Recordpub.com - One for the Books: Letter Novels

Two popular novels now on bookstore shelves are written in the form of letters. One is a genteel visit to post-World War II Britain, but the other is a rather raunchy rant.

The polite one is the oddly named "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The letters begin on Jan. 8, 1946, as Juliet Ashton, a 32-year-old author, writes to her friend and publisher in London, discussing her book's success and her future plans. Then, out of the blue, Juliet gets a letter from Dawsey Adams, who found her name and address in a used book he bought in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of France. He wonders if she can suggest a store in London where he can order more books.

Juliet is captivated by Dawsey's descriptions of the people on the island and the story of the birth of the local book club, and she asks to hear more from him, and from the club's members as well. In response, many of the islanders write to her, telling her about life on Guernsey, particularly under the recent five-year German occupation. The letters range from light and charming to chilling and even heart-breaking, and they reveal the character of their writers. They also talk about books -- "Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books." Says Juliet: "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive -- all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment."

There are good people and bad people and surprising mixes of the two. Juliet describes the annoying man who's trying to court her: "He's got that way of believing his opinion is the truth, but he's not disagreeable about it. He's too sure he's right to bother being disagreeable." The story offers a history lesson about what happened to the Channel Islanders during the war, when Hitler not only took over, but sent more than 16,000 slave workers to the islands. It's a comedy, a tragedy, a love story and an absolute delight, a wonderful can't-put-it-down kind of book that makes me want to go to Guernsey. It would be perfect for book clubs.

In contrast, there's the bitter "Dear American Airlines" by Jonathan Miles, which is, in essence, one long letter of complaint from grumpy and grouchy Benjamin R. Ford. Ben is a literate guy. He tosses in literary and pop culture allusions throughout the letter and mixes in quoted sections from the Polish novel he's translating into English -- kind of a book within a book. His complaint? He's stuck in an airport, with no flights going out, and he's going to miss his daughter's wedding.

Ben starts out angry, demanding that the airline give his money back, but as he explains why, he keeps getting sidetracked by other things that make him mad, then things that confuse him, then things that upset him. Along the way, he brings up his eccentric mother and his quiet, concentration-camp-survivor father, the women in his life, his passion for his home in New Orleans, his love of poetry, his life as a son, a husband, a father, a poet and a drunk. And all of his selves are seeking redemption.

He's sometimes funny -- "In my youth I thought Peoria was a fictional place that Sherwood Anderson and Sinclair Lewis had cooked up one night at the tail end of a gin bender. But no, it exists"-- and sometimes sad; sometimes wise -- "Memory and meaning, I've found, often book separate rooms in the brain" -- and sometimes a little wordy -- "begging his mother to put aside her wild, discordant visions, the purple fantasies of idyllic independence and artistic freedom and sexual license clashing with her provincial fears of the unknown, with her numskulled nightmares of cinematic savages carving off her forehead" -- or even obtuse -- "The broil of her current visage made me wonder." Hmmm. His images can be bizarre, as when he compares the airport security screeners to the angels of Dante's "Purgatorio." He jumps from subject to subject like a pinball in a high-scoring game. It's a short book -- 180 pages -- but one lo-o-ong letter! It's an intellectual rant, with adult language and situations. I would call it self-indulgent, but I think he very carefully chose every word; in order to successfully pretend to be a poet, you pretty much have to be a poet yourself. Interestingly, the book has made the news by garnering legions of fans who are disgruntled airline passengers claiming that he speaks for them.

The book is a challenge. I think you're going to either love it or run from it screaming.

Finally, "Dear AA" reminds me of "Awesome" by award-winning writer Jack Pendarvis. It is very, very silly and strange -- an X-rated tall tale of a giant named Awesome.

When Awesome catches the morning bus, he literally picks it up and carries it with him. The giant, who wears a derby and programs robots, is extremely arrogant and often downright disgusting. For example, one of his hobbies is playing the Alpine bells, one of which is attached to his ... well, you can imagine. The egotistical giant decides what he wants and then goes for it: "I had chosen to marry my downstairs neighbor, Glorious Jones, in a ceremony of my own devising, based upon a religion I had invented one morning at the fountain." But Glorious doesn't want him, so she gives him an assignment, a combination of a scavenger hunt and the labors of Hercules, and to prove his love, he sets off across America to find everything on her list -- items such as a four-leaf clover and the lost chord.

