MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
August 31 – September 7, 2006 Edition

The Book Sense National Bestseller List

Published Thursday, August 31, 2006 (for the sales week ended Sunday, August 27, 2006).

Based on reporting from many hundreds of independent bookstores with Book Sense across the United States.

Booksellers: The Book Sense Bestseller List may be downloaded as a color PDF for display in your store.

Go to the bestseller page on BookWeb.org on Wednesday afternoon and choose the format that works best for you,

or click on the bestseller link in Thursday’s Bookselling This Week email.

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Debuts for the week:

Hardcover Fiction

#6 – The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth

#10 – Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

#12 – Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

#14 – The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell

Hardcover Nonfiction

#10 – State of Emergency by Patrick J. Buchanan

#12 – La Bella Figura by Beppe Severgnini

Paperback Fiction

#15 – The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

Paperback Nonfiction

#10 – Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

#13 – Born to Kvetch by Michael Wex

Mass Market

#5 – Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn

Children’s Interest

#7 – Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton

Children’s Illustrated

#15 – Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, Kevin Hawkes (Illus.)

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HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen, Algonquin, $23.95, 1565124995

2. Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Marisha Pessl, Viking, $25.95, 067003777X

3. Judge and Jury

James Patterson, Andrew Gross, Little Brown, $27.99, 0316013935

4. Suite Francaise

Irene Nemirovsky, Knopf, $25, 1400044731

5. The Messenger

Daniel Silva, Putnam, $25.95, 0399153357

6. The Afghan – Debut

Frederick Forsyth, Putnam, $26.95, 0399153942

7. The Keep

Jennifer Egan, Knopf, $23.95, 1400043921

8. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven

Fannie Flagg, Random House, $25.95, 1400061261

9. The Ruins

Scott Smith, Knopf, $24.95, 1400043875

10. Messenger of Truth – Debut

Jacqueline Winspear, Holt, $24, 0805078983

11. Pegasus Descending

James Lee Burke, S&S, $26, 0743277724

12. Hunters of Dune – Debut

Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Tor, $27.95, 0765312921

13. Terrorist

John Updike, Knopf, $24.95, 0307264653

14. The Man Who Smiled – Debut

Henning Mankell, New Press, $24.95, 1565849930

15. Coronado

Dennis Lehane, Morrow, $24.95, 006113967X

ON THE RISE:

16. Spy

Ted Bell, Atria, $25.95, 0743277236

Alex Hawke attempts to prevent a jihad with the odds heavily favoring the terrorists in their plan to devastate North America.

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. I Feel Bad About My Neck

Nora Ephron, Knopf, $19.95, 0307264556

2. Fiasco

Thomas E. Ricks, Penguin Press, $27.95, 159420103X

3. Marley & Me

John Grogan, Morrow, $21.95, 0060817089

4. The World Is Flat (Updated and Expanded)

Thomas L. Friedman, FSG, $30, 0374292795

5. The Looming Tower

Lawrence Wright, Knopf, $27.95, 037541486X

6. Freakonomics

Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner, Morrow, $25.95, 006073132X

7. Cesar’s Way

Cesar Millan, Melissa Jo Peltier, Harmony, $24.95, 0307337332

8. The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $26.95, 1594200823

9. Mayflower

Nathaniel Philbrick, Viking, $29.95, 0670037605

10. State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America – Debut

Patrick J. Buchanan, St. Martin’s, $24.95, 0312360037

11. Heat

Bill Buford, Knopf, $25.95, 1400041201

12. La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind – Debut

Beppe Severgnini, Broadway, $23.95, 0767914392

13. Blink

Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown, $25.95, 0316172324

14. My Life in France

Julia Child, Alex Prud’homme, Knopf, $25.95, 1400043468

15. Conservatives Without Conscience

John Dean, Viking, $25.95, 0670037745

ON THE RISE:

29. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them

Francine Prose, HarperCollins, $23.95, 0060777044

The nuts and bolts of writing, as well as issues of craft. A Book Sense Notable.

