There’s more activity on the bestseller lists this week, with 29 debuts, but sales of most bestselling titles are down, as shown by the Wall Street Journal‘s sales index. The #1 title, Stephenie Meyer’s Eclipse went from a sales index of 352 last week to 268 this week and Tales of Beedle the Bard slipped preciptiously from 303 last week to 72 this week. Don’t jump to the conclusion that this is a reflection of the economy; it’s normal for this time of year, after the holiday rush.

Clearly, we’re in to a new season — The Official SAT Study Guide is back on the USA Today list (#92). Also returning are reading list and assignment favorites, To Kill a Mockingbird (#116) and The Great Gatsby (#129).

The number of diet books on the list is another indicator that the calendar has turned to January. How much of this is driven by New Year’s resolutions, or by the endless “New Year, New You” displays in stores, as well as those scolding articles in magazines (not to mention Oprah’s dragging her viewers back onto the wagon with her), is anyone’s guess.

Several titles new to the USA Today & New York Times lists are no surprise and libraries own, or have ordered multiple copies of each:

#1 NYT Fiction
#5 USA Today

Plum Spooky, Janet Evanovich, St. Martin’s Press, $27.95
—————–

#15 USA Today
#2 NYT Nonfiction

Guilty: Liberal `Victims’ and Their Assault on America, Ann Coulter, Crown Forum   $27.95
—————–

#47 USA Today
#5 NYT Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous Hardcover

Best Life Diet Cookbook: More than 175 Delicious, Convenient, Family-Friendly Recipes, Bob Greene, Simon & Schuster, $25.00

Oprah’s weight gain and pledge to go back on the wagon, plus her “Best Life Week” series has brought attention to this new title from her personal trainer, plus the second edition of his earlier title (also on the lists, see below). The NYT Fashion & Style section recently noted that this can put the author in a difficult position, “Mr. Greene is now trying to promote his diet books as the whole world marvels over how much weight his star client has gained.”  Greene see it in a positive light, “Everyone knows she follows my plan, but when she doesn’t, she gains weight, and when she does, it’s the only thing that works for her.”
—————–

#51 USA Today
#3 NYT Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous

The Best Life Diet Revised and Updated, Bob Greene, Simon & Schuster, $15.00

Some library catalogs are not showing the new edition.
—————–

#107 USA Today
#9 NYT Fiction

Eclipse, Richard North Patterson, Henry Holt, $26.00

Recently reviewed in the Washington Post
—————–

#121 USA Today

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, Jeff Kinney, Amulet, $12.95

Uh, oh! did someone break the one-day laydown? This list reflects sales through two days before books were supposed to go on sale.
—————–

#133 USA Today
#1 NYT Children’s Series (series has been on the list for 47 weeks)

Forever Princess, Meg Cabot, HarperTeen,  $16.99

The final volume in the series! Meg Cabot has more books coming in her other series; book 3 in Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series will be pubbed in March. Book 2 in her Airhead series, Being Nikki, is coming in May.
—————–

#146 USA Today

Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah,  St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95

Original paperback.
—————–

Nonfiction

#16 USA Today
#1 NYT Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous Hardcover

The Power of Soul: The Way to Heal, Rejuvenate, Transform, and Enlighten All Life, Zhi Gang Sha, Atria, $26.00

USA Today notes in the “Book Buzz” column,

It’s the fifth book for Sha, 52, but the first to hit USA TODAY’s Top 50. Sha trained as a physician in the West and also is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. “The soul is boss,” he says from Toronto.

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#6, NYT Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous Hardcover
#37, USA Today

What’s Age Got to Do with It?

McGraw, Robin 

• Hardcover: $24.99; 240 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 30, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1400202140
• ISBN-13: 978-1400202140

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# 10 NYT Advice, How-To and Miscellenous Hardcover
#99 USA Today

Joy’s Life Diet
Bauer, Joy 

• Hardcover: $25.99; 336 pages
• Publisher: Collins Living; (December 23, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0061665746
• ISBN-13: 978-0061665745

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#4  NYT Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous Hardcover
#56 USA Today

The Ultramind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First by Mark Hyman

NYT annotation: “How to pinpoint underlying biological problems to improve brain performance and allay depression, anxiety and more.” New York Times list has a dagger, indicating bulk ordering.

