"The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has." - Will Rogers.
In the top spot this week for hardcover fiction on all four lists tracked here is John Grisham's The Associate. Yet this morning on Amazon, The Associate, with 108 reader reviews, has an average rating by readers of 2.5 stars out of a possible 5. Now that's mysterious.
Frankly, I have zero interest in reading The Associate, in which, according to the description of the book at its Amazon link, lawyer Kyle McAvoy "becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world [oh my!], where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed". Who needs legal fiction when you can be mesmerized and horrified by reading the real story of two Pennsylvania judges who pled guilty last Thursday to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks for sending juveniles to private detention facilities?
If you are looking for an action-packed mystery to read, try David Rollins' The Death Trust. This book is a fast-moving thriller in which Major Vin Cooper of Air Force Special Investigations looks into the death of a four-star general who was also the son-in-law of the United States' vice president. Although the end of the book is a bit weak, throughout the bulk of it Vin works in a world of danger, corruption, and murder that will keep you rapidly turning pages.
I. The New York Times.
Published February 15, 2009.
Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Shack, William P. Young.
Fiction Hardcover: The Associate, John Grisham.
Nonfiction Paperback: Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama.
Nonfiction Hardcover: The Yankee Years, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci.
II. Los Angeles Times
Published February 15, 2009.
Fiction Paperback: Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates.
Fiction Hardcover: The Associate, John Grisham.
Nonfiction Paperback: Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell.
III. Northern California Independent Booksellers
For the week ending February 8, 2009.
Fiction Paperback (Trade): The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize)
Aravind Adiga.Fiction Hardcover: The Associate, John Grisham.
Nonfiction Paperback: Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell.
IV. Heartland Indie Bestseller List
Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association
For the week ending February 8, 2009.
Fiction Paperback: The Shack, William P. Young.
Fiction Hardcover: The Associate, John Grisham.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Dewy, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, Vicki Myron.
Nonfiction Paperback: Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin.