The story is a "Gulliver's Travels" nightmare, or Paul Bunyan on acid. It's extremely and utterly weird, with bits of fun and bits that left me scratching my head. What was Pendarvis smoking? Fasten your seat belt, because he's taking his readers on a psychedelic ride from folk tale to science fiction. You won't find another one like it. He'll make you think, and then your head will explode.

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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The Friends of the Mogadore Branch Library will have a book sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 9. A preview sale for Friends members will be held fom 4 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 8. Sale leftovers will be available to teachers and nonpofit groups on Aug. 11 by calling 330-628-9228.
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Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has died at age 89.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/books/04solzhenitsyn.html?_r=2&ref=books&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Robert Gray has written a lovely reminiscence of his love for the works of Solzhenitsyn on his blog. If it doesn't appear when you click on the link, look in his archives for "Reading Solzhenitsyn" or Aug. 5.

http://fresheyes.squarespace.com/

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Teen Read Week 2008 will be celebrated in more than 4,000 libraries across the U.S. on Oct. 12-18.
The 2008 Teen Read Week theme is "Books with Bite @ your library," which promotes a variety of books " from vampire stories to cooking to technology (byte) " as a tool for getting young adults to read for the fun of it. During Teen Read Week, teens will also be able to participate in the Teens' Top Ten (www.ala.org/teenstopten) , in which teens voice their choice for their favorite books. Last year teens cast more than 6,000 online votes in the Teens' Top Ten.
For more information on Teen Read Week, visit

www.ala.org/teenread

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Attention, book club members! October is National Reading Group Month.
For information, check the Web sites:
www.wnba-books.org
and www.NationalReadingGroupMonth.org (scheduled to go live later this month)
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from Publishers Weekly: "Rapunzel's Revenge, a graphic novel by Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale and her husband Dean, illustrated by Nathan Hale, is the latest pick in Al's Book Club on The Today Show. The book is the club's 12th selection; Shannon and Dean Hale will appear on the show in early September."
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The winners of the RITA (Romance Writers of America) awards have been announced.

http://www.rwanational.org/cs/contests_and_awards/2008_rita_winners

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Hey! You can win free books. In fact, book club members can win 12 copies of a selected book each month for a year. (144 books in all) The deadline to enter is Aug. 26. The winner will be selected on or about Aug. 28.

http://www.harpercollins.com/features/bookchattersweeps/index.aspx?WT.mc_id=PBAN_BKREPNEWS_CHATTER_073008

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The long list for the Man Booker Prize has been announced:

http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1105

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The 2009 Ohio Book Festival is soliciting applications from authors who are interested in participating in the 2009 festival, May 9, 2009. Authors must have published books between January 2008 and March 2009. Visit:
www.OhioanaBookFestival.org

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Well, the anti-Obama books are selling well. HarperCollins publisher Steve Ross said, "The anti-Obama readership is largely one that has already made up its mind and is looking for validation, while the Obama readership comprises both those who have already made up their minds and those who are curious about him."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_en_ot/books_anti_obama;_ylt=ApnPL5jJHGBjTuOU2wCXtFVREhkF

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How does actor Ernest Borgnine, 91, keep himself young?
"See the books around," says Borgnine, pointing to various stacks in the comfortable den of the Beverly Hills house he's owned for 43 years. "I do an awful lot of reading," he continues. "It keeps me busy. I try to keep my mind going always. That is the thing that counts. You can have your body not feeling so good, but if your mind is working you got it made. That is the way I figured it out."

His new autobiography is titled "Ernie."

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-borgnine6-2008aug06,0,7948385.story

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More Top 100 books lists to get ideas from. This site is very fun, with lots of lists to look at:

http://neilbowers.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/generating-a-list-of-best-100-novels/

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From Publishers Weekly: "The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizarding fairy tales handwritten and illustrated by Rowling, will be published on December 4 by Children's High Level Group, the English children's charity co-founded by Rowling and Emma Nicholson."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000179911

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Oprah's Book Club is now recommending children's titles, apparently -- which is really nice, since she neglected to pick an adult title for the summer.
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Danny Fingeroth has picked his "top 10 graphic novels" for The Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jul/30/comics

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The BBC reports the short list for the Forward Prize for Poetry.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7535456.stm

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Well, the swift-boating has begun against Sen. Obama. We knew it would happen -- but it's even from the same guy who wrote the swift-boat lies about John Kerry. How DO people get away with this?

http://mediamatters.org/items/200807300005

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Both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama are about to be the stars of their own comic books!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080730/ap_en_ot/presidential_comic_books;_ylt=ArWvRz6yVe9IQW_MsAoAlH9RehkF

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The Book Party is a new book section just launched by wowOwow.com, hosted by WOW's celebrity contributors. The online book club features classics selections from Random House's Modern Library, authors, the contributors' recommendations, and a regular dispatch from one of America's leading independent booksellers, the RJ Julia bookstore of Madison, CT.
It kicked off Aug. 1 with a selection from The Age of Innocence, with an original introduction by Judith Martin, as well as a piece by bestselling thriller author Sandra Brown.
Soon to follow on September 2, Lesley Stahl will interview Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife. In a publishing first, WOW will be giving away fifteen advance copies to the first readers to respond.
WOW CEO (and former head of the literary division of William Morris) Joni Evans says, "Literature has always been a powerful woman's domain, and so it's natural for wowOwow.com to introduce a new section that will be devoted to books and authors for and about women. Through interviews, reviews, sample chapters, recommended readings lists, polls, and more, we hope to introduce you to wonderful discoveries in every category of our literary world."
For more information, visit:
www.wowOwow.com/books

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Remember James Frey? (Oprah does.) Anyway, he has another book out and in a recent interview with the New York Observer, he said the following:

"There isn't a great deal of difference between fact and fiction, it's just how you choose to tell a story."

Oh, and he said more. Including the fact that he's writing a "final testament to the Bible."

http://www.observer.com/2008/media/james-frey-there-isn-t-great-deal-difference-between-fact-and-fiction

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from a press release --

ISI Books, the imprint of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), is pleased to announce the publication of THE SOUL AND BARBED WIRE: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOLZHENITSYN by Ed Ericson, Jr. and Alex Klimoff. THE SOUL AND BARBED WIRE is the most complete and up-to-date introduction to Solzhenitsyn--perhaps the most influential author of the past fifty years--in any language.

Authored by two eminent Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn scholars, THE SOUL AND BARBED WIRE is the first and only book to offer both a detailed biography and a comprehensive appraisal of the literary achievement of the Nobel prize-winning author. All other books on Solzhenitsyn focus on either one or the other. Furthermore, none bring to their subject the encyclopedic knowledge or philosophical sympathy manifested in this volume.
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from a press release --

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS WEB SITE LAUNCHES 'DOGEARED' BLOG FOR YOUNG READERS

National Geographic Digital Media announced the launch of "DogEared," a new blog all about reading and literature, created for and staffed by young readers.

At http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared/ young readers will be able to read reviews and recommendations and participate in a community of avid readers. National Geographic's "DogEared" blogging staff features four boys and four girls aged 8-11. The bloggers are enthusiastic readers who will chime in with thoughts on books of all genres from funny stories and animal tales to the latest in fantasy and adventure for youth.

Dubbed "DogEared" (because page-corners of beloved books are often dog-eared) National Geographic has created a vibrant online community for existing young book lovers where they can share opinions and create personal reading wish lists. "DogEared" is designed to inspire kids to get into reading and return often to the DogEared site for more reviews, tips and reading suggestions.

"DogEared" is the most recent example of several National Geographic online kids' blogging initiatives. On July 29, National Geographic launched the "You Are Here" blog which features David, a 12-year-old American boy living in Beijing. At http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/you-are-here/beijing/ David blogs about his observations and experiences around the Summer Olympics games.

Earlier this summer, National Geographic's kids site launched the "Global Bros" blog, (http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/globalbros/) which follows the adventures of Stefan and Tyler, two tween brothers traveling the world for a year with their parents. The "Global Bros" share photos and commentary from their journeys with the online audience.
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Publishers Weekly On-Sale Calendar for Comics, Graphic Novels:

July 30, 2008
Me and the Devil Blues Vol. 1: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson (Del Rey Manga)
Popgun Vol. 2 (Image)
Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion (Marvel)
Batman: Going Sane (DC)
Aoi House Omnibus (Seven Seas Entertainment)
Jade of Bango Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
Sola Vol. 1 (Broccoli International)
Tokyo Zombie (Last Gasp)
Hotel Africa Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
Babysitter (Amaze Ink/ Slave Labor)
Knights Vol. 1 (Digital Manga Publishing)

