Recordpub.com - One for the Books: Animal Companions

Animal companions have inspired some lovely writing in their owners' often-emotional true accounts of their time together.

I fell in love with "Dewey: A Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter. In the winter of 1988, Myron, the director of the public library in Spencer, Iowa, found a tiny kitten in the unheated library drop box, where the little thing had been left to freeze over the weekend. The librarians held a Name the Kitty contest and ended up calling him Dewey Readmore Books, partly for the Dewey Decimal System and partly because the name itself asks a question.

The long-haired orange tabby turned out to be a real people cat, and he lived in and loved the library for 19 years. The cat was surprisingly well-behaved and mellow with the library patrons, and he had an almost mystical ability to bring out the best in people, especially children. "Every regular user of the library, every single one, felt they had a unique relationship with Dewey. He made everyone feel special." Several articles were written about him, which drew the attention of people overseas, and he literally had fans all around the world.

This is the story of small-town America, the farm crisis of the 1980s, and the rural family. But most of all, this is a love story about the personal relationship between a woman and her devoted pet. "Dewey and I had a means of communicating even I didn't understand," says Myron. "He not only anticipated what I wanted, he did it. ... He wanted to do what was best for the library." The book is a very sweet tribute to cats, readers and friendship.

"Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl" is by Stacey O'Brien, who was a biologist at the California Institute of Technology in 1985 when the researchers discovered a 4-day-old barn owl with nerve damage in one wing that could never survive in the wild. She decided to adopt it, and what started out as a scientific study quickly turned into a love affair. The laws have changed since then, and she wouldn't be able to keep a wild bird today, but back then, she kept it right in her bedroom with her.

She provides quite a bit of scientific information about owls, which "can triangulate the location of a sound much more accurately than a human can. ... As a result, a barn owl can accurately locate a mouse under three feet of snow by homing in on only the heartbeat, and can hear its footsteps from extremely far away." Wesley ate a mouse-only diet, and O'Brien details some of the horrendous things she had to go through to feed him whole mice. There's a fascinating section on animal emotions, showing how highly intelligent and extremely sensitive owls are. Besides being illegal, keeping an owl as a pet is way too dangerous. One image that sticks in my mind is an instance when the author was sleeping in the room with Wesley. She says, "I awoke to find him asleep on the side of my head with his foot positioned so that one long talon curved down into my ear canal, almost touching my eardrum."

On one level, this is a personal story of O'Brien and her own struggles in life. On another level, it's a very readable research study, and it would make great reading for any young person thinking about a career dealing with animals.

Animals on a grander scale are the featured players in "We Bought a Zoo" by Benjamin Mee. Mee and his family bought a "country house with zoo attached" in the English countryside. How does one go about buying a zoo? Well, he describes what they had to go through to get the funding, only to have their bid rejected, and then start over again until they were finally allowed to purchase the park. "It seemed like a lost cause from the beginning, but one that we knew we'd regret if we didn't pursue," Mee says. This was no small backyard menagerie; it had tigers, lions, bears, jaguars, monkeys, pythons, flamingos -- a total of "200 wild and exotic animals." As for the house, he says, "Though once a grand, twelve-bedroom mansion, now its plumbing groaned, its paper peeled, its floorboards creaked." The park also featured a 300-seat restaurant, which at the time of purchase smelled so bad he couldn't bear to walk into it, let alone eat there. On the brink of the final purchase, one of Mee's brothers turned against the rest of the family, launching a costly legal battle. And most of all, Mee had to deal with the loss of his wife following a catastrophic illness, and he shares his experiences with the French and British health systems.

Meanwhile, Mee wanted to turn the financially failing zoo into a thriving business and to make it a home for endangered species, based on conservation and compassion. He describes his legal and money woes, security concerns -- walls, wire, electric fences, ditches, moats -- adventures capturing escaped animals, and just preparing them for vet visits. A film crew recorded the purchase and the renovations for a British TV series, "Ben's Zoo." You can visit the zoo's Web site at www.dartmoorzoologicalpark.co.uk.

"Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life" by Trixie Koontz, dog, as told to best-selling author and the dog's "dad," Dean Koontz, is a nice little gift book for the dog lover. Trixie was the Koontzes' beloved golden retriever, who died in 2007. She "wrote" these dispatches from "the other side." Trixie doesn't always use definite articles, but she gets her point across. For Trixie, the "road to bliss is paved with dog wisdom." The steps along her road include finding "your quiet heart," taking time for fun, and being grateful. Trixie is wise -- "Dog can chase ball, brood on mysteries of universe at same time" -- and funny -- "Thomas Jefferson said life mostly sunshine. Hitler said life mostly suffering. Freud said life meaningless. You know whose dog had more fun." The royalties will be donated to Canine Companions for Independence, which provides highly trained assistance dogs for people with disabilities.

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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Check out my new blog on books, inspiration, fun and thought-provoking goodies!
It's called "Shine A Light!"

http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/

If you lose that link, look for the blogs on the home page
of www.recordpub.com, about halfway down, on the right side.

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Happy Rosh Hashanah!
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LOCAL BOOK CLUBS:

The Book Discussion Group at the Randolph Library meets the first Monday of the month, except August, at 6:30 p.m. in the Randolph Senior Center. The group is open to everyone, and new members are always welcome. The library will stock copies of the books each month. Call the library at 330-325-7003.

October 6: The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
November 3: City of Fallen Angels by John Berendt
December 1: Manhunt by James Swanson

Pierce-Streetsboro Library's Book Discussion Group meets regularly on the second Monday of each month at 6:45 p.m. in the library's meeting room. New members are always welcome to attend and participate in the discussion. The library is located at 8990 Kirby Lane in Streetsboro, next to the administrative offices of the Streetsboro City Schools. For more information, call the library at 330-626-4458. Here is the schedule of meeting dates and books to be discussed:

Oct. 20: (third Monday, due to Columbus Day holiday): The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (nonfiction)
Nov. 10: Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury (fiction)
Dec. 8: Where Angels Go by Debbie Macomber (fiction)

The Adult Book Discussion Group at the Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Call the library at 330-296-2827.

October: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
November: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alesxander Fuller
December: Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives and Inspiration by Michael Shapiro

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for more books for animal lovers:

Jack Hanna recounts TV life in new book
By DOUG WHITEMAN, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) " David Letterman's producers like it when Jack Hanna's zoo animals run amok on the show because it's good for laughs. What viewers don't see is the behind-the-scenes preparation that has gone into 25 years of television appearances, recounted in Hanna's new autobiography, "Jungle Jack: My Wild Life."
There was the time Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, took two camels on Letterman's old NBC show. The dromedaries' humps destroyed lights and ceiling tiles in a corridor leading to the Rockefeller Center studio because Hanna neglected to measure how high the animals stood. "Are you kidding me? I never would have thought of that in a million years. Measure a camel?" asked Hanna during a recent interview at Columbus Zoo. Then, he added: "I guess I should have thought of it though." The building manager threatened to bill Hanna $5,000 for the damage, but the show's head producer said not to worry about it.

Hanna, 61, said his appearances with TV hosts, from Larry King to Ellen DeGeneres, have allowed him to spread a message of conservation to a huge audience. Animal rights activists have accused Hanna of exploiting animals and subjecting them to unnecessary stress by taking them on television. On its Web site, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals describes what he does as "pimping" wild animals.
"If you're calling educating people over the last 30 years, hundreds of millions of people throughout the world, then I'll be a wildlife pimp every day," Hanna said. The animals' health and safety always comes first, and if an animal resists going out before the audience and under the studio lights, it's not used, Hanna said. Since his first shot on network TV " a 1983 appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" that showed off a pair of twin baby gorillas born at the zoo " Hanna has grown accustomed to causing a stir with his four-legged fellow guests, both on and off camera.

Former "Good Morning America" co-host Joan Lunden remembers being captivated the first time he was on the show, which would go on to make the zookeeper a monthly regular. Lunden said she isn't surprised that other programs decided they wanted him, too. "Whenever he was on, you just knew that as people were walking across their bedrooms in the morning, they were stopping in front of the TV and calling their other family members, 'Look, look, look!"' she said. "He has this sense of wonderment about creatures on this earth that's infectious."

