Best Seller Round-Up

"Always read something that

will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."

P.J. O'Rourke.

In the top spot for paperback fiction on the Northern California Independent Booksellers list is The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a book that has been on my to-read list for months. This book has been a best seller outside the U.S. and appeared on numerous "best of 2008" lists, including the Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor.

Speaking of the CSM, I've picked up many good book recommendations from that paper. In April, it is scheduled to move from print to a daily web publication. I hope its book coverage continues successfully.

I. The New York Times
Published March 20, 2009.

Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Shack, William P. Young.
Fiction Hardcover: Handle With Care, Jodi Picoult.
Nonfiction Paperback: Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell.


II. Los Angeles Times
Published March 22, 2009.

Fiction Paperback: The Shack, William P. Young.
Fiction Hardcover: Handle with Care: A Novel Jodi Picoult.
Nonfiction Paperback: Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell.

III. Northern California Independent Booksellers
For the week ending March 15, 2009.

Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbery.
Fiction Hardcover: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows .
Nonfiction Paperback: Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell.

IV. Heartland Indie Bestseller List
Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association
For the week ending March 15, 2009.

Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Shack, William P. Young.
Fiction Hardcover: Handle with Care: A Novel Jodi Picoult.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell.
Nonfiction Paperback (Trade): Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin.