PATTERSON POPS ON TOP

Pop Goes the Weasel, indeed. James Patterson's latest hits #1 on PW's fiction list little more than a week after the book's October 19 laydown. This is the author's fifth bestseller, but the first of his hardcovers to top our list so quickly. Little, Brown has already gone back to press, adding an additional 25,000 books to its 800,000-copy first printing. Patterson's newest psychological thriller (in which Alex Cross returns) has garnered excellent reviews-according to PW, "Patterson's well-oiled suspense machine grinds away with solid precision." The author began an 18-city tour in New York with appearances on CNBC and CNN; he's scheduled for a Today interview on November 24.

A SCIENTIFIC FIND

In Longitude, former New York Times science writer Dava Sobel made the subject of determining longitude into a fascinating story; the 1995 Walker book enjoyed a four-month run on the national charts and went on to be published in 20 languages. It looks like her latest, Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love, is about to follow the same track. Hovering right below our top 15 nonfiction bestsellers (and holding the #43 sales position at Amazon.com as we went to press), the book had a 64,000-copy first printing; Walker has already gone back for two more printings of 15,000 each. Sobel is in the midst of a 13-city tour; in addition to many bookstore signings (all of which will feature talks by the author), she will also be appearing at venues such as the Smithsonian Institution, New York City's Hayden Planetarium and the Commonwealth Club of California at the California Academy of Science.

THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS

It's fight week on the bestseller charts this week, with a new book on the sport grabbing the #4 nonfiction slot. According to publisher ReganBooks, the in-print total for Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mike Foley, aka Mankind, is up to 168,000 after six printings. For those not in the know, Foley is a legend on the wrestling circuit and holds the World Wrestling Federation Championship belt. He has participated in what's called Japanese Death Matches, where barbed wire takes the place of ring ropes, and the mats are covered with gold thumbtacks (the man lost an ear during a bout and kept on fighting). Sales took off quickly after a New York Post excerpt appeared three days before the book's October 20 pub date. Foley made appearances with Howard Stern, on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fox News Channel's This Evening with Judith Regan and more. Naturally, the World Wrestling Federation is featuring the book prominently on its Web site (www.WWF. com). In the space for the author comments on Amazon. com, Foley writes, "Read my book! I worked really hard on this book. Everyone says it's really good, so buy it and enjoy!" The publisher reports that Foley did not use a co-writer because he didn't think one could capture his voice. He turned in about 760 handwritten notebook pages to his editor.

ROBERTS RULES

Perhaps the prize for most bestsellers by a single author would have to go to Nora Roberts. Last year she had 10 books on the national charts, and it looks like she's already exceeded that figure in 1999. According to PW's count, she has landed two hardcovers, one trade paperback and nine mass markets on this year's lists. In the last two weeks, she's had four books there-one of them, Loyalty in Death, under the pseudonym J.D. Robb. According to publisher Berkley, this is the first Robb title to hit the bestseller lists; its in-print total exceeds 500,000. Marking its eighth week is Jove's The Reef, with nearly two million in print. Two other Roberts bestsellers are from Silhouette-Enchanted (#10 on the mass market list) boasts 800,000 in print, while The Donovan Legacy (#11 trade paperback) has 200,000. Expect more Roberts bestsellers soon, as Jove will release Jewels of the Sun, a mass market original, on November 15 (first printing: close to two million).