• Hardcover: $27.50; 464 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; (December 30, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1416549714
• ISBN-13: 978-1416549710

———————-

#86 USA Today
#12 NYT Advice, How-to, Miscallenous Hardcover, Extended

People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!: The 10 Ways You Are Sabotaging Yourself and How You Can Overcome Them, Larry Winget,  Gotham Books

• Hardcover: $25; 224 pages
• Publisher: Gotham (December 30, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1592404375
• ISBN-13: 978-1592404377

—————————–
#13  NYT Nonfiction

 Animals Make us Human, Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson

• Hardcover: $26; 352 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt;  (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0151014892
• ISBN-13: 978-0151014897

——————————-

#21  NYT Nonfiction, Extended

Moments of Clarity, by Christopher  Kennedy Lawford. 

Featured in the New Yorker ”Talk of the Town” section this week – Cuz. It was mentioned in People
——————————-

#23 NYT NonFiction, Extended

The Invention of Air, by Steven Johnson. 

Recently reviewed in the NYT

• Hardcover: $25.95; 272 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (December 26, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1594488525
• ISBN-13: 978-1594488528

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#25  NYT Nonfiction, Extended

With Wings Like Eagles:  A History of the Battle of Britain, Michael Korda

Getting wide review coverage, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal

• Hardcover: $25.99; 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061125350
• ISBN-13: 978-0061125355

——————————–                     

#27 NYT Nonfiction, Extended

New to the  Childrens Series NYT Bestseller list (Jan 25), at #7 is the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.

Most libraries own earlier titles in the series, but not the most recent title:

Lord of Misrule (The Morganville Vampires, Book 5)

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Mass Market Paperback: $6.99; 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0451225724
• ISBN-13: 978-0451225726

Ownership of earlier titles in the series is spotty:

Glass Houses, (#1)

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Jam (October 3, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 0451219945
• ISBN-13: 978-0451219947

 

The Dead Girls’ Dance, (#2)

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Jam (April 3, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0451220897
• ISBN-13: 978-0451220899

 

Midnight Alley (#3), Oct 07

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Jam (October 2, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0451222385
• ISBN-13: 978-0451222381

 

Feast of Fools (#4)

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 3, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0451224639
• ISBN-13: 978-0451224637

Book #6 is coming in June:

Carpe Corpus (# 6)

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Mass Market Paperback: $6.99; 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 2, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0451227190
• ISBN-13: 978-0451227195

For those of you heading to Denver next week (and it looks like there’s more of you than originally predicted), it’s time to get serious about planning your schedule. John Berry’s excellent program preview includes a good rundown of author programs (under the heading, “Authorized” — cute, John).

In addition to those programs, please consider coming to  the “Librarians Book Buzz.”  I’m moderating it this time, which is not the only reason I want you to come — it’s a great opportunity to get an early look at buzz-worthy titles. Many titles discussed at previous buzz panels went on to become “surprise” bestsellers (Dewey was presented at the PLA buzz session; Animals Make Us Human just hit the NYT list — it was presented at the BEA Librarians Buzz Panel). Plus, it’s a good opportunity to get to know the library marketing folks at publishing houses. They can be very helpful to you when you’re putting together programs, looking for galleys, or  when you just need information on their titles or authors.

Sunday, January 25^th
2 pm – 3:30 pm
Librarians Book Buzz
Convention Center, Room 301

Moderator:  Nora Rawlinson

Speakers include:

• Heather Scott, Marketing Manager, Hachette Book Group USA (Little, Brown and Grand Central Publishing)
• Michael Barry, Library Marketing, Macmillan (FSG, St. Martins, Holt, Tor/Forge, Picador)
• Michael Rockliff, Director of Library Sales & Marketing, Workman Publishing (includes Algonquin)
• Bethany Buck, VP, Publisher of Aladdin & Pulse, S&S Childrens
• Traci Todd, Senior Editor, Viz Media

————————————————–

And, there’s still some (free) tickets available for the “Breakfast and Book Talk,” sponsored by the AAP.

Will your YA’s ever forgive you if you don’t come to see the authors of the bestselling “House of Night” series? I think not.

Will your boss forgive yourself for missing Luis Albert Urrera (his Hummingbird’s Daughter was a San Francisco “One City” pick), or Abraham Vergase, whose debut book, Cutting for Stone, is the lead February “IndieNext” pick? She shouldn’t.

