eBranch Blog

April 26, 2005

New Bestsellers 4/25/05

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Laurell K. Hamilton. A Stroke of Midnight
Meredith Gentry, P.I., a.k.a. Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Faerie, faces dark and erotic encounters which grow ever stronger, threatening to consume her as she challenges new and ominous enemies. (NYT #6, PW #5, USA #6, WSJ #3)

Nicholas Sparks. True Believer
As a science journalist with a regular column in Scientific American, Jeremy Marsh specializes in debunking the supernatural and has a real nose for the strange and unusual. A born skeptic, he travels to the small town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, determined to find the real cause behind the ghostly apparitions that appear in the town cemetery. What he doesn't plan on, however, is meeting and falling hopelessly in love with Lexie Darnell, granddaughter of the town psychic. Now, if the young lovers are to have any kind of future at all, Jeremy must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows, or do something he could never do before-take a giant leap of faith. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #1, WSJ #1)

Stuart Woods. Two-Dollar Bill
Stone Barrington is caught between a clever con man--who's just become his client--and a beautiful prosecutor in this stylish thriller in the bestselling series. "Two-Dollar Bill" delivers all the storytelling twists and whip-smart banter readers have come to love in Woods's thrillers. (NYT #7, PW #9, WSJ #11)

Nonfiction

THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST, by Buzz Bissinger. (Houghton Mifflin, $25.) A three-game series in 2003 between the Cubs and the Cardinals, as seen through the eyes of Tony La Russa, the St. Louis manager. (NYT #8)

Bob Dole. One Soldier's Story
In his own words, Bob Dole relates his legendary World War II story--a personal odyssey of tremendous courage, sacrifice, and faith. With insight and candor, Dole also focuses on the words, actions, and selfless deeds of countless American heroes with whom he served. (NYT #7, WSJ #14)

Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world. (NYT #5, PW #12, WSJ #10)

GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES, by Ruth Reichl. (Penguin, $24.95.) The editor in chief of Gourmet relives her days as the restaurant critic of The New York Times. (NYT #9)

Michael Savage. Liberalism is a Mental Disorder
Dr. Savage, sage prophet of the airwaves, has been diagnosing liberal mental illness for more than a decade. Now, in his third and most insightful book, he strikes at the root of today's most desperate issues, providing a hefty dose of his unique conservative medicine. (NYT #6, PW #11, WSJ #11)

Suzanne Somers. Suzanne Somer's Slim and Sexy Forever
Aging gracefully takes on new meaning with Suzanne Somers, who shares the secret of her fountain of youth by combining her ever-popular Somercize series with her bestselling "The Sexy Years" to teach readers the easy and effective way to lose weight, keep it off for good, and to balance hormones for optimal health and vitality. (PW #8, WSJ #7)

Children's Chapter

Libba Bray. A Great and Terrible Beauty
After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world. (PW #10)

James Patterson. Maximum Ride
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. (NYT #1, WSJ #8)