eBranch Blog

November 30, 2005

New Bestsellers 11/28/05

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.

E = Essence Magazine
NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal
* = Titles that have previously appeared on the bestseller lists but are new to our catalog

Fiction

James Patterson. Mary, Mary
Alex Cross travels to Los Angeles to hunt for a killer more brutal and ambitious than he's ever encountered--a woman who has it in for Hollywood's hottest players. Is this the plan of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something much more frightening? (PW #1, USA #2, WSJ #1)

Nicole Richie. The Truth About Diamonds
Richie dishes up the story of her rags-to-riches adoption, a childhood of partying with older movie stars, drug use and rehab, and then tells all about her A-list inner circle, albeit with names changed. (PW #10, WSJ #13)

Nonfiction

Maureen Dowd. Are Men Necessary?
In a new book filled with chapters that surprise and amuse, Maureen Dowd explains why getting ready for a date went from glossing and gargling to Paxiling and Googling; why men are in an evolutionary and romantic shame spiral; why women have reeled backward in many ways; why men may be biologically unsuited to hold higher office, given their diva fits and catfights, teary confessions and fashion obsessions; why women are fixated on their looks more than ever, freezing their faces and emotions in an orgy of plasticity that makes the Stepford Wives look authentic; why male politicians and male institutions get tripped up in so much monkey business; why many alpha women, from Martha to Hillary, can have a successful second act only after becoming humiliated victims; and why the new definition of Having It All is less about empowerment and equality than about flirting and getting rescued, downshifting from "You go, girl!" to "You go lie down, girl." (PW #12, WSJ #14)

Frank McCourt. Teacher Man
This biography focuses almost exclusively on McCourt's 30-year teaching career in New York City's public high schools. (PW #1, USA #5, WSJ #1)