The Book Sense Lists: Hardcovers and Trade Paperbacks

by Staff, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 3/10/2005

The following selected Book Sense weekly bestseller lists are for sales for the week ended Sunday, March 6, and based on reporting from independent bookstores across the country.

To get the complete, downloadable lists, which should be up by 5 p.m. at the latest, go to the Book Sense Web site.

Hardcover Fiction

Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Little, Brown, $27.95)
The Broker by John Grisham (Doubleday, $27.95)
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House, $21.95)
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $24.95)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (Hyperion, $19.95)
Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva (Putnam, $25.95)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (FSG, $23)
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (Random House, $25.95)
Ireland by Frank DeLaney (HarperCollins, $26.95)
The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais (Doubleday, $24.95)
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult (Atria, $25)
State of Fear by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins, $27.95)
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin, $26)
The Sign of the Book by John Dunning (Scribner, $25)
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (Knopf, $25.95)

On the Rise:
33. The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman (Penguin, $24.95, 1594200386). An "entertaining mystery" about a library of treasures, says bookseller Daniel Goldin of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops. A Book Sense Pick.

Hardcover Nonfiction

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf, $22)
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown, $25.95)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond (Viking, $29.95)
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead, $24.95)
America (The Book) by Jon Stewart and the Daily Show Staff (Warner, $24.95)
God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It by Jim Wallis (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95)
Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother, Scott Peterson, Is Guilty by Anne Bird (ReganBooks, $25.95)
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins (Berrett-Koehler, $24.95)
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson (Scribner, $25)
The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston, M.D. (Rodale, $24.95)
He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (S&S, $19.95)
Chronicles by Bob Dylan (S&S, $24)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (Gotham, $17.50)
Juiced by Jose Canseco (ReganBooks, $25.95)
Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover by Bob Greene (S&S, $25)

On the Rise:
29. Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith by Martha Nibley Beck (Crown, $24.95, 0609609912). A writer's controversial account of her decision to leave the Mormon Church. A Book Sense Pick.

Trade Paperback Fiction

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $14)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage, $12)
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin, $15)
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Harvest, $14)
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (Random House, $13.95)
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor, $11.95)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Picador, $15)
The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Amistad, $13.95)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin, $14)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (Perennial, $13.95)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor, $11.95)
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square, $14)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner, $14)
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Scribner, $15)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harvest, $14)

On the Rise:
35. Small Island by Andrea Levy (Picador, $14, 0312424671). This Book Sense Pick follows Jamaican immigrants who arrived in Britain after WWII.

Trade Paperback Nonfiction

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House, $13.95)
Bad Cat by Jim Edgar (Workman, $9.95)
Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff (Chelsea Green, $10)
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage, $14.95)
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay, $14.95)
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad (Back Bay, $12.95)
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless by Susan Jane Gilman (Warner, $12.95)
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (Norton, $16.95)
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene (Vintage, $15.95)
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (Broadway, $15.95)
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Three Rivers, $13.95)
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (Anchor, $14.95)
Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts (Perennial, $14.95)
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (Random House, $14.95)
The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness by Karen Armstrong (Anchor, $14)

On the Rise:
22. Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor (Miramax Books, $13.95, 1401359485). The memoir by the former Queen of Jordan is now available in paperback.

May We Recommend

Hardcover

March by Geraldine Brooks (Viking, $24.95, 0670033359). "The war experiences of the March girls' absent father in Alcott's Little Women form the storyline of this powerful historical novel set during the Civil War. This is a timely book about the catastrophe of war, even for a just cause."--Sandi Torkildson, A Room of One's Own Feminist Bookstore, Madison, Wis. Also a Penguin Audio (Unabridged CD, 0142800929).

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner, $25, 0743247531). "You will not be able to put this great memoir down. This account of Walls' finding herself, and defining herself, within the bizarre framework of her family is a beautiful story written without blame, just pure love."--Andra Tracy, Out Word Bound, Indianapolis, Ind.

Paperback

A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth (Picador, $14, 0312309090). "A subtle, stylish, and extremely well-crafted work of intrigue disguised as fiction. Martin Booth's latest is right on the money."--Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan.

True Stories for Children

The Story of the H.L. Hunley and Queenie's Coin by Fran Hawk (Sleeping Bear, $16.95, 1585362182). "Beautifully illustrated, this is a fascinating account of a Confederate submarine. Both kids and adults will enjoy how the book parallels the story with contemporary research and discoveries. Very well done and highly recommended!"--Jennifer Malinowski, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, Mich.

Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin, $16, 0618492984). "This book reveals a child late to talk, prone to tantrums, and indifferent to his studies (with some notable exceptions). An inviting introduction to one of the world's greatest minds of the 20th century."--Jody Shapiro, Adventures for Kids, Ventura, Calif.

[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]

This article originally appeared in the March 9, 2005 issue of PW Daily for Booksellers. For more information about PW Daily, including a sample and subscription information, click here »