women themselves tell us now what they look for in friendship -- and scripture shows us instances where these very qualities in women have changed the world. It is time to honor both of them." In fact, she says, "Women who have friends ... are simply healthier, happier people." There are so many great moments of wisdom in this book: "Friendship is the sacrament of possibility." "Life is short, and energies are limited. Friendship requires time and care. To waste these resources on relationships that bring no depth, no vision, is to waste a valuable part of life." Each chapter could act as a seed for meditation. The brilliant Chittister is a Benedictine Sister of Erie and a best-selling author, and I've been reading her weekly columns at the National Catholic Reporter for years. They're available free online at http://ncrcafe.org/
.

That one is pretty traditional, but being somewhat of an iconoclast, I also enjoyed "The Two Marys" by Sylvia Browne, which is anything but traditional. Who were Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene? Browne discusses their relationship to Jesus and what happened to them after the Crucifixion. Browne says "historians and researchers" believe Magdalene was the brightest of Jesus' apostles "and understood his teachings better than any of them." She quotes the Bible and other materials in addition to her psychic sources. She says what I've been screaming for years: "Why would marriage and children diminish the divinity of Jesus? Somehow, religion has melded sin and sex and come out with some sort of balderdash that you have to be a virgin, and remain celibate, not be married, and not give birth to or sire children in order to be divine." If you're happy with church dogma, leave this book alone. But if you're interested, it provides some fascinating food for thought.

Finally, "Apronisms: Pocket Wisdom for Every Day" by EllynAnne Geisel is a tiny but very pretty gift book about three inches square. It has colorful pictures and it's full of quotes and bits of wisdom, such as "Wear pearls with your apron and you're dressed up enough" and "Treat yourself like your own best company." Geisel also wrote the beautiful "The Apron Book."

One last thought for moms-to-be: Ask your doctor about donating the umbilical cord blood to save a life.

For a list of best-sellers and other book news, go to www.recordpub.com, click on "Lifetimes," and check out "One for the Books" online. Send news to Books@recordpub.com.

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BOOK NOTES,
One for the Books Extra Online Exclusives:

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Regarding "The Complete Book of Aunts":
Even in our own society, there is no word for "aunt-like," as there is "avuncular" as the adjective for the male relative. Can you come up with one? Try using the root words, Greek: tethis, or Latin: amita and tata.
tiative? tantive?

Interestingly, this book is published by Twelve, a company that publishes only one book per month: www.twelvebooks.com

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May 12 to 18 is Children's Book Week! Ask you local librarian what activities are being planned in your area.

Or visit http://www.bookweekonline.com/index1.html

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from Carol Fitzgerald at BookReporter.com:

"Once back in the office this week I received some sad news that Istill am reeling from. I learned that Andrew Britton, an author who we have been featuring as one of ourSuspense/Thriller Authors, passed away in hissleep in March from an undiagnosed heart condition. Any death is sad, butas Andrew was just 27, this was very hard to comprehend. I fell in love with his work when I read THE AMERICAN manuscript back in October 2005 and enjoyed sharing each of his three books with you --- THE AMERICAN, THE ASSASSIN and THE INVISIBLE. He had such talentand was so dedicated to his craft."

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The Nebula Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy have been announced Winners include Michael Chabon and the late Harry Potter book. For the complete list:

http://www.sfwa.org/

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Winners of the Eric Hoffer Award for independent books have been announced:

http://hopepubs.home.comcast.net/~hopepubs/HAbookwinners.html

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from Shelf Awareness: "Gary Snyder has won the 2008 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, presented by the Poetry Foundation. The prize carries a $100,000 award.

Snyder's poetry collections include Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems, The Back Country, Regarding Wave, No Nature, Mountains and Rivers Without End and Danger on Peaks. His essays are collected in Earth House Hold, The Real Work, A Place in Space and Back on the Fire. A member of the Beat movement, Snyder lived in Japan and studied formally in a Zen monastery for most of the 1960s."

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from the Guardian:

Graham Robb has won the 2008 Ondaatje Prize of 10,000 (US $19,838) for "The Discovery of France."