In his book, Hanna writes that not everything goes as planned. A beaver once bit Hanna on his left hand during a "Letterman" taping in New York. He got through the segment with the hand wrapped in paper towels and stuffed into a flesh-colored glove. He then walked several blocks to a hospital. "Once there, people thought I was a shooting victim with blood spattered all over my clothes," Hanna recounts in the book.
He and Letterman didn't talk about the incident " the two have only known each other onstage. "I've never talked to him before or after the show in 23 years," Hanna said.

http://www.jackhanna.com

http://www.colszoo.org

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Kent's own Patricia Pfeffer, author of "Message to Irene," will sign copies of her book on October 11 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at Borders at Chapel Hill " 335 Howe Avenue, Cuyahoga Falls. In "Message to Irene," the writer is a ghost, namely that of John T. Moore, a young soldier killed in 1945 during WWII.
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The National Catholic Reporter's new book club book is
Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1853

and here's another new one:

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini, the Secret Female Pope

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1956

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from Shelf Awareness:

"Oprah's next book club pick is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, published by Ecco. In a statement, Oprah said, "I think this book is right up there with the greatest American novels ever written.' O: The Oprah Magazine wrote in part: "Wroblewski's plot is dynamic--page by page compelling--and classical, evoking Hamlet, Antigone, Electra, and Orestes, as Edgar tries to avenge his father's death and his paternal uncle's new place in the affections of his mother. The scope of this book, its psychological insight and lyrical mastery, make it one of the best novels of the year, and a perfect, comforting joy of a book for summer.' "
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Maurice Sendak ("Where the Wild Things Are") just celebrated his 80th birthday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/ap_en_ce/people_sendak_jonze;_ylt=AvfWaaEq4VSmTg4bfG82ruRdDxkF

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The shortlist for the Dylan Thomas Prize has been announced.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/67229-writers-shortlisted-for-dylan-thomas.html

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Good news? or bad news? A sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series has been OK'ed by the widow of the original author, Douglas Adams. Eoin Colfer ("Artemis Fowl") has been picked to write the book, titled "And Another Thing ..." due out in October 2009.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7619828.stm

The controversy:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/67244-fan-site-spat-over-new-hitchhiker.html

The Hitchhiker fan site:
http://www.floor42.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=8973

Colfer's Web site:
http://forum.artemis-fowl.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4169

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It isn't easy being the Poet Laureate of the UK, apparently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1053910/The-Laureates-lament-Being-poet-Queen-thankless-given-writers-block-says-Andrew-Motion.html

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Crime novelist James Crumley has died at the age of 68.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/books/20crumley.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

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from New York magazine:
"The book business as we know it will not be living happily ever after. With sales stagnating, CEO heads rolling, big-name authors playing musical chairs, and Amazon looming as the new boogeyman, publishing might have to look for its future outside the corporate world."

http://nymag.com/news/media/50279/

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Irene Nemirovsky, the author of Suite Francaise, will be honored posthumously in a new exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_en_ot/suite_francaise_exhibit;_ylt=AhWIBQp9M0WJjieITYLcW8lREhkF

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from Publishers Weekly --
"Cornelia Funke's Inkheart is the latest selection in Al's Book Club on The Today Show. The book is the club's 13th selection. The author is scheduled to appear in a segment on the show on October 17. Inkheart is the first title in Funke's bestselling trilogy; the final book, Inkdeath, pubs on October 7."

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18179145

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Author Sherry Jones talks about the controversy over her novel, "The Jewel of Medina."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_en_ot/books_muslim_novel;_ylt=AtaN6_0CYYm3QjFTN3.dILNREhkF

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The 2008 New England Book Awards recipients:

Alice Hoffman for Fiction,
Nathaniel Philbrick for Nonfiction,
Tomie dePaola for Children's and
John Viehman, Group Publisher of Down East Enterprise accepting for Down East Books for Publishing.
The awards were established in 1990 and are given annually to New England authors and publishers who have produced a body of work that stands as a significant contribution to New England culture.

http://www.newenglandbooks.org/2008_tradeshow_schedule.html

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The shortlist for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year prize has been announced.

http://www.ft.com/indepth/bookaward2008

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"LONDON (AFP) - British espionage writer John le Carre admitted he was tempted to defect to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, in an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080914/en_afp/entertainmentbritainbooksspypeople;_ylt=Aoe9sc2XKd_WX43SSZB4PnJdDxkF

