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Fiction: weeks on list
1.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality.20
2.The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling (Children’s High Level Group: $12.99) A collection of five fairy tales inspired by the Harry Potter series.2
3.The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle a la “Hamlet.”22
4.A Mercy by Toni Morrison (Knopf: $23.95) A slave girl is sold by her mother in late-1600s America to give her a better life.4
5.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 23
6.The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: $25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff from a plastic-surgery clinic.4
7.Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta travels to New York to examine a psychiatric patient at Bellevue.2
8.The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial Press: $22) A writer corresponds with islanders after German occupation. 20
9.The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (Harper: $29.95) A couple seek to reconstruct their lives after a tragic school shooting in Colorado.5
10.Cross Country by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross pursues an African underworld figure and mass-murder suspect to Nigeria.4
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Nonfiction
1.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high- achievers.5
2.Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact effect that a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library and its patrons.12
3.American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House.5
4.The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. 34
5.Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $16.99) Comical tales of various holiday traditions. 4
6.Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.95) Solutions to overpopulation and the global-warming crisis.14
7.Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (Simon & Schuster: $21) The actress and writer’s humorous confession to alcoholism, drug addiction and mental breakdowns.1
8.A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News commentator explores his childhood and its relevance on to his life. 10
9.The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (Howard Books: $17.99) A call to honor the significance and promise of this cherished holiday.2
10.Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) The actor, comedian and Howard Stern sidekick shares his life stories.5
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PAPERBACKS
Fiction
1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz ($14)
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99)
3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99)
4. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99)
5. The Appeal by John Grisham ($14)
Nonfiction
1. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama ($7.99)
2. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama ($14.95)
3. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15)
4. Marley & Me by John Grogan ($13.95)
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15)
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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.
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