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2276818,00.html

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The 2008 Edgar Award winners have been announced.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6556863.html?nid=2286&source=title&rid=108544603

For information on all the nominees, visit the Mystery Writers of America Web site:

http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=Edgars-Winners

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from Shelf Awareness -- new books out May 6:

Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters
Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History by Ted Sorenson
Call of Duty: My Life Before, During and After the Band of Brothers by Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton and Marcus Brotherton
Secrets: A Novel by Jude Deveraux
Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
Phantom Prey by John Sandford
The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
Careless in Red: A Novel by Elizabeth George
Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other by Jim Nantz
The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport by Carl Hiaasen
The Woman Who Can't Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science--A Memoir by Jill Price and Bart Davis
The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource by Jeffrey Gitomer
Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story by Ricardo S. Sanchez and Donald T. Phillips
The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester
Wake Up to Your Weight Loss: Using the Art of Personal Narrative to Achieve Your Best Body by Alyson Mead

New in paperback:

The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
The Hollow (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 2) by Nora Roberts

Selected new titles appearing May 13:

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall and Lisa Pulitzer
Up Till Now: The Autobiography by William Shatner and David Fisher
Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
Scream for Me by Karen Rose
The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara
Shadow Command: A Novel by Dale Brown

Now in paperback:

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

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Publishers Weekly, Children's Books On Sale Calendar for June:

1
Airhead by Meg Cabot

3
The Clique Summer Collection: Alicia by Lisi Harrison
Rumors: A Luxe Novel by Anna Godbersen
Jon Scieszka's Trucktown: Meet Jack Truck! by Hunter McKown, illus. by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon
Jon Scieszka's Trucktown: Vroom!: It's Color Time! by Hunter McKown, illus. by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon
Jon Scieszka's Trucktown: Who's That Truck? by Tom Mason and Dan Danko, illus. by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon
I Love My New Toy! An Elephant and Piggie Book by Mo Willems
I Will Surprise My Friend! An Elephant and Piggie Book by Mo Willems

19
Talent by Zoey Dean

24
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: Movie Tie-In by Ann Brashares
The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
Warriors: Cats of the Clans by Erin Hunter, illus. by Wayne McLoughlin.
Gone by Michael Grant.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Preschool Numbers and Shapes
Little Einsteins Preschool Skills by Marcy Kelman
Handy Manny Nuts & Bolts
Little Einsteins Numbers Adventure by Marcy Kelman
Thomas and Friends: Trains, Cranes and Troublesome Trucks by Rev. W. Awdry, illus. by Tommy Stubbs

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from Publishers Weekly -- April Borders Religion Best-Sellers:

Hardcover --
Mistsaken Identity
Become a Better You
The Reason for God
Walking with God
Jesus of Nazareth
God Is Not Gret
Love and Respect
Jesus for president
The Promise
8 Steps to Create the Life You Want

Paperback:
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life
The Shack
The God Delusion
The Forbidden
The Five Love Languages
Dear to Me
Battlefield of the Mind
Your Best Life Now
The Purpose-Driven Life
Someday (Sunrise Series, Baxter 3)
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Publishers Weekly Comics and Graphic Novels On-Sale Calendar
May 6, 2008
Life Sucks (First Second)
Salt Water Taffy Vol. 1: Legend of Old Salty (Oni Press)
Otto's Orange Day (Raw Junior)
Potential (Simon & Schuster)
24x2 (Top Shelf Productions)
Color of Rage Vol. 1 (Dark Horse)
Hell Girl Vol. 2 (Del Ray)
Exterminators Vol. 4: Crossfire and Collateral (DC/ Vertigo)
Suburban Glamour Vol. 1 (Image)
Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin (Marvel)
Little Vampire Vol. 1 (First Second)
Gary Panter (Picturebox)
Kannazuki No Miko Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
Fairy Cube Vol. 1 (Viz Media)
Heavenshield Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
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For the latest Book Sense Picks and Book Sense Best Sellers, click here:

http://www.booksense.com

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from Time magazine -- "Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling?"

