Best Seller Round-Up

"Beware of the man of one book."

- Anonymous

Author Lee Child is not a "man of one book." His 13th Jack Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow, storms onto three of the lists followed here.


I. The New York Times.
Published May 29, 2009.

Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows.
Fiction Hardcover: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13) Lee Child.
Nonfiction Paperback: Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Liberty and Tyranny, Mark R. Levin.

II. Los Angeles Times.
Published May 31, 2009.

Fiction Paperback: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Fiction Hardcover: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan.
Nonfiction Paperback: Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell.

III. Northern California Independent Booksellers.
For the week ending May 24, 2009.

Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows.
Fiction Hardcover: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13) Lee Child.
Nonfiction Paperback: Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell.

IV. Heartland Indie Bestseller List.
Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association
For the week ending May 24, 2009.

Fiction Paperback (Trade): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows.
Fiction Hardcover: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13) Lee Child.
Nonfiction Hardcover: Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell..
Nonfiction Paperback (Trade): Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

From The New Republic: A Critical Look at Malcolm Gladwell's Best Seller "Outliers"

From The New Republic: Isaac Chotiner dismantles Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, which he calls a "shallow and irritating book." This review is a great piece of critical analysis and writing by Mr. Chotiner.

What is Hollywood Reading?

What book is Hollywood buzzing about? According to the Los Angeles Times, it's Malcolm Gladwell's nonfiction piece, Outliers, The Story of Success. In Outliers, Gladwell writes that success comes to people who have talent, work hard and persistently, and experience a bit of luck by being at the right place at the right time. Gosh. So, that's how success happens. Who knew. Who could imagine.

Inspired by Outliers, I'm considering writing a diet book for the new year: "Drop It, Buddy: The Story of Permanent Weight Loss", in which I will reveal how people lose weight by eating less and doing more. Radical, eh? It should definitely crack the Hollywood book market wide open.