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from Yahoo News --
"CLEVELAND - Best-selling author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a prominent critic of Islam, said it's difficult living in isolation because of death threats from Muslims offended by her work. The Somali-born Hirsi Ali made a surprise appearance at the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards ceremony Thursday to accept an award for her book "Infidel: My Life." Security was tight, and she left with armed guards."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_en_ce/books_islam_critic;_ylt=AiXYwOatVH5xIRscN7_N3BtREhkF

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David Foster Wallace has died.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/books/15kaku.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/

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from Shelf Awareness: New Titles September 22 and 23:

The Given Day: A Novel by Dennis Lehane
A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce by Alec Baldwin
The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life by Dr. Robert A. Vogel and Paul Tager Lehr
One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter
Tsar: A Thriller by Ted Bell
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter
Green Goes with Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet by Sloan Barnett

New Books September 30:

21 Nights by Prince
Hounded to Death: A Novel by Rita Mae Brown
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Now in paperback:

Double Cross by James Patterson
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from Publishers Weekly -- Religion best-sellers for September:

Hardcover
Become a Better You. Joel Osteen.
Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires, the Respect he Desperately Needs.
Emerson Eggerichs.
Have a New Kid by Friday. Kevin Leman.
Jesus Calling: Seeking Peace in His Presence. Sarah Young.
Love as a Way of Life. Gary Chapman.
Mistaken Identity. Don & Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak.
Walking with God: Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really. John Eldredge.
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Timothy Keller.
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. Alex Harris and Brett Harris.
Riven. Jerry B. Jenkins.

Paperback
The Shack. William P. Young.
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life. Don Piper with Cecil Murphey.
The Five Love Languages. Gary Chapman.
A Sister's Hope. Wanda E. Brunstetter.
The Purpose-Driven Life. Rick Warren.
Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul. John and Stasi Eldredge.
The God Delusion. Richard Dawkins.
Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. Joel Osteen.
Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis.
Battlefield of the Mind. Joyce Meyer.
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USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS
Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback

1. "Brisingr" by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers)(F-H)
2. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers) (F-P)
3. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers) (F-P)
4. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media) (F-P)
5. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown) (F-H)
6. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-H)
7. "The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel" by David Wroblewski (HarperCollins) (F-H)
8. "Nights in Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner Vision) (F-P)
9. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion) (NF-H)
10. "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) (NF-H)
11. "Book of the Dead" by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley) (F-P)
12. "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone) (F-H)
13. "The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008" by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster) (NF-H)
14. "Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness" by Suzanne Somers (Crown) (NF-H)
15. "8 Sandpiper Way" by Debbie Macomber (Mira) (F-P)
16. "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham (Dell) (F-P)
17. "Faefever" by Karen Marie Moning (Delacorte Press)(F-H)
18. "Stone Cold" by David Baldacci (Vision) (F-P)
19. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) (NF-P)
20. "Compulsion" by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine) (F-P)
21. "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing) (F-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 Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-H)
24. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words) (NF-H)
25. "The 39 Clues: The Maze Of Bones" by Rick Riordan (Scholastic Press) (F-H)
26. "You've Been Warned" by James Patterson, Howard Roughan (Vision) (F-P)
27. "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down" by Kaylene Johnson (Tyndale House Publishers) (NF-P)
28. "Protect and Defend" by Vince Flynn (Pocket) (F-P)
29. "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) (NF-P)
30. "Real Life" by Phil McGraw (Free Press)(NF-H)
31. "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)
32. "The Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer (Grand Central Publishing) (F-H)
33. "Skinny B----" by Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin (Running Press) (NF-P)
34. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland (Knopf) (F-H)
35. "Guinness: World Records 2009" by Guinness World Records (Guinness)(NF-H)
36. "The Edge of Desire: A Bastion Club Novel" by Stephanie Laurens (Avon) (F-P)
37. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel (Workman Publishing Group) (NF-P)
38. "Big Words for Little People" by Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Cornell (Joanna Cotler) (F-H)
39. "Watchmen" by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons (DC Comics) (F-P)
40. "Keeping Faith" Jodi Picoult (Avon) (F-P)
41. "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin)(F-P)
42. "Eat This Not That! for Kids!" by David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding (Rodale) (NF-P)
43. "Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling (Simon Spotlight) (NF-H)
44. "Naruto, Volume 31" by Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ Media) (F-P)
45. "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press) (NF-P)
46. "Through the Storm" by Lynne Spears, Lorilee Craker (Thomas Nelson) (NF-H)
47. "The Limits Of Power" by Andrew Bacevich (Metropolitan Books)(NF-H)
48. "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz (Riverhead) (F-P)
49. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (Grand Central Publishing) (F-P)
50. "American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House) (F-H)
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
By The Associated Press

