Fifty-top selling books for Dec. 18 - Military Books - Military Times

Fifty-top selling books for Dec. 18

USA Today calculates a list of 300 best-selling books. USA Today’s list is based on a computer analysis of retail sales nationwide last week. Included are more than 1.5 million volumes from about 4,700 independent, chain, discount and online booksellers.

The book list appears every Thursday.

1. (1) The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. A 15th-century wizard presents five fairy tales with commentary by Harry Potter’s Albus Dumbledore (F) Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, $12.99.

2. (2) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Young adult: First in vampire love saga: Isabella falls for a vampire (F) Little, Brown for Young Readers, $8.99.

3. (3) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. Young adult: Second in “Twilight” vampire love saga (F) Little, Brown for Young Readers, $10.99.

4. (5) Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. Young adult: Concluding installment in “Twilight” vampire series (F) Little Brown for Young Readers, $22.99.

5. (4) Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Young adult: Third in “Twilight” vampire saga (F) Little, Brown for Young Readers, $18.99.

6. (7) The Shack by William P. Young. Man reconnects with God after death of child (F) Windblown Media, $14.99.

7. (8) The Appeal by John Grisham. Company tries to reverse verdict after being found guilty of dumping cancer-causing toxic waste into town’s water supply (F) Dell, $7.99.

8. (9) Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta travels to New York City to interview a possible witness to murder (F) Putnam, $27.95.

9. (11) The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow. Late professor Randy Pausch’s inspirational “last lecture” (NF) Hyperion, $21.95.

10. (15) Marley & Me by John Grogan. A portrait of “the world’s worst dog,” a beloved yellow lab (NF) Harper, $7.99.

11. (10) The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. A child receives a sweater instead of a longed for bike for Christmas (F) Threshold Editions, $19.99.

12. (6) The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts. The conclusion to the Sign of Seven Trilogy (F) Jove, $7.99.

13. (12) The Purpose Of Christmas by Rick Warren. The author of The Purpose Driven Life writes about the true meaning behind the holiday (NF) Howard Books, $17.99.

14. (16) Dewey by Vicki Myron, Brett Witter. Subtitle: “The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World” (NF) Grand Central, $19.99.

15. (14) Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. Why some people succeed and some don’t (NF) Little, Brown, $27.99.

16. (21) Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. Young adult: Third book in the adventures of Eragon (F) Knopf Books for Young Readers, $27.50.

17. (13) Cross Country by James Patterson. Detective Alex Cross tracks an underworld warlord, the Tiger, from D.C. to Nigeria (F) Little, Brown, $27.99.

18. (17) The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. Subtitle: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream; The president-elect lays out his philosophy on “Reclaiming the American Dream” (NF) Three Rivers Press, $14.95.

19. (19) American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. A study of Jackson’s presidency from the editor of Newsweek (NF) Random House, $30.00.

20. (20) Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama. Memoir: Obama’s search for meaning as a black American (NF) Three Rivers Press, $13.95.

21. (25) Multiple Blessings by Jon and Kate Gosselin, Beth Carson. Subtitle: “Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets” (NF) Zondervan, $19.99.

22. (36) Guinness: World Records 2009 by Guinness World Records. Record-holding figures and feats from around the world (NF) Guinness, $28.95.

23. (37) Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten. Subtitle: “Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients” (NF) Clarkson Potter, $35.00.

24. (34) A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly. Memoir: Journalist looks back on his childhood influences (NF) Broadway, $26.00.

25. (26) Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King. A collection of short stories by the horror master (F) Scribner, $28.00.

26. (29) The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo. Children: Mouse named Despereaux Tilling saves a princess named Pea; Newbery Medal winner; movie (F) Candlewick, $7.99.

27. (33) The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Love triangle involving a man, a woman and the alien that possesses her (F) Little, Brown, $25.99.

28. (18) Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz. Guide to movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s novel (NF) Little, Brown Young Readers, $16.99.

29. (35) The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. A love story about a man who has a brush with death (F) Grand Central, $24.99.

30. (27) The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski. A mute boy whose family trains dogs must deal with a tragic loss; Oprah’s Book Club, Sept. 2008 (No. 62) (F) HarperCollins, $25.95.

31. (44) Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. Death-row prisoner decides to donate his heart to his victim’s sister (F) Washington Square Press, $16.00.

32. (40) Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin. Subtitle: “One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time” (NF) Penguin, $15.00.

33. (39) Too Fat To Fish by Artie Lange, Anthony Bozza. Memoir: Outrageous tales from Howard Stern’s sidekick (NF) Spiegel & Grau, $24.95.

34. (23) T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton. P.I. Kinsey Millhone must stop a murderous sociopath with access to elderly patients (F) Berkley, $7.99.

35. (24) Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler. Dirk Pitt investigates a series of global events (F) Putnam Adult, $27.95.

36. (30) Burning Up: On Tour With the Jonas Brothers by Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas. Children: Images and narratives from the Jonas Brothers’ recent tours (NF) Disney-Hyperion, $21.99.

37. (28) The 6th Target by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro. A member of the Women’s Murder Club is attacked (F) Vision, $7.99.

38. (41) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Novel set in Afghanistan about two women, Mariam and Laila (F) Riverhead, $16.00.

39. (65) Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Book by Rachael Ray. Subtitle: “Biggest Ever Collection of All-New 30-Minute Meals Plus Kosher Meals, Meals for One, Veggie Dinners, Holiday Favorites, and Much More!” (NF) Clarkson Potter, $24.95.

40. (51) Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Portrait of Lincoln is coupled with stories of three men who were his rivals for the 1860 GOP presidential nomination (NF) Simon & Schuster, $19.95.

41. (48) The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009 by World Almanac Books, edited by C. Alan Joyce. Updated almanac and book of facts (NF) World Almanac, $12.99.

42. (New) No Limits: The Will to Succeed by Michael Phelps, Alan Abrahamson. The Olympic champion shares the secret to his success (NF) Free Press, $26.00.

43. (32) Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz. A man is stalked by a woman after he receives a heart transplant (F) Bantam, $27.00.

44. (59) Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. Subtitle: “Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America” (NF) Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27.95.

45. (49) Why We Suck by Denis Leary. Subtitle: “A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid” (NF) Viking Adult, $26.95.

46. (31) The 39 Clues: One False Note by Gordon Korman. Young adult: Heirs choose clues to a family secret; second in series (F) Scholastic, $12.99.

47. (61) Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Young adult: Diary from a middle schooler, Greg Heffley (F) Amulet, $12.95.

48. (58) The Snowball by Alice Schroeder. Subtitle: “Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” (NF) Bantam, $35.00.

49. (53) How to Talk to Girls by Alec Greven, Kei Acedera. Nine-year-old author dispenses advice on how to talk to girls (NF) Collins, $9.99.

50. (52) The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. A couple’s lives are shattered by the Columbine shootings (F) Harper, $29.95.