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734838,00.html

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"It is very dangerous to get caught without something to read." --Elizabeth Savage, THE LAST NIGHT AT THE RITZ

On this topic, John Flinn, in the San Francisco Chronicle, talks about the horror of having nothing to read on an airplane:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/25/TREQ1043QJ.DTL

and, as a follow-up, from Shelf Awareness: "Jean Lambert Ross, branch administrator of the Potomac Library of the Prince William Public Library System in Virginia, writes:
I enjoyed the advice in [Flinn's article] about what to do when trapped for 16 hours in a plane with nothing to read but also have one idea to add that has never failed me for self-entertainment. Think of the title of book, preferably one with only two or three words (for example, The Great Gatsby) and write the title on a scrap of paper. Then challenge yourself to see how many words you can make out of the letters in that title. (Rat; sat, bat; bye; gag; stab; stay; and on and on.) This killed three hours for me once when trapped with nothing to read while waiting for a ride. Enjoy!"

another from Shelf Awareness:
"Jane O'Connor, editor at Penguin Books for Young Readers, offers yet another literary time killer: Write the alphabet down one column. Pick a phrase from newspaper, book, airplane mag, whatever. Then pair the first 26 letters of the phrase with the alphabet letter. For example, if the phrase was "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy...' your letter pairs would be AT, BH, CE, DQ, EU, and so on. Then try to come with a famous name for each pair: Arthur Treacher (of Fish and Chips), Bob Herbert (of the New York Times) and so on. Fun to play competitively. Set a time limit. You get one point for a name that another contestant has, two points if you're the only one with the name."
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The Gradspot.com Guide to Life after College will be available for a free download for anyone who joins Gradspot.com, starting May 15. The book by Chris Schonberger with Stuart Schultz is $14.95.

For a preview, visit

http://gspreview.s3.amazonaws.com/gradspot_guide_ebook.pdf

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Publishers Weekly says that a previously unpublished novel for young adults, "The Joys of Love," will be published sooon by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6556279.html?nid=2788

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from the New York Post: "Arianna Huffington claims that she was banished from NBC News shows because her new book, "Right Is Wrong,' blasted "Meet the Press' anchor Tim Russert.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302008/business/ziff_gets_a_big_lift_108828.htm?page=2

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Former mill worker mines dark tales in debut

By MATT LEINGANG, Associated Press Writer
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AP) " The book signing lasted for hours, an indication that the locals hold no grudges against author Donald Ray Pollock for depicting life here as a grotesque blend of drug abusers, wife beaters and sex fiends.
Pollock is a former paper mill worker who drew on social problems that haunted friends and relatives for his first book, "Knockemstiff," a collection of dark stories set in rural southern Ohio. While it's fiction, the book is getting national acclaim for its imagery and sense of realism.
His characters are damaged souls. There's a mother who asks her son to creep into her bedroom with scissors and act out a serial killer fantasy. There's a drunken father who orders his 7-year-old son to clobber another boy in the restroom of a drive-in movie theater.
The book's title is a nod to Pollock's hometown of Knockemstiff, a hamlet of a few hundred people about 10 miles from Chillicothe that had gravel roads, rundown housing, a few general stores and a rough-and-tumble reputation when Pollock was growing up. The roads are paved now, and new homes have been built on 40-acre lots that used to be farmland, but it's still a crossroads.
"It's not nearly as wild as the stories in the book," says Pollock, 53, sipping coffee over breakfast at a local restaurant. "I took that hard-core reputation and sort of cranked it up a couple notches."
The result is a bleak, sometimes violent look at people on the fringes of Appalachian society who aren't typical fodder for publishing giants such Doubleday, which released the book in March and printed 27,000 copies. That's about five times the average for short story collections, said Gerald Howard, who edited the book.
Sales were at 3,000 as of mid-April, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of industry sales.
"American fiction by and large is written by people who have gone through, and come out of, our elite educational institutions, which is not to say that those people don't try to take a hard look at the conditions of American life, because they do," Howard said.
"But there's no substitute for experience, and Don is a witness to things that don't come across the radar of many American fiction writers."
Pollock said he's flattered, even a bit embarrassed, by the accolades. Publishers Weekly and The New York Times compared his book to "Winesburg, Ohio," Sherwood Anderson's 1919 masterpiece on small-town life. Amazon.com put the book on its list of top new releases for March.
"Knockemstiff" is filled with degenerates, but Pollock doesn't mean to portray his hometown as a gothic freak show.
"I probably pushed the envelope as far as you can go without stereotyping or going too far to the point where you're just making fun of these people. And making fun of these people was never my intention at all," says Pollock, a high school dropout who battled his own drug and alcohol addictions.
The book's characters are trapped in life or in situations that they don't want to be in, he says. Some are looking for a way out, while others are beyond redemption.
Pollock was lucky to find his own way out.
He got sober in 1986 after a fourth trip to rehab, then started taking night classes at Ohio University, where he graduated with an English degree in 1994.
"All my life, I thought writing would be a nice life but never had the discipline or determination to try," says Pollock, an avid reader who drove a dump truck at the paper mill. "When I was 45, I realized if I didn't give it a shot, it would be too late."
He began his eight-year quest to become a professional writer by typing out stories by Ernest Hemingway and others, studying their use of language and sentence structure. He also took a correspondence course in fiction writing at OU.
Some of his early stories were published in small literary journals. In 2005, with the support of his wife, Pollock quit the paper mill where he'd worked for 32 years to seek a master's degree in creative writing at Ohio State University.
To leave the factory " and the security of a weekly paycheck " was difficult, but so far no regrets, says Pollock, a trim man with light brown hair who speaks with a slow drawl.
"It's apparent to me how much he wants to be a writer," said Valerie Vogrin, an editor at Sou'wester, a literary journal at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Ill., that published some of Pollock's early work.
"There's no carelessness in his writing," she said. "Every word is there for a reason."
"Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk is among Pollock's fans. The two are to tour together in May for bookstore readings in Minneapolis, St. Louis and Ann Arbor, Mich.
Palahniuk said he loves the fatalistic characters in "Knockemstiff."
"They work enormously hard to stay stuck in their misery, and that seems more realistic and touching than any standard transformation and happy ending," Palahniuk said.
Pollock's former colleagues at the paper mill have enjoyed watching his emergence as a writer. What's shocking about the grim stories in "Knockemstiff" isn't the subject matter but where it comes from, said mill worker Curtis Hurley.
"Don is kind of a quiet guy. That's why when you read the book, you think, 'Hey, I didn't know he had these thoughts in his head,"' he said.
People in Knockemstiff and Chillicothe, where a few of the stories in Pollock's book take place, aren't upset by the crude portrayal. Everyone gets that it's fiction, Hurley, 51, said.
Ohio State awarded Pollock with a one-year fellowship in January, which he is using to finish a novel about a serial killer in Knockemstiff whose crime spree is intertwined with the story of a teenager yearning to escape life in the hills.
Doubleday has an exclusive first option to publish the novel.
He works on the manuscript up to five hours a day, typing on a computer in the attic of his Victorian-era home that serves as his office. It's also the only place in the house that his wife will let him smoke. Black-and-white photos of authors such as James Jones and poet John Berryman are framed on the walls for inspiration, and a window to his left overlooks the top of a magnolia tree in his backyard, a serene view when contemplating plot lines.
The writing can be mentally exhausting, but Pollock said he's confident that he's got a good story.
Pollock is scheduled to graduate with his master's degree at the end of the year, and then he'd like to get a job teaching fiction writing to college students.
"I got lucky," he says, still a bit surprised at his success. "I've gotten a lot of nice compliments, and don't get me wrong, I like to hear them, but I don't want to get arrogant enough that I believe that stuff. I just wouldn't be the same writer."
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS

HARDCOVER FICTION
1."Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown)
2. "The Whole Truth" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)
3. "Twenty Wishes" by Debbie Macomber (Mira)
4. "Hold Tight" by Harlan Coben (Dutton Adult)
5. "Where Are You Now?" by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster)
6. "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf)
7. "The Miracle at Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)
8. "Certain Girls" by Jennifer Weiner (Atria)
9. "Dead Heat" by Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House)
10. "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)
11. "The Appeal" by John Grisham (Doubleday)
12. "Days of Infamy" by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen (Thomas Dunne Books)
13. "Quicksand" by Iris Johansen (St. Martin's Press)
14. "Santa Fe Dead" by Stuart Woods (Putnam Adult)
15. "The Third Circle" by Amanda Quick (Putnam)