To get tickets, send an email to  Tina Jordan, AAP

Sunday, January 25th, 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Denver Convention Center, Room 605/607
Breakfast and BookTalk

Featuring:

• Eli Gottlieb, Now You See Him, (HarperCollins) 
• Brian Dennis Monaghan and Geraldine V. Monaghan, authors of The Power of Two (Workman, May 15, 09) 
• P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast, authors of Hunted, “House of Night,” Book 5, (St. Martin’s/Griffin, March 10. 09) 
• Craig Johnson, author of Another Man’s Moccasins (Viking Penguin, May 29, ‘09) 
• Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting For Stone (Alfred A. Knopf, Feb. 3. ‘09) 
• Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North (Little Brown, May 19. ‘09) 

Author signings follow at the publishers’ booths.

———————————–

On Monday,  there will be a discussion of a very timely topic — how to deal with cutbacks in collection development during the economic downturn as well as how to purchase to meet the need of patrons affected by the downturn.

The Collection Management In Public Libraries Discussion/Interest Group (sponsored by RUSA and CODES)
Monday, Jan 26, 10:30 to 12:00
Convention Center, Room 703

John Mortimer, the creator of “Rumpole of the Bailey”  has died. He was 85 years old.

He was a strong opponent of censorship. The Times of London notes that he often said …”it was oddly anomalous that while murder was illegal it wasn’t a crime to write about it, whereas sex was legal but to write about it could be a crime.”

Many other news sources have covered the story, including.

• The New York Times, John Mortimer, Creator of Rumpole, Dies at 85
• The Guardian, Author and dramatist Sir John Mortimer dies
• Associated Press, British writer John Mortimer dead at 85

In addition to his books and plays, two recent  biographies of Mortimer are available.

A Voyage Round John Mortimer: A Biography of the Creator of Rumpole of the Bailey
Grove, Valerie  

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (May 29, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0670018805
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018802

John Mortimer: The Secret Lives of Rumpole’s Creator 
Lord, Graham 

• Hardcover: $25.95; 336 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (August 22, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 0312330820
• ISBN-13: 978-0312330828

Mortimer also published a memoir.

Clinging to the Wreckage
Mortimer, John

• Paperback: $14; 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin,  (January 1, 1984)
• ISBN-10: 0140068600
• ISBN-13: 978-0140068603

As we mentioned back in November, when buzz first began circulating about Slumdog Millionaire (which just swept the Golden Globes), the movie is very loosely based on the book Q&A by Vikas Swarup. Nonetheless, libraries that own the book (originally published in 2005 and re-released under the Slumdog Millionaire title in November) are showing reserves.

Today, Shelf Awareness points out that the shooting script is available from Newmarket Press, featuring an introduction by the director.

Slumdog Millionaire: The Shooting Script
Beaufoy, Simon with introduction by Danny Boyle

This is part of Newmarket’s extensive “Shooting Scripts” series. Among the movies currently in theaters, they also published one for Milk.

Milk: The Shooting Script
Black, Dustin Lance, Introduction by the director, Gus Van Sant

• Paperback: $19.95; 130 pages
• Publisher: Newmarket Press; (December 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1557048274
• ISBN-13: 978-1557048271

Newmarket also has a line of Pictorial Moviebooks

Upcoming is one for the Dreamwork’s highly anticipated movie (the first trailer was “leaked” back in August), Monsers vs. Aliens, releasing March 27th. As USA Today reported, last year, the movie will be “the first computer-animated feature to be shot in 3-D” (as opposed to converting the film post production).

The Art of Monsters vs. Aliens
Stephen Colbert and Linda Sunshine

An “Illustrated Companion” is coming for Angels & Demons, which should be interesting for it’s “in-progress shots of the re-creation of the Sistine Chapel and its artifacts.”

[No Cover Yet]

Angels & Demons: The Illustrated Movie Companion
Sunshine, Linda. Introduction by Dan Brown

• Publisher: Newmarket Press; (May, 2009)
• Hardcover: $29.95; 160 pages, 200 color photos; ISBN: 978-1557048349
• Paperback: $19.95; 160 pages, 200 color photos; ISBN: 978-1557048332

USA Today has just posted their preview of 175 titles for the winter season (January through April). Its interactive format allows you to sort by title, author and release date and includes annotations and covers for each title, making it is a great staff development tool for readers advisory librarians, useful for collection development librarians to check to make sure the titles have been ordered, and a good list for prioritizing what should be rushed through processing.