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Kim Edwards, Penguin, $14, 0143037145

2. The Sea

John Banville, Vintage, $12.95, 1400097029

3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Lisa See, Random House, $13.95, 0812968069

4. The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini, Riverhead, $14, 1594480001

5. History of Love

Nicole Krauss, Norton, $13.95, 0393328627

6. March

Geraldine Brooks, Penguin, $14, 0143036661

7. My Sister’s Keeper

Jodi Picoult, Washington Square, $14, 0743454537

8. Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro, Vintage, $14, 1400078776

9. The Alchemist (Updated)

Paulo Coelho, HarperSanFrancisco, $13.95, 0061122416

10. The Shadow of the Wind

Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Penguin, $15, 0143034901

11. The Mermaid Chair

Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin, $14, 0143036696

12. Saturday

Ian McEwan, Anchor, $14.95, 1400076196

13. Gilead

Marilynne Robinson, Picador, $14, 031242440X

14. The Secret Life of Bees

Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin, $14, 0142001740

15. The Constant Princess – Debut

Philippa Gregory, Touchstone, $16, 0743272498

ON THE RISE:

22. The Painted Drum

Louise Erdrich, Harper Perennial, $13.95, 0060515112

The reverberations of human passage backward and forward in time, from the Ojibwe reservation on the northern plains to New Hampshire.

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore, Rodale, $21.95, 1594865671

2. The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls, Scribner, $14, 074324754X

3. The Tender Bar

J.R. Moehringer, Hyperion, $14.95, 0786888768

4. The Devil in the White City

Erik Larson, Vintage, $14.95, 0375725601

5. The Places in Between

Rory Stewart, Harvest, $14, 0156031566

6. Running With Scissors

Augusten Burroughs, Picador, $14, 031242227X

7. 1776

David McCullough, S&S, $18, 0743226720

8. The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay, $14.95, 0316346624

9. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

John Perkins, Plume, $15, 0452287081

10. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously – Debut

Julie Powell, Back Bay, $13.99, 0316013269

11. Mountains Beyond Mountains

Tracy Kidder, Random House, $14.95, 0812973011

12. Night

Elie Wiesel, FSG, $9, 0374500010

13. Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods – Debut

Michael Wex, Harper Perennial, $13.95, 0061132179

14. Collapse

Jared Diamond, Penguin, $17, 0143036556

15. In Cold Blood

Truman Capote, Vintage, $14, 0679745580

ON THE RISE:

33. The Golden Spruce

John Vaillant, Norton, $14.95, 0393328643

The captivating exploration of logger-turned-activist, Grant Hadwin’s destructive love for a unique Sitka tree.

MASS MARKET

1. The Lincoln Lawyer

Michael Connelly, Warner, $7.99, 0446616451

2. Lifeguard

James Patterson, Andrew Gross, Warner, $9.99, 044661761X

3. The Devil Wears Prada

Lauren Weisberger, Anchor, $7.99, 0307275558

4. Angels and Demons

Dan Brown, Pocket, $9.99, 1416524797

5. Consent to Kill – Debut

Vince Flynn, Pocket Star, $9.99, 1416505016

6. Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury, Ballantine, $6.99, 0345342968

7. Crusader’s Cross

James Lee Burke, Pocket, $7.99, 0743277201

8. The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown, Anchor, $7.99, 1400079179

9. To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee, Warner, $6.99, 0446310786

10. Deception Point

Dan Brown, Pocket, $9.99, 1416524800

CHILDREN’S INTEREST

1. How to Eat Fried Worms (Movie Tie-In)

Thomas Rockwell, Yearling, $5.99, 0440421853

2. Hoot

Carl Hiaasen, Yearling, $6.50, 0440421705

3. Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Disney, $18.99, 078683787X

4. New Moon

Stephenie Meyer, Megan Tingley, $17.99, 0316160199

5. Peter and the Starcatchers

Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Disney, $7.99, 078684907X

6. The Tale of Despereaux

Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $7.99, 0763625299

7. Endymion Spring – Debut

Matthew Skelton, Delacorte, $17.95, 0385733801

8. Twilight

Stephenie Meyer, Megan Tingley, $8.99, 0316015849

9. The Book Thief

Markus Zusak, Knopf, $16.95, 0375831002

10. How to Be Popular

Meg Cabot, HarperTempest, $16.99, 0060880120

11. Chasing Vermeer

Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illus.), Scholastic, $2.99, 0439856221

12. Inkheart

Cornelia Funke, Chicken House, $7.99, 0439709105

13. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $18.99, 0763625892

14. The Giver

Lois Lowry, Laurel Leaf, $6.50, 0440237688

15. The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton, Puffin, $7.99, 014038572X

CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATED

1. Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People

Dav Pilkey, Scholastic, $4.99, 0439376149

2. Pirateology

Captain William Lubber, Candlewick, $19.99, 0763631434

3. Goodnight Moon

Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), HarperCollins, $7.99, 0694003611

4. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!