August 6, 2008
S.S. Astro: Asasho Sogo Teachers Room Vol. 1
Countdown Arena (DC)
Spider-Man J: Japanese Knights (Marvel)
Stinky (Raw Junior)
Hell Girl Vol. 3 (Del Ray Manga)
Croquis Pop Vol. 1 (Yen Press)
Aspirin Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
Rosario and Vampire Vol. 2 (Viz Media)
Grendel: God and the Devil (Dark Horse)
Dark Metro (Tokyopop)
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from Shelf Awareness -- New Books Out August 5:

Foreign Body by Robin Cook
The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life--His Own by David Carr
Ripley's Believe It or Not: Prepare to Be Shocked
The Obama Nation by Jerome R. Corsi
Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents by Rev. Run and Justine Simmons
Underground by Kat Richardson
Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Forced Out: A Novel by Stephen Frey
The Last Centurion by John Ringo

Now in paperback:

The Amazing Book of Useless Information: More Things You Didn't Need to Know But Are About to Find Out by Noel Botham
Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb

New Books Out August 13:

Faces of Fear: A Novel by John Saul
Smoke Screen: A Novel by Sandra Brown
The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman
Legally Dead: A Novel by Edna Buchanan
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. "Moscow Rules" by Daniel Silva (Putnam)
2. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
3. "The Bourne Sanction" by Robert Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader (Grand Central)
4. "Tribute" by Nora Roberts (Putnam)
5. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows (The Dial Press)
6. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco)
7. "The Last Patriot" by Brad Thor (Atria)
8. "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry (Morrow)
9. "Sail" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan, (Little, Brown)
10. "Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel" by Lauren Weisberger (Simon & Schuster)
11. "Fearless Fourteen" by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press)
12. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" by Karen Traviss (Del Rey)
13. "Love the One You're With" by Emily Giffin (St. Martin's Press)
14. "Fractured" by Karin Slaughter (Delacorte)
15. "Just Too Good to Be True: A Novel" by E. Lynn Harris (Doubleday)

NONFICTION/GENERAL
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
2. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
3. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris (Little, Brown)
4. "The Obama Nation" by Jerome R. Corsi (Threshold Editions)
5. "Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling (Simon Spotlight)
6. "Just Who Will You Be? Big Question. Little Book. Answer Within." by Maria Shriver (Hyperion)
7. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
8. "Life with My Sister Madonna" by Christopher Ciccone and Wendy Leigh (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
9. "You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty" by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press)
10. "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals" by Jane Mayer (Doubleday)
11. "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food" by Jessica Seinfeld (Collins)
12. "Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, The Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us ... and What to Do About It" by Dick Morris, Eileen McGann (Harper)
13. "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception" by Scott McClellan (PublicAffairs)
14. "The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi (Grand Central)
15. "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution" by T. J. English (William Morrow)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS
1. "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham (Dell)
2. "Turbulent Sea" by Christine Feehan (Jove)
3. "Cry Wolf" by Patricia Briggs (Ace)
4. "Play Dirty" by Sandra Brown (Pocket)
5. "You've Been Warned" by James Patterson, Howard Roughan (Vision)
6. "The Manning Brides" by Debbie Macomber (Mira)
7. "Left to Die" by Lisa Jackson (Zebra)
8. "The Sanctuary" by Raymond Khoury (Signet)
9. "Nights in Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner Vision)
10. "Sweet Spot" by Susan Mallery (HQN)
11. "Cutting Loose" by Susan Andersen (HQN)
12."The Bone Garden" by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine Books)
13. "Never Romance A Rake" by Liz Carlyle (Pocket)
14. "Some Like It Wicked" by Teresa Medeiros (Avon)
15. "Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen" by Suzanne Enoch (Avon)

