Books

IndieBound* hardcover bestseller list 7/1/09

editorial — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:46:03 +0000

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, by Janet Evanovich, St. Martin’s

2. The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Doubleday

3. Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See, Random House

4. The Help. by Kathryn Stockett, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam

5. The Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly, Little Brown

6. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe, Voice

7. Brooklyn, by Colm Tóibín, Scribner

8. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larsen, Penguin Press

9. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley, Delacorte

10. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child, Delacorte

11. A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert, Scribner

12. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, by Alexander McCall Smith, Pantheon

13. Commencement, by J.Courtney Sullivan, Knopf

14. Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk, Doubleday

15. The Doomsday Key, by James Rollins

HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown

2. Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B. Crawford, Penguin Press

3. Horse Soldiers, by Doug Stanton, Scribner

4. The End of Overeating, by David A. Kessler, Rodale

5. Renegade, by Richard Wolffe, Crown

6. Catastrophe, by Dick Morris, Eileen McGann, Harper

7. Losing Mum and Pup, by Christopher Buckley, Twelve

8. Crazy for the Storm, by Norman Ollestad, Ecco

9. Home Game, by Michael Lewis, Norton

10. Liberty and Tyranny, by Mark R. Levin, Threshold Editions

11. The Girls From Ames, by Jeffrey Zaslow, Gotham

12. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch, Hyperion

13. Satchel, by Larry Tye, Random House

14. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, Knopf

15. Dewey, by Vicki Myron, Grand Central

ON THE RISE:
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter, Penguin Press
A charming memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm.

* Published Wednesday, July 1, 2009 (for the sales week ended Sunday, June 28, 2009). Based on reporting from many hundreds of independent bookstores across the United States. For information on more titles, please visit IndieBound.org

IndieBound* paperback bestseller list 7/1/09

editorial — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:14:50 +0000

PAPERBACK FICTION
1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows, Dial
2. Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout, Random House
3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, Europa Editions
4. The Shack, by William P. Young, Windblown
5. The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, Harper
6. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, Washington Square
7. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, Vintage
8. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen, Quirk
9. Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri, Vintage
10. Netherland, by Joseph O’Neill, Vintage
11. Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana De Rosnay, St. Martin’s Griffin
12. The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga, Free Press
13. The Likeness, by Tana French, Penguin
14. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz, Riverhead
15. People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks, Penguin

PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, Penguin
2. When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris, Back Bay
3. In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, Penguin
4. Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, by Glenn Beck, Threshold Editions
5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, Penguin
6. American Lion, by Jon Meacham, Random House
7. My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor, Plume
8. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara and Camille Kingsolver, Steven Hopp, Harper Perennial
9. Wesley the Owl, by Stacey O’Brien, Free Press
10. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, Penguin
11. The Zookeeper’s Wife, by Diane Ackerman, Norton
12. Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay
13. Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama, Three Rivers
14. The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins, Vintage
15. The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston, Grand Central

IndieBound* children’s bestseller list 7/1/09

editorial — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:21:38 +0000

CHILDREN’S GENERAL INTEREST
1. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, Knopf
2. Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen, Viking
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, Ellen Forney (Illus.), Little Brown
4. The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, Little Brown
5. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World… One Child at a Time, by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, Puffin
6. Lock and Key, by Sarah Dessen, Puffin
7. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic
8. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (Illus.), Harper
9. Scat, by Carl Hiaasen, Knopf
10. Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, Scholastic
11. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, David Fickling
12. The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen, Puffin
13. The Demigod Files, by Rick Riordan, Hyperion
14. Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen, Puffin
15. Sir John Hargrave’s Mischief Maker’s Manual, by Sir John Hargrave, Grosset & Dunlap

CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATED
1. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper
2. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, Harper
3. Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss, Random House
4. Goldilicious, by Victoria Kann, Harper
5. Pat the Bunny, by Dorothy Kunhardt, Golden
6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, Putnam
7. Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire!, by Jane O’Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illus.), Harper, 12.99
8. Good Night, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann, Putnam
9. Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey, Puffin
10. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin, Eric Carle (Illus.), Holt
11. Gallop!, by Rufus Butler Seder, Workman
12. The Curious Garden, by Peter Brown, Little Brown
13. Swing!, by Rufus Butler Seder, Workman
14. Llama Llama Misses Mama, by Anna Dewdney, Viking
15. Fancy Nancy, by Jane O’Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illus.), Harper

CHILDREN’S FICTION SERIES
1. Twilight (hardcover and paperback), by Stephenie Meyer, Little Brown
2. Percy Jackson & the Olympians (hardcover and paperback), by Rick Riordan, Miramax
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (hardcover and paperback), by Jeff Kinney, Amulet
4. Magic Tree House (hardcover and paperback), by Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illus.), Random House
5. Harry Potter (hardcover and paperback), by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine
6. House of Night (hardcover and paperback), by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, St. Martin’s
7. The 39 Clues (hardcover), by Jude Watson, Peter Lerangis, et al., Scholastic
8. Warriors (hardcover and paperback), by Erin Hunter, Harper
9. Alex Rider Adventures (hardcover and paperback), by Anthony Horowitz, Puffin
10. Junie B. Jones (hardcover and paperback), by Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (Illus.), Random House

American Bloomsbury

picks — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:08:21 +0000

Being familiar with the English Bloomsbury writers, I was curious about American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever so I bought the book and read it. What a revelation! Captivated, I moved on to the biography “Margaret Fuller” by Carolyn Balducci. She was a century ahead of her generation. Both are good reads.

Why it’s hard to tweet literature

mkehe — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:45:33 +0000

Last week I posed the question of whether journalists make good authors. Responses from readers were provocative. In short, there seemed to be an agreement that journalists include details in service of the story or argument; writers are more willing to use details and language to create atmosphere, to allow a reader to be in a moment, or capture an idea or image. (more…)

What We Eat When We Eat Alone

reviews — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:25:57 +0000

A well-crafted meal creates a space for all kinds of wonderful things to happen – family ties can be strengthened, a sense of community nurtured, and love welcomed in. Hours of hard, careful work in the kitchen may reap the rewards of appreciative smiles, warm feelings, and good conversation. (more…)

A book tackles a hot-button topic: foie gras

mkehe — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:05:38 +0000

Some hot button topics are so charged there’s almost no room left in them for open-minded debate. Think gun control, or abortion – or, in the food world, foie gras. (more…)

Monitor Books - June 29, 2009

podcast — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:58:37 +0000

New Michael Jackson bio on its way

mkehe — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:02:06 +0000

Talk about perfect timing: Small Montreal publisher TransitMedia will “start the presses rolling” tomorrow morning with a new biography of Michael Jackson titled “Michael Jackson: The Last Days,” reports Canwest News Service. The book’s author is Ian Halperin, an investigative journalist who has also written about Celine Dion and Kurt Kobain. (more…)

When good reviews are paid, not earned

mkehe — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:16:23 +0000

“The writing is gorgeous.” “The characters are truer than true.” “This book totally changed my life.” “I couldn’t put it down.” Should you trust those glowing online reader reviews? Not necessarily, says the BBC. (more…)