Sunday, July 29, 2007
| Paperback | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | WATER FOR ELEPHANTS(Algonquin, $13.95) By Sara Gruen. An orphan discovers love when he joins a traveling circus amid the Great Depression. | 12 |
| 2 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini. An Afghan returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a past betrayal. | 124 |
| 3 | MIDDLESEX(Picador USA, $15) By Jeffrey Eugenides. A genetic anomaly causes a teen to become a hermaphrodite. | 15 |
| 4 | THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER (Penguin, $14). By Kim Edwards. A doctor regrets deceiving his wife about their twins' birth. | 54 |
| 5 | THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN(Vintage, $14.95) By Claire Messud. A social satire revolving around a vainglorious clique of young Manhattanites. | 2 |
| 6 | THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM(Bantam, $7.99) By Robert Ludlum. A master assassin renews his struggle against an international terrorist. | 4 |
| 7 | BEACH ROAD(Warner Vision, $9.99) By James Patterson and Peter de Jonge A struggling attorney lands a lurid murder case. | 8 |
| 8 | THE MESSENGER(Signet, $9.99). By Daniel Silva When a terrorist attack hits the Vatican, art restorer and Mossad agent Gabriel Allon is called. | 3 |
| 9 | THE ROAD(Vintage, $14.95) By Cormac McCarthy. A man and his son travel to the sea through a charred, post-apocalyptic land. | 17 |
| 10 | SUITE FRANÇAISE(Vintage, $14.95) By Irène Némirovsky. An unfinished novel exploring French collaboration with the Germans. | 11 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | EAT PRAY LOVE: ONE WOMAN'S SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING ACROSS ITALY, INDIA AND INDONESIA(Penguin, $15). By Elizabeth Gilbert | 24 |
| 2 | THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14) By Jeannette Walls. A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and an unorthodox upbringing. | 73 |
| 3 | BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING(Back Bay, $15.99) By Malcolm Gladwell. Behind our snap decisions. | 16 |
| 4 | THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN'S MISSION TO PROMOTE PEACE(Penguin, $15) By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin | 15 |
| 5 | THE TIPPING POINT: HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE(Back Bay, $14.95 ) By Malcolm Gladwell. Fads and their origins. | 81 |
| 6 | 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN: A TRUE STORY OF DEATH AND LIFE(Revell, $12.99). By Don Piper. A Baptist minister declared dead returns to life. | 4 |
| 7 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(Picador USA, $16) By Thomas L. Friedman. A further revised edition. | 1 |
| 8 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The terrifying account of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. | 59 |
| 9 | MAYFLOWER: A STORY OF COURAGE, COMMUNITY, AND WAR(Penguin, $16) By Nathaniel Philbrick. Plymouth Colony redux. | 13 |
| 10 | STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS(Vintage, $14.95) By Daniel Gilbert. A psychology professor examines why we err in anticipating the future. | 15 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | THE QUICKIE(Little, Brown, $27.99) By James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge A scorned wife finds revenge isn't so sweet. | 3 |
| 2 | A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (Riverhead, $25.95). By Khaled Hosseini Two Afghani women cope with a brutish husband. | 9 |
| 3 | HIGH NOON(Putnam, $26.95). By Nora Roberts Heady emotions of past trauma surface when a top hostage negotiator finds herself a target. | 2 |
| 4 | UP CLOSE AND DANGEROUS(Ballantine, $25.95) By Linda Howard. A wealthy widow, resented by her stepchildren, dodges attempts on her life. | 1 |
| 5 | LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN(St. Martin's, $27.95) By Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum becomes a suspect in her ex-husband's presumed death. | 5 |
| 6 | THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN (Simon & Schuster, $26). By James Lee Burke Robicheaux in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. | 1 |
| 7 | THE FIRST COMMANDMENT(Atria, $25.95) By Brad Thor. A terrorist, recently discharged from Guantanamo, targets ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath. | 1 |
| 8 | BUNGALOW 2(Delacorte, $27) By Danielle Steel. A woman's life unravels when she becomes a Hollywood screenwriter. | 4 |
| 9 | THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN(Houghton Mifflin, $26) By J.R.R. Tolkien. Men and elves battle the minions of Morgoth in this tale of Middle Earth's First Age. | 14 |
| 10 | THE JUDAS STRAIN(Morrow, $25.95) By James Rollins. An ancient plague resurfaces, pitting Sigma Force against the Guild cabal. | 3 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS (Collins, $24.95). By Conn and Hal Iggulden For boys at heart, a paean to simple pastimes. | 12 |
| 2 | LEGACY OF ASHES: THE HISTORY OF THE CIA (Doubleday, $27.95). By Tim Weiner. Exposing the good, the bad and the ugly in covert ops. | 3 |
| 3 | THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS: 50 YEARS OF REPORTINGIN WASHINGTON (Crown Forum, $29.95). By Robert D. Novak | 1 |
| 4 | LONE SURVIVOR: THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF OPERATION REDWING ...(Little, Brown, $24.99) By Marcus Luttrell. The Navy SEALs' greatest loss. | 6 |
| 5 | THE DIANA CHRONICLES(Doubleday, $27.50) By Tina Brown. Copious interviews and research back this new profile of the late Princess of Wales. | 6 |
| 6 | A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER (FSG, $22). By Ishmael Beah. Recalling the horrors of the civil war in Sierra Leone. | 20 |
| 7 | GOD IS NOT GREAT: HOW RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING(Twelve, $24.99) By Christopher Hitchens. Faith and its downfalls. | 12 |
| 8 | THE ASSAULT ON REASON (Penguin Press, $25.95). By Al Gore. Concern over the decline of truth in the public arena. | 9 |
| 9 | QUIET STRENGTH: THE PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, & PRIORITIES OF A WINNING LIFE(Tyndale, $26.99). By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker | 2 |
| 10 | THE REAGAN DIARIES(HarperCollins, $35) By Ronald Reagan. The personal reflections of our 40th president. | 8 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended July 22, 2007. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2007 by Nielsen BookScan. (The right-hand column of numbers represents weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. Advice, reference and self-help books appear on a separate monthly list.)
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