In the current issue, they also select  Hot New Reads: Five That Provide Winter Sizzle from titles available now or coming soon.

At the top of the list is a debut novel we’ve been talking about, Beat the Reaper (which also gets top billing and a B+ rating in the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly) and, of course, John Grisham’s The Associate, coming January 27th.

The other three titles on the list are not on order widely by libraries. The first one is a YA title. Check the USA Today story for annotations.

Beautiful Americans
Silag, Lucy 

• Hardcover: $16.99; 304 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin, (January 8, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1595142223
• ISBN-13: 978-1595142221

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon 
Grann, David

• Hardcover: $27.50; 352 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (February 24, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0385513534
• ISBN-13: 978-0385513531

• Audio CD: Unabridged edition, 8 CD’s; $90
• Read by: Mark Deakins
• Publisher: Books on Tape; (February 24, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1-415960240
• ISBN-13: 978-1415960240

 

The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude 
Lay, Carol

• Paperback: $18; 208 pages
• Publisher: Villard (December 30, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0345504046
• ISBN-13: 978-0345504043

Reviews have been piling up for How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People by New Yorker contributor, Henry Alford. Publishers Weekly even jumped the gun and named it a “Best Book” of 2008, although it’s technically an ’09 book (pubbed Jan 2).

Probably all you need is the title and that clever cover to know this could be a hit. But if the title leads you to expect the usual clichés, Time magazine counters,

With its self-helpish title, How To Live might easily be mistaken for a book full of aphorisms and life lessons — a Chicken Soup for the Non-Elderly Soul. Thankfully, Alford is smarter than that, and his book is impressively understated in its desire to actually impart wisdom.

Consistent throughout the reviews (conveniently rounded up on the author’s Web site) is a comment you might not expect — the book’s profiles of older people are often “hilarious.”

Check your holds. One large midwest library currently shows 133 holds on 4 copies.

Alford’s upcoming appearances include LAPL ‘s “Aloud” series and “Live from NYPL” with Paul Holdengraber.

How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People 
Alford, Henry 

• Hardcover: $23.99; 272 pages
• Publisher: Twelve (January 2, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0446196037
• ISBN-13: 978-0446196031

Attention has been growing quietly for the brief (128 page) November original trade paperback, the second novel by Australian author, Julia Leigh, Disquiet.

Liesl Schillinger, regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review, told the Huffington Post that it was one  of two books she most wanted to “gift” at Christmas, calling it,

…a dark jewel of a novella…about a woman who returns (uninvited) to her mother’s French chateau, children in tow, fleeing her brutish Australian husband (I wish Edward Gorey were still alive to illustrate the story–it cries out for sinister animation)

Entertainment Weekly picked it as one of their ten favorite fiction titles of the year, saying “ Leigh’s memorably creepy novella is as potent as it is petite.”

Reviews continue to appear, two months after publication date (USA Today reviewed it last week. The New Yorker reviews it this week; one of the few dissenting voices, but it’s significant that they felt they had to cover it).

Libraries own it in small quantities (one copy for the largest branches) and reserves are building (eight to one in some cases).

Disquiet
Leigh, Julia 

• Paperback: $13; 128 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (November 25, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 014311350X
• ISBN-13: 978-0143113508

Is it just a coincidence that, within days of Mickey Rourke’s winning a Golden Globe for his perfomance in The Wrestler, two other movies featuring the actor seem to have renewed life?

Killshot, based on Elmore Leonard’s book of the same title, starring Rourke and Diane Lane, was rescheduled so often that at least one commentator felt it might never be released. Now that a new trailer has appeared on the Web, it seems the January 23rd release date is solid.

The New York Times reports that another Rourke movie, The Informers, based on the Bret Easton Ellis’s book of linked short stories, which began production in 2007, will be shown at Sundance Film Festival next week. IMdb gives a May 1 release date. The movie tie-in edition is scheduled for Feb. 1.