FICTION
1. "Brisingr" by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
2. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco)
3. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown)
4. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown)
5. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
6. "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory (Simon & Schuster)
7. "Faefever" by Karen Marie Moning (Delacorte Press)
8. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
9. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
10. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
11. "The Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer (Grand Central Publishing)
12. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows (The Dial Press)
13. "American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House)
14. "Paul of Dune" by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson (Tor Books)
15. "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow)

NONFICTION
1. "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
2. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
3. "The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008" by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster)
4. "Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness" by Suzanne Somers (Crown)
5. "The Limits of Power" by Andrew Bacevich (Metropolitan Books)
6. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
7. "StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
8. "Real Life" by Dr. Phil McGraw (Free Press)
9. "Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling (Simon Spotlight)
10. "Through The Storm" by Lynne Spears and Lorilee Craker (Thomas Nelson)
11. "Guinness Book of World Records 2009" by Guinness World Records (Guinness)
12. "Angler" by Barton Gellman (Penguin Press)
13. "The Gone Fishin' Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy...and Get on With Your Life" by Alexander Green (Wiley)
14. "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment)
15. "Fleeced" by Dick Morris & Eileen McGann (Harper)
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:

--Thomas F. Flynn, Bikeman: An Epic Poem
--Suzanne Somers, Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness
--Tom Gjelten, Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause
--Linda Robinson, author of Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq
--Christopher Buckley, Supreme Courtship
--Sam Wyly, author of 1,000 Dollars and an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire
--Mia Couto, Under the Frangipani
--Blair Underwood, author of In the Night of the Heat: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel
--Graydon Carter, author of Vanity Fair: The Portraits: A Century of Iconic Images
--Lynne Cheney, author of We the People: The Story of Our Constitution
--Maggie Scarf, author of September Songs: The Good News About Marriage in the Later Years
--Philip Roth, Indignation
--Meghan McCain, author of My Dad, John McCain
--Bart Gellman, author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency
--Peter J. Gomes, author of The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?
--Ty Pennington, author of Good Design Can Change Your Life
--Dr. Phil McGraw, author of Real Life: Preparing for the 7 Most Challenging Days of Your Life
--Peggy Noonan, author of Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now
--Thomas Hager, author of The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler
--Leslie Bennetts, The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?
--Lynne Spears, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World
--Andy Taylor, Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran
--Fred and Kim Goldman, If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer
--Maggie Scarf talked about September Songs: The Good News About Marriage In The Later Years
--Philip Zimbardo, The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life
--Jon Bowermaster, Descending the Dragon: My Journey Down the Coast of Vietnam
--Frank Wilczek, The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces
--Brian Greene, Icarus at the Edge of Time
--Ed McClanahan, O the Clear Moment
--John Talbott, author of Obamanomics: How Bottom-Up Economic Prosperity Will Replace Trickle-Down Economics
--Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore and Peter Tanous, authors of The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen
--Peter Gomes, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?
--Bob Woodward, The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008
--Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes, authors of A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart
--Laurence Tribe, author of The Invisible Constitution
--Alan Alda, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
--Shakara Bridgers, author of The Get 'Em Girls' Guide to the Power of Cuisine: Perfect Recipes for Spicing Up Your Love Life
--Carolyn Bernstein, author of The Migraine Brain: Your Breakthrough Guide to Fewer Headaches, Better Health
--Annie Proulx, Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3
--Christopher Lukas, author of Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and Survival
--Larry C. James, author of Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib
--Jane Yolen, author of Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World
--M. Gary Neuman, author of The Truth about Cheating: Why Men Stray and What You Can Do to Prevent It
--Gail Rentsch, author of Smart Women Don't Retire--They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time
--Bernard-Henri Levy, author of Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism
--Matt Birkbeck, Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob
--Dexter Filkins, The Forever War
--Linn Ullman, A Blessed Child
--Thomas Hager, The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler
--Robert Shiller, author of The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What To Do About It
--Helene Cooper, The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
--Edward P. Djerejian, Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East
--Tariq Ali, The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power
--Bing West, The Strongest Tribe
--Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Dr. Ruth's Guide to Teens and Sex Today: From Social Networking to Friends With Benefits
--Dionne Warwick, co-author of Say a Little Prayer
--Philip Roth, Indignation
--Francine Prose, Goldengrove
--Sichan Siv, Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America
--Christopher Paolini, Brisingr
--Douglas W. Kmiec, author of Can a Catholic Support Him? Asking the Big Question About Barak Obama
--Alec Baldwin, author of A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce
--Carolyn Maloney, Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women's Lives Aren't Getting Any Easier and How We Can Make Real Progress for Ourselves
--Jennet Conant, author of The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
--Thomas Bloch, Stand for the Best: What I Learned After Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner-City Charter School
--Bertie Bowman, author of Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream
--Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, authors of America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy
--Diana Degette, author of Sex, Science and Stem Cells: Inside the Right Wing Assault on Reason
--Stephen Mansfield, author of The Faith of Barack Obama
--Willie Nelson, co-author of A Tale Out of Luck
--Danny Goldberg, Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business
--Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
--Marty Beckerman, author of Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right and Other American Idiots
--Christopher Lukas, Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and Survival
--Peter Gosselin, High Wire: The Precarious Financial Lives of American Families
--Brad O'Leary, author of The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's Assault on American Values
--Candace Bushnell, author of One Fifth Avenue
--Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, authors of The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
--Robert J. Wagner, author of Pieces of My Heart: A Life
--Tiki Barber, author of Go Long!
--Lynda Madaras, author of Ready, Set, Grow! A "What's Happening to My Body?"
--Ted Bell, author of Tsar
--T.D. Jakes, author of Before You Do: Making Great Decisions That You Wont Regret
--Tom Dreesen and Tim Reid, authors of Tim and Tom, An American Comedy in Black and White
--Thom Filicia, Thom Filicia Style: Inspired Ideas for Creating Rooms You'll Love
--Edgar Bronfman, co-author of Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance
--Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, authors of The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion
--Farnaz Fassihi, Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq
--David Zirin, author of A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play
--Hershel Walker, Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder
--Robert Wagner, Pieces of My Heart: A Life
--Bill O'Reilly, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
--Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber, Go Long!
--Bishop T.D. Jakes, Before You Do: Making Great Decisions That You Won't Regret
--Ted Bell, Tsar: A Thriller
--Anne Roiphe, Epilogue
--Lynda Madaras, author of Ready, Set, Grow! A "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Younger Girls
--Tim Reid and comedian Tom Dreesen, authors of Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White
--Thomas Frank, author of The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule
--Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series.
--Laurence Steinberg, co-author of Rethinking Juvenile Justice
--Jenny McCarthy, author of Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds
--Alec Baldwin, author of A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce
--Meghan McCain, author of My Dad, John McCain
--Woodson Merrell, author of The Source: Unleash Your Natural Energy, Power Up Your Health, and Feel 10 Years Younger
--David Markson, author of The Last Novel
--Bob Schieffer, author of Bob Schieffer's America
--Nicholas Carr, author of The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google
--Kris Carr, Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor: More Rebellion and Fire for Your Healing Journey
--Thomas L. Friedman, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America
--Randall Stross, Planet Google: One Company's Audacious Plan to Organize Everything We Know
--Dennis Lehane, The Given Day
--John Ehrenfeld, Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture
--Laurence Steinberg, co-author of Rethinking Juvenile Justice
--Dennis Schrader, Extraordinary Leaves
--David Bacon, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants
--Helene Cooper, The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood
--Bill Tancer, author of Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why it Matters
--Cathy Alter , Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over
--Marvelyn Brown, author of The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
--Thomas Kostigen, author of You Are Here: Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet
--Candace Bushnell, author of One Fifth Avenue
--Dr. Woodson Merrell, The Source: Unleash Your Natural Energy, Power Up Your Health, and Feel 10 Years Younger
--Marilynne Robinson, Home
--Sarah Lyall, The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British
--Dionne Warwick, co-author of Say a Little Prayer

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