NONFICTION/GENERAL
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
2. "A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father" by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's Press)
3. "Just Who Will You Be? Big Question. Little Book. Answer Within." by Maria Shriver (Hyperion)
4. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment
5. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
6. "The Revolution: A Manifesto" by Ron Paul (Grand Central Publishing)
7. "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer (Broadway Books)
8. "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years" by Julie Andrews (Hyperion)
9. "A Remarkable Mother" by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster)
10. "South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life" by Arthur Agatston and Joseph Signorile (Rodale Books)
11. "A Voyage Long and Strange" by Tony Horwitz (Henry Holt)
12. "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff (Houghton Mifflin)
13. "Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope" by Don and Susie Van Ryn, Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak (Howard Books)
14. "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation" by Cokie Roberts (William Morrow)
15. "Girls Like Us" by Sheila Weller (Atria)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS
1. "Invisible Prey" by John Sandford (Berkley)
2. "Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Betrayal" by Eric Van Lustbader (Vision)
3. "The Double Agents: A Men at War Novel" by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Jove)
4. "Dark Needs at Night's Edge" by Kresley Cole (Pocket)
5. "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz (Bantam)
6. "Simple Genius" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)
7. "The Woods" by Harlan Coben (Signet)
8. "The Darkest Night: Lords of the Underworld" by Gena Showalter (HQN)
9. "Pandora's Daughter" by Iris Johansen (St. Martin's Press)
10. "The Darkest Kiss" by Keri Arthur (Dell) (F-P)
11. "One Foot in the Grave" by Jeaniene Frost (Avon)
12. "The Atlantis Prophecy" by Thomas Greanias (Pocket Star)
13. "Bad Luck and Trouble" by Lee Child (Dell)
14. "The Devil Who Tamed Her" by Johanna Lindsey (Pocket)
15. "The Harlequin" by Laurell K. Hamilton (Jove)

TRADE PAPERBACKS
1. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume)
2. "Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World" by Lisa Lillien (St. Martin's Griffin) (NF-P)
3. "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin)
4. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin)
5. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media)
6. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library)
7. "Eat This Not That!" by David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding (Rodale)
8. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (Algonquin)
9. "The Yiddish Policemens Union" by Michael Chabon (Harper Perennial)
10. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs (Berkley)
11. "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press)
12. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
13. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards (Penguin)
14. "Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life" by Sophie Uliano (HarperCollins)
15. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel (Workman Publishing Group)
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USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS

Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion) (NF-H)
2. "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown) (F-H)
3. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) (NF-P)
4. "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz (Bantam) (F-P)
5. "The Whole Truth" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing) (F-H)
6. "Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World" by Lisa Lillien (St. Martin's Griffin) (NF-P)
7. "The Devil Who Tamed Her" by Johanna Lindsey (Pocket) (F-P)
8. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-P)
9. "Invisible Prey" by John Sandford (Berkley) (F-H)
10. "Twenty Wishes" by Debbie Macomber (Mira) (F-H)
11. "Pandora's Daughter" by Iris Johansen (St. Martin's Press) (F-H)
12. "A Wanted Man" by Linda Lael Miller (HQN) (F-H)
13. "Up Close and Dangerous" by Linda Howard (Ballantine) (F-P)
14. "A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father" by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's Press) (NF-H)
15. "Just Who Will You Be? Big Question. Little Book. Answer Within." by Maria Shriver (Hyperion) (NF-H)
16. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media) (F-P)
17. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library) (NF-P)
18. "Innocent as Sin" by Elizabeth Lowell (Avon) (F-P)
19. "Natural Born Charmer" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Avon) (F-P)
20. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) (NF-P)
21. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers) (F-H)
22. "Lawman" by Diana Palmer (HQN) (F-P)
23. "Where Are You Now?" by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster) (F-H)
24. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-H)
25. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" by Jeff Kinney (Amulet) (F-H)
26. "Three Cups Of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) (NF-P)
27. "The Revolution: A Manifesto" by Ron Paul (Grand Central Publishing) (NF-H)
28. "Eat This Not That!" by David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding (Rodale) (NF-H)
29. "The Darkest Kiss" by Keri Arthur (Dell) (F-P)
30. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney (Amulet) (F-H)
31. "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss (Random House Books for Young Readers) (F-H
32. "Promises" by Fern Michaels (HQN) (F-P)
33. "Read All About It" by Laura Bush, Jenna Bush, Denise Brunkus (HarperCollins) (F-H)
34. "Simple Genius" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)(F-P)
35. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) (F-P)
36. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words) (NF-H)
37. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) (NF-H)
38. "Dark Needs at Night's Edge" by Kresley Cole (Pocket) (F-P)
39. "Hold Tight" by Harlan Coben (Dutton Adult) (F-H)
40. "I Heard That Song Before" by Mary Higgins Clark (Pocket) (F-P)
41. "Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Betrayal" by Eric Van Lustbader (Vision) (F-P)
42. "The Darkest Night: Lords of the Underworld" by Gena Showalter (HQN) (F-P)
43. "The Charm School" by Susan Wiggs (Mira) (F-P)
44. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (Algonquin) (F-P)
45. "One Foot in the Grave" by Jeaniene Frost (Avon) (F-P)
46. "The Clique Summer Collection No. 1: Massie" by Lisi Harrison (Poppy) (F-P)
47. "Duke Most Wanted" by Celeste Bradley (St. Martin's Press) (F-P)
48. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) (F-P)
49. "Warriors: Outcast" by Erin Hunter (HarperCollins) (F-H)
50. "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone) (F-P)
Reporting stores include: Amazon.com, B. Dalton Bookseller, Barnes & Noble.com, Barnes & Noble Inc., Books-A-Million and Bookland, Booksamillion.com, Borders Books & Music, Bookstar, Bookstop, Brentano's, Davis Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Tenn., Doubleday Book Shops, Hudson Booksellers, Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati, Cleveland), Powell's Books (Portland, Ore.), Powells.com, R.J. Julia Booksellers (Madison, Conn.), Schuler.
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WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS

FICTION
1. "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown) (F-H)
2. "The Whole Truth" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)
3. "Twenty Wishes" by Debbie Macomber (Mira) (F-H)
4. "Where Are You Now?" by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster)
5. "Hold Tight" by Harlan Coben (Dutton Adult)
6. "Dead Heat" by Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House)
7. "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf)
8. "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)
9. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
10. "Certain Girls" by Jennifer Weiner (Aria)
11. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
12. "The Miracle at Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)
13. "Days of Infamy" by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen (Thomas Dunne Books)
14. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
15. "Quicksand" by Iris Johansen (St. Martin's Press)

NONFICTION
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
2. "The Revolution: A Manifesto" by Ron Paul (Grand Central Publishing)
3. "Just Who Will You Be? Big Question. Little Book. Answer Within." by Maria Shriver (Hyperion)
4. "A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father" by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's Press)
5. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
6. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
7. "StrengthsFinder 2.0" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
8. "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer (Broadway Books)
9. "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years" by Julie Andrews (Hyperion)
10. "A Remarkable Mother" by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster)
11. "South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life" by Arthur Agatston and Joseph Signorile (Rodale Books)
12. "The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business" by Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson, Ethan Willis (Doubleday Business)
13. "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff (Houghton Mifflin)
14. "Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation" by Cokie Roberts (William Morrow)
15. "A Voyage Long and Strange" by Tony Horwitz (Henry Holt)
The Wall Street Journal's list reflects nationwide sales of hardcover books during the week ended last Saturday at more than 2,500 Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Bookland, Books-a-Million, Books & Co., Bookstar, Bookstop, Borders, Brentano's, Coles, Coopersmith, Doubleday, Scribners and Waldenbooks stores, as well as sales from online retailers Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

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The following authors are making the media rounds, talking about their books:

--Michael Tonello, Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag
--chef Mario Batali, Italian Gril
--chef Renee Loux, Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home
--Joel C. Rosenberg, Dead Heat
--Michael Hastings, I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story
--Andrei Cherny, The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of Berlin's Airlift and America's Finest Hour
--Laura and Jenna Bush, Read All About It!
--Roger Mudd, The Place to Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News
--Richard Lewis, The Other Great Depression: How I'm Overcoming, on a Daily Basis, at Least a Million Addictions and Dysfunctions and Finding a Spiritual (Sometimes) Life
--John Javna, 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth: Completely New and Updated for the 21st Century
--Joan Anderson, Second Journey
---Jennifer Sey, Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams
--Ronald M. Silver, Bubby's Homemade Pies
--Arthur Agatston, The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life
--Sarah Burningham, How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl's Survival Guide
--Padma Lakshmi, Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day
--Jimmy Carter, A Remarkable Mother
--Rachael Ray, Yum-o! The Family Cookbook
--Newt Gingrich, co-author of Days of Infamy
--Barbara Corcoran, Nextville: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life
--Wes "Scoop" Nisker, Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again!: Handbook for a Spiritual Revolution
--Mehmet Oz, You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty
--Lloyd Schwartz, music critic and editor with Robert Giroux of Elizabeth Bishop: Poems, Prose and Letters
--Joan Anderson, author of The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself
--Leif Enger, So Brave, Young, and Handsome
--Peter Moskos, Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District
--Jim Sheeler, Finale Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives
--Robert Schlesinger, White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters
--Sidney Poitier, Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter
--Bear Grylls, Man vs. Wild: Survival Techniques from the Most Dangerous Places on Earth
--Lisa Lillien, Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World
--John La Puma, ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy
--Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift, authors of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show
--Peter Carey, His Illegal Self
--John Sandford, Phantom Prey
--Alexander McCall Smith, The Miracle at Speedy Motors
--Benjamin Blech, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican
--Jesse Ventura, Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!
--Evan Handler, It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive
--Yousef Al-Mohaimeed, Wolves of the Crescent Moon
--James Kunstler, World Made By Hand
--Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
--Amy Goodman, Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times
--Kenny Mayne, An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood
--Gyorgy Dragomn, The White King
--Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty U: 100 Easy Projects the Whole Family Can Enjoy All Year Long
--Chris Cerf and Victor Navasky, Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq: The Experts Speak
--Tobias Wolff, Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories
--Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and into Legend
--Edgar Prado, My Guy Barbaro: A Jockey's Journey Through Love, Triumph, and Heartbreak with America's Favorite Horse
--Gene Robinson, In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God
--Mary Tillman, Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman
--Yehuda Berg, The Spiritual Rules of Engagement: How Kabbalah Can Help Your Soul Mate Find You
--Carl Hiaasen, The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
--Yasmina Reza, Dawn Dusk or Night: A Year with Nicolas Sarkozy
--Ariane De Bonvoisin, The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Any Change (and Loving Your Life More)
--Eleanor Coppola, Notes on a Life
--George Soros, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crash of 2008 and What It Means
--Jeanne Safer, Death Benefits: How Losing a Parent Can Change an Adult's Life--For the Better
--Bill Moyers, Moyers on Democracy
--Barbara Walters, Audition: A Memoir
--Supernanny Jo Frost, Confident Baby Care: What You Need to Know for the First Year From America's Most Trusted Nanny
--Charles Ardai (aka Richard Aleas), The Good-Neighbor Policy: A Double-Cross in Double Dactyls
--Raj Patel, Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System
--Tom Farley and Tanner Colby, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts
--Oz Garcia, Redesigning 50: The No-Plastic-Surgery Guide to 21st-Century Age Defiance
--Ariane De Bonvoisin, The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Any Change (and Loving Your Life More)
--Arianna Huffington, Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe
--Dr. John Medina, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving At Work, Home, and School
--John Dean and Barry Goldwater Jr., authors of Pure Goldwater
--Al Gore, The Assault on Reason
--David Gilmour, The Film Club
--Michael A. Sheehan, Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves
--Virginia Willis, Bon Appetit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking
--David Rothenberg, Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound
--George Johnson, The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments
--Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss-Glasser, author and illustrator, of Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly and Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany
--Ricardo S. Sanchez, author with Donald T. Phillips of the memoir Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story
--Patricia Wells, author with Walter Wells of We've Always Had Paris . . . and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France
--Jill Price, The Woman Who Can't Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science--A Memoir
--Jim Krusoe, Girl Factory
--Robert Schimmel, Cancer on $5 a Day: How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life
--Katie Lee Joel, The Comfort Table
--Sen. Harry Reid, The Good Fight: Hard Lessons from Searchlight to Washington
--Quil Lawrence, Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East
--Vivian Cherry, photographs in Helluva Town: New York City in the 1940s and '50s
--Andy Hilford, The Grandmother Book: A Book about You for Your Grandchild
--John Harwood, Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power
--Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
--Adam Clymer, Drawing the Line at the Big Ditch: The Panama Canal Treaties and the Rise of the Right
Larry Tye, The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and The Birth of Public Relations
--Gen. Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World
--Daoud Hri, The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur

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