TRADE PAPERBACKS
1. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media)
2. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin)
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. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume)
5. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
6. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (Algonquin)
7. "Skinny B----" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press)
8. "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press)
9. "Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life" by Tim Russert (Miramax Books)
10. "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press)
11. "Barefoot" by Elin Hilderbrand (Back Bay Books)
12. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library)
13. "In the Woods" by Tana French (Penguin)
14. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs (Berkley)
15. "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog " by John Grogan (Harper)
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USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS
Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback
1. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown) (F-H)
2. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion) (NF-H)
3. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-P)
4. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers) (F-H)
5. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-H)
6. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media) (F-P)
7. "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham (Dell) (F-P)
8. "Turbulent Sea" by Christine Feehan (Jove) (F-P)
9. "Left To Die" by Lisa Jackson (Zebra) (F-P)
10. "The Manning Brides" by Debbie Macomber (Mira) (F-P)
11. "Play Dirty" by Sandra Brown (Pocket) (F-P)
12. "You've Been Warned" by James Patterson, Howard Roughan (Vision) (F-P)
13. "The Dangerous Days Of Daniel X" by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown) (F-H)
14. "Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox" by Eoin Colfer (Hyperion Books for Children) (F-H)
15. "Watchmen" by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons (DC Comics) (F-P)
16. "Cry Wolf" by Patricia Briggs (Ace) (F-P)
17. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-H)
18. "Summer by the Sea" by Susan Wiggs (Mira) (F-P)
19. "The Bourne Sanction" by Robert Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader (Grand Central) (F-H)
20. "Moscow Rules" by Daniel Silva (Putnam) (F-H)
21. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) (NF-P)
22. "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)
23. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words) (NF-H)
24. "Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling (Simon Spotlight) (NF-H)
25. "The Obama Nation" by Jerome R. Corsi (Threshold Editions) (NF-H)
26. "Tribute" by Nora Roberts (Putnam) (F-H)
27. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) (NF-P)
28. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris (Little, Brown) (NF-H)
29. "Nights in Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner Vision) (F-P)
30. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (Algonquin) (F-P)
31. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) (F-P)
32. "The Bone Garden" by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine Books) (F-P)
33. "Someday Soon" by Debbie Macomber (Avon) (F-P)
34. "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press) (NF-P)
35. "Skinny B----" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press) (NF-P)
36. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) (F-P)
37. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco) (F-H)
38. "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press) (NF-P)
39. "Barefoot" by Elin Hilderbrand (Back Bay Books) (F-P)
40. "When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change" by Mohamed El-Erian (McGraw-Hill) (NF-H)
41. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) (NF-H)
42. "Second Chance" by Jane Green (Plume) (F-P)
43. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows (The Dial Press) (F-H)
44. "Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life" by Tim Russert (Miramax Books) (NF-P)
45. "Fearless Fourteen" by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press) (F-H)
46. "Beyond Reach" by Karin Slaughter (Dell) (F-P)
47. "Never Romance A Rake" by Liz Carlyle (Pocket) (F-P)
48. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" by Karen Traviss (Del Rey) (F-H)
49. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" by Tracey West (Grosset & Dunlap) (F-P)
50. "The Last Summer (of You and Me)"by Ann Brashares (Riverhead) (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. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown)
2. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
3. "Moscow Rules" by Daniel Silva (Putnam)
4. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
5. "The Dangerous Days Of Daniel X" by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown)
6. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
7. "The Bourne Sanction" by Robert Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader (Grand Central)
8. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows (The Dial Press)
9. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco)
10. "The Last Patriot" by Brad Thor (Atria)
11. "Tribute" by Nora Roberts (Putnam)
12. "Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel" by Lauren Weisberger (Simon & Schuster)
13. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
14. "Love the One You're With" by Emily Giffin (St. Martin's Press)
15."Sail" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan, (Little, Brown)

NONFICTION
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
2. "The Obama Nation" by Jerome R. Corsi (Threshold Editions)
3. "Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling (Simon Spotlight)
4. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
5. "When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change" by Mohamed El-Erian (McGraw-Hill)
6. "StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
7. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris (Little, Brown)
8. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
9. "Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, The Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us ... and What to Do About It" by Dick Morris, Eileen McGann (Harper)
10. "Just Who Will You Be? Big Question. Little Book. Answer Within." by Maria Shriver (Hyperion)
11. "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals" by Jane Mayer (Doubleday)
12. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Other's Don't" by Jim Collins (Collins)
13. "You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty" by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press)
14. "Life with My Sister Madonna" by Christopher Ciccone and Wendy Leigh (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
15. "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food" by Jessica Seinfeld (Collins)
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:

--Nick Sagan, co-author of You Call This the Future? The Greatest Inventions Sci-Fi Imagined and Science Promised
--Shirley MacLaine, Sage-ing While Age-ing
--Jeff Shaara, The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II
--Alison Bass, Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial
--Ginger Strand, Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies
--Anna Rubino, Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information
--Bill Bishop, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart
--Nancy Pelosi, Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters
--Tom Vanderbilt,Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
--Michael Gazzaniga, Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique
--Victoria Nourse, In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics
--Tori Spelling, Stori Telling
--Jeff Abbott, Collision
--Steven Greenhouse, The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker
--Amanda Ripley, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes--And Why
--Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart
--Hilarie Cash, co-author (with Min McDaniel) of Video Games & Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control
--John Dufresne, author of Requiem, Mass.: A Novel
--Ralph Reed, Dark Horse: A Political Thriller
--Carlos Acosta, No Way Home: A Dancer's Journey from the Streets of Havana to the Stages of the World
--Victoria Nourse, In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics
--Ben J. Wattenberg, author of Fighting Words: A Tale of How Liberals Created Neo-Conservatism
--Stephenie Meyer,Breaking Dawn
--Salman Rushdie, author of The Enchantress of Florence
--Teresa Miller, author of Means of Transit: A Slightly Embellished Memoir
--Francie Lin, The Foreigner
--Louise Hay, The Present Moment: 365 Daily Affirmations
--Tom Sullivan, Together, A Novel of Shared Vision
--Annie Barrows, co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
--Barbara Walters, Audition
--Maria Shriver, Just Who Will You Be?: Big Question, Little Book. Answer Within.
--David Maraniss, author of Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World
--Benny Morris, author of 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War
--George Will, author of One Man's America
--Ralph Peters, -Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World
--David Maraniss, author of Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World
--Roxana Robinson, Cost
--George Pelecanos, The Turnaround
-- Tim McCarver, Tim McCarver's Diamond Gems
--Gary Scharnhorst, Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century American Journalist
--Mark Zandi, author of Financial Shock: A 360 Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis
--Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman's Long Way Down: An Epic Journey by Motorcycle from Scotland to South Africa
--Debra Winger, Undiscovered
--Bob and Melinda Blanchard, Changing Your Course: The 5-Step Guide to Getting the Life You Want
--Rev Run and Justine Simmons, Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents
--Brunonia Barry, The Lace Reader
--Jane Mayer, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
--Lucas Conley, OBD: Obsessive Branding Disorder: The Illusion of Business and the Business of Illusion
--Ammon Shea, author of Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages
--Kate Brennan, author of In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession
--Ron Suskind, author of The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism
--Olivia Gardner, author of Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope
--Stephen Coonts, author of The Assassin
--David Carr, author of The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of his Life--His Own
--Thomas Frank, author of The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule
--Stephen Mansfield, author of The Faith of Barack Obama
--Daniel Gardner, author of The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger
--Olivia Gardner, Emily Buder and Sarah Buder, authors of Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope
--Kate Brennan, In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession
--David Carr, The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life. His Own.
--Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd, The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life
--Thurston Clarke, author of The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America
--John Darnton, Black and White and Dead All Over
--Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
--Andrea Lavinthal and Jessica Rozler, authors of Friend or Frenemy?: A Guide to the Friends You Need and the Ones You Don't
--Noah McCullough, author of First Kids
--Mary Ellen Geist, author of Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, A Daughter's Return
--Lane Smith, author of Madam President
-- Richard Brookhiser, author of George Washington on Leadership
--Garen Thomas, author of Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama
--Diane Levin, author of So Sexy So Soon
--Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Story of a Marriage
--David Carr, author of The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of his Life--His Own
--Chuck Schumer,Positively American: How the Democrats Can Win in 2008
--Danica McKellar, Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss
--Mary Ellen Geist, Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, A Daughter's Return
--Andrea Lavinthal and Jessica Rozler, Friend or Frenemy? A Guide to the Friends You Need and the Ones You Don't
--Alan Furst, author of The Spies of Warsaw
--Mary Alice Monroe, author of Time Is a River
--Mark Kreidler, author of Six Good Innings: How One Small Town Became a Little League Giant
--former President George H. W. Bush, The China Diary of George H. W. Bush: The Making of a Global President
--Gary Marcus, author of Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind
--Elizabeth Royte, author of Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It
--Patrick Cockburn, author of Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq
--Vernon Jordan, author of Make It Plain: A Life of Speaking
--John Talbott, author of Obamanomics: How Bottom-Up Economic Prosperity Will Replace Trickle-Down Economic
--Edward Ericson, Jr.and Daniel Mahoney, editors of The Solzhenitsyn Reader: New and Essential Writings 1947-2005
--Jerry White, author of I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis
--Carmen Wong Ulrich, Generation Debt: Take Control of Your Money--A How-To Guide
--Garen Thomas, author of Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama
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