By the way, The Informers is not to be confused with The Informant, quite a different movie, based on quite a different book (a true crime title about an international price-fixing scandal). It is scheduled for release in September.

Further good news for Rourke, Variety reports that the actor is in final talks to play the villain in Iron Man 2. 

Yet more proof that it’s not over until it’s over.

————————

MAY 1, 2009

Movie title: The Informers
Director: Gregor Jordan

Based on: The Informers (1994), by Bret Easton Ellis

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger

The Informers
Ellis,  Bret Easton

• Paperback: $13.95; 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Mti edition (February 24, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0307473325
• ISBN-13: 978-0307473325

USA Today reviews A Journal for Jordan, which just hit the NYT Nonfiction Extended list at #34. Jordan’s dad was killed in Iraq and left a journal for his son. Jordan’s mother, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at the NYT, used the  journal as a basis for the book, which USA Today calls a ”brutally honest account the gives her son an even richer portrait of a man who died when Jordan was only 7 months old.” 

Libraries show modest ordering, with some holds building.

A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor
Canedy, Dana

• Hardcover: $25.95; 288 pages
• Publisher: Crown; (December 30, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0307395790
• ISBN-13: 978-0307395795

• Large Print: Thorndike
• ISBN-10: 1410412210
• ISBN-13: 978-1410412218

The Wall Street Journal, reviews a university press book on the Civil War that is not showing on public library catalogs. The authors examined why some soldiers stayed in the Union army, while others, some 10%, deserted. The WSJ says the book ”is interesting to read but hard to label.”

Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War 
Costa, Dora L. &  Kahn, Matthew E.

• Hardcover: $27.95; 336 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (December 28, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0691137048
• ISBN-13: 978-0691137049

An article in the Health section of the NYT,  Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade, is about  Autism’s False Prophets, by the chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Paul Offit.

It is not on the catalogs of most large libraries. Those that do own it are showing reserves, some significant.

Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure

Offit, Paul 

• Hardcover: $24.95; 328 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press, (September 5, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0231146361
• ISBN-13: 978-0231146364

Already, questions are being raised about whether the new NEA study, which shows a rise adult reading of literature, is truly comparable to the 2002 study. Michael Cader in the online newsletter, Publisher’s Lunch suggests that the outgoing head of the NEA, Dana Gioia, is using the report to show that under his leadership, the NEA’s efforts (such as The Big Read) have had been successful. Cader indicates that the rise is more likely due to the fact that the new study includes reading online. He quotes the report,

…eighty-four percent of adults who read literature (fiction, poetry, or drama) on or downloaded from the Internet also read books, whether print or online. Nearly 15 percent of all U.S. adults read literature online in 2008.

According to the NYT report, Gioia discounts the impact of the change in the study,

Mr. Gioia said that Internet reading was included in the 2008 data, although the phrasing of the central question had not changed since 1982. But he said he did not think that more reading online was the primary reason for the increase in literary reading rates overall.

The text of ”Reading on the Rise” is downloadable here.

Following on the heels of Janet Maslin’s strong review in the NYT of Charlie Huston’s crime novel, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, Patrick Anderson in today’s Washington Post says,

Charlie Huston has for several years been one of the best-kept secrets in American fiction; this novel might move him into the mainstream…[it] had me laughing out loud many times, but of course, like all the best comic fiction (Catch-22 and Portnoy’s Complaint come to mind), at bottom it is deadly serious. Life is violent, messy and all too short, and laughter is the best revenge.

Anderson warns that readers need strong stomachs and a tolerance of frequent profanity to enjoy the book.

Black humor meets the mystery novel? Sounds a bit like another January title with building buzz, Beat the Reaper. Find us a third one and we’ll call it a trend.

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
Charlie Huston

• Hardcover: $25; 336 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 13, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 034550111X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345501110

• Audio Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks,  (January 13, 2009)
• 5 Tape LIBRARY 1-4332-5750-6 $44.95
• 1 Playaway LIBRARY 1-4332-5758-2 $59.99
• 1 MP3CD LIBRARY 1-4332-5754-4 $29.95
• 6 CD LIBRARY 1-4332-5751-3 $60.00 

The NYT yesterday looked into the phenomenon of the Wimpy Kid series (the laydown date for the next in the series, The Last Straw is January 13th. First printing is one million copies).