Lynne Truss, Bonnie Timmons (Illus.), Putnam, $15.99, 0399244913

5. Bats at the Beach

Brian Lies, Houghton Mifflin, $16, 061855744X

6. Olivia Forms a Band

Ian Falconer, Atheneum, $17.95, 141692454X

7. The Night Before Kindergarten

Natasha Wing, Julie Durrell (Illus.), Grosset & Dunlap, $3.99, 0448425009

8. Pirates

John Matthews, Atheneum, $19.95, 1416927344

9. Owen and Mzee

Isabella Hatkoff, et al., Scholastic, $16.99, 0439829739

10. Pat the Bunny

Dorothy Kunhardt, Golden, $9.99, 0307120007

11. Sabuda & Reinhart Present Castle

Kyle Olmon, Tracy Sabin (Illus.), Orchard, $19.99, 043954324X

12. Tails

Matthew Van Fleet, Red Wagon, $13.95, 0152167730

13. Fancy Nancy

Jane O’Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illus.), HarperCollins, $15.99, 0060542098

14. Dooby Dooby Moo

Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin (Illus.), Atheneum, $16.95, 0689845073

15. Library Lion – Debut

Michelle Knudsen, Kevin Hawkes (Illus.), Candlewick, $15.99, 0763622621

CHILDREN’S FICTION SERIES

1. Magic Tree House (hardcover and paperback)

Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illus.), Random House

2. The Clique (paperback)

Lisi Harrison, Little Brown

3. Warriors: The New Prophecy (hardcover and paperback)

Erin W. Hunter, HarperCollins

4. Alex Rider Adventures (hardcover and paperback)

Anthony Horowitz, Puffin

5. Harry Potter (hardcover and paperback)

J.K. Rowling, Scholastic

6. Junie B. Jones (hardcover and paperback)

Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (Illus.), Random House

7. Gossip Girl (paperback)

Cecily Von Ziegesar, Little Brown

8. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (hardcover and paperback)

Ann Brashares, Delacorte

9. The A-List Novels (paperback)

Zoey Dean, Little Brown

10. Pendragon (hardcover and paperback)

D.J. Machale, S&S

MAY WE RECOMMEND

Hardcover

THE JUDAS FIELD, by Howard Bahr (Holt, $25, 0805067396) "Characters lost on the Civil War battlefield, or lost at home, appear and disappear, shrouded in a fog that holds memories better forgotten, blurring lines between past and present, the living and the dead. Like All Quiet on the Western Front, [this book] bares the souls of soldiers and their loved ones in language so beautiful it makes the reader weep, even as it describes the unspeakable carnage of war."-Kathy Ashton, The King’s English, Salt Lake City, UT

LEAVING MICROSOFT TO CHANGE THE WORLD: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children, by John Wood (Collins, $25.95, 006112107X) "John Wood’s life-changing decision to start up a library and school in Nepal has snowballed into a fantastic organization called Room to Read. To date, the program now supports small villages in building educational centers in Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and probably more as I write. An engrossing and inspiring story you can’t put down."-Chris Vietmeier, St. Helens Book Shop, St. Helens, OR

Paperback

SACCO AND VANZETTI MUST DIE!, by Mark Binelli (Dalkey Archive, $14.95, 1564784452) "This is a genre-bending, pop-culture referencing, intellectually challenging, roller coaster alternate history, with slapstick. The Sacco and Vanzetti of the title are not exactly the Italian anarchists executed after a famously xenophobic trial in the 1920s, but rather an early film comedy team in the style of Abbott and Costello, and the story unfolds in movie scenes, interviews, and historical asides. A first-time novelist to watch!"-Jessica Stockton, McNally Robinson Booksellers, New York, NY

Young Adult and Older

ALABAMA MOON, by Watt Key (FSG, $16, 0374301840) "What if your paranoid Pappy died when you were 10 and left you to survive in the woods by yourself-as you’ve been trained to do since you were two? Young Scrappy Moon is determined to walk to Alaska from Alabama, until he runs afoul of a bully sheriff and the foster care system. But Moon is persistent and very resourceful. A great story about finding true family and true friends."-Janet Rhodes, HearthFire Books of Evergreen, Evergreen, CO