Reports of so-called reluctant readers inhaling the Wimpy Kid series, which chronicles the rude, crude and hapless travails of Greg Heffley, its middle-school narrator, echo around the country and across the Internet.

Ah, but (and there is always a “but” — it’s how journalists show “balance”),

…some adults deplore the book’s slapstick violence, sarcastic tone and heavy reliance on illustration.

Defending the book is our own EarlyWord Kid, Lisa Von Drasek, who tells the NYT, that the cartoon sytle doesn’t

…[dumb] down the text. The illustrations give more information. The kids who don’t need illustration aren’t losing anything by reading this, but kids who are visual learners have an added depth to the story they wouldn’t have otherwise.

The author is also profiled in a sidebar to the story. Curiously, both appear in the “Fashion and Style” section of the NYT.

The story reveals that the next in the series, due in the Fall, will be about the Wimpy Kid‘s mother trying to start a reading club, with predictably disastrous results.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Kinney, Jeff

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Hardcover: $12.95: 224 pages
• Publisher: Amulet/Abrams; (January 13, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0810970686
• ISBN-13: 978-0810970687

A report released today by The National Endowment for the Arts indicates that the 25-year decline in fiction reading has reversed. The report,  titled “Reading on the Rise: A new Chapter in American Literacy,” is based on a survey conducted by the  Census Bureau. 

Adults reporting that they read at least one novel, short story, poem or play in the previous year declined from a high of 56.9% in 1982 to 46.7% in 2002. The 2008 figure moved up  a notch to 50.2%.

The story is being reported by several news agencies, including The New York Times, Washington Post and the AP.

The new lists represent sales through last weekend. Now that gift buying is over, there’s more movement on the lists and several new titles have appeared.

The following are titles new to the lists. The USA Today list is not broken up by category; we categorize the titles here to make it easier for library buyers. The numbers reflect where the titles appear on the full list. Annotations are quoted from the lists.

The only title are not owned widely is the childrens book, Bee and Me, by Elle McGuinness, which includes animated panels a la Rufus Seder’s Gallop!

Fiction

USA Today, #16
NYT Fiction, #5

Fire and Ice, Julie Garwood, Ballantine, $26.00
Romance: A journalist investigates a killing after her business card is found on the body

USA Today, #23
NYT Fiction, #1

Black Ops, W.E.B. Griffin, Putnam, $26.95
Delta force officer investigates after several intelligence sources are found dead.

USA Today, #32
NYT Fiction, #8

Running Hot, Jayne Ann Krentz, Putnam, $25.95
Two members of the Arcane Society, dedicated to paranormal research, encounter a group of criminal sensitives.

NYT Fiction, Extended, #21
USA Today, #111

Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, Matthew Stover, Del Rey, $27.00
Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are called on to defend the newly liberated galaxy.

NYT Fiction, Extended, #25

BONE BY BONE, by Carol O’Connell (Putnam)

NYT Fiction, Extended, #33

CONTAGIOUS, by Scott Sigler (Crown)

NYT Fiction, Extended, #35

A MATTER OF JUSTICE, by Charles Todd (William Morrow)

Nonfiction

NYT  Nonfiction, #11

THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION ECONOMICS AND THE CRISIS OF 2008, by Paul Krugman. (Norton, $24.95.)

NYT Nonfiction Extended, #34

A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN, by Dana Canedy (Crown)

USA Today, #11

Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide, David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding, Rodale Press, $19.95
Shopping guide for the “The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution”

[Ed Note: This title is not eligible for the NYT list, since they consider it acalorie counter book, which they do not track.]

USA Today, #17
NYT Paperback Advice, #1

Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound, Suze Orman, Spiegel & Grau, $9.99

NYT Paperback Advice, #6
USA Today, #104

The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook: Budget-Friendly Meals Your Whole Family Will Love, Devin Alexander, Melissa Roberson, Rodale

NYT  Hardcover Advice, extended, #11

THE MOTLEY FOOL MILLION DOLLAR PORTFOLIO, by David and Tom Gardner (Collins Business)

NYT  Hardcover Advice, extended, #12 

MAKING IT ALL WORK, by David Allen (Viking)

USA Today, #50

The Calorie King Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter 2009 Edition, Allan Borushek, Family Health Publications, $8.99

[Ed. Note: This title is not eligible for the NYT list, since they do not include calorie counter books]

USA Today, #83

The American Patriot’s Almanac: Daily Readings on America, William J. Bennett, John Cribb, Thomas Nelson, $32.99

USA Today, #134

I Can Make You Thin: The Revolutionary System Used by More Than 3 Million People, Paul McKenna, Sterling. $22.95

Young Adult

USA Today, #117

Revelations, Melissa de la Cruz, Disney-Hyperion, $15.99
Young adult: Third book in the otherworldly “Blue Bloods” series 

USA Today #129

Shadow Kiss, Richelle Mead, Razorbill, Jay Asher, Razorbill, $8.99
St. Vladimir’s Academy comes under attack; third in Shadow Kiss series 

USA Today, #150

Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher, $16.99
Young man discovers he is one of the reasons a classmate killed herself and the reason why 

USA Today, #118

Night World # 2, L.J. Smith, Simon Pulse, $9.99
Paranormal: Contains stories Dark Angel, The Chosen and Soulmate 

Paperback Originals

USA Today #8
NYT Mass Market Fiction, #1

Murder Game, Christine Feehan, Jove, $7.99
Paranormal romance: Seventh in Ghostwalker series

USA Today#9
NYT Mass Market Fiction #5

Married in Seattle Debbie Macomber, Mira, $7.99

A reissue of “First Comes Marriage” (1991) and “Wanted: Perfect Partner”(1995).

USA Today, #12

Final Justice, Fern Michaels, Zebra, $6.99
Twelth book in “The Sisterhood” series revolving around female vigilantes.

USA Today, #27
NYT Mass Market Fiction, #4

Glitter Baby, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Avon, $7.99
Romance: Former ugly duckling and a Hollywood bad boy fall in love

A reissue of a 1980′s title, with new packagaing — also available in audio and  large print.

USA Today, #34
NYT Mass Market Fiction, #10

Veil of Midnight, Lara Adrian, Dell, $6.99
Paranormal romance: A vampire falls enemy’s bodyguard.

USA Today #51
NYT Mass Market Fiction, #11

At Grave’s End, Jeaniene Frost, Avon, $7.99
Paranormal: A half-vampire and her undead lover find themselves in danger.

USA Today, #53

Chances, Nora Roberts, Silhouette, $14.95
Romance: Features the stories “Opposites Attract” and “A Will and a Way.”

USA Today, #78
NYT Mass Market Fiction, #18 

Ecstasy: The Shadowdwellers, Jacquelyn Frank, Zebra, $6.99
Paranormal: An otherworldly shadowdweller falls for a mortal. 

USA Today, #82
NYT Mass Market Fiction, #20

Whisper No Lies, Cindy Gerard, Pocket Star

USA Today, #94
NYT Mass Market Fiction, extended, #31

Heart of the Dragon, Gena Showalter, HQN, $6.99
Paranormal romance: Mortal woman falls into a mythical world and for an otherword man  

NYT Mass Market Fiction, extended, #34

THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO…, by Susan Donovan (St. Martin’s Press)

USA Today, #102

Delia’s Heart, V.C Andrews, Pocket, $7.99 

Orphan Delia moves returns to California and falls for a weathy heir 

USA Today, #106

Heart of Courage, Kat Martin, Mira, $7.99
Historical romance: A lady in danger for her bodyguard 

USA Today, #114

Star Bright, Catherine Anderson, Signet, $7.99
Battered woman fakes her death and starts life over in a new town 

#124 USA Today

The Hollow, Nora Roberts, Jove, $7.99

Romance: Second in “Sign of Seven” trilogy; strange things happen every seven years  

USA Today, #136

Dead After Dark, Sherrilyn Kenyon, J.R. Ward, Susan Squires, Dianna Love, St. Martin’s

USA Today, #142

Secret Fantasy, Carly Phillips, HQN, $7.99
Romance: Senator’s daughter flees her own wedding

Movie Tie-ins

NYT Mass Market Fiction, #13

USA Today, #20 (second week)

Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates, Vintage, $7.99

NYT Trade Paper, #18 

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC, by Sophie Kinsella. (Dial, $14.) A London financial journalist struggles with debt and romance.

Trade Paperback

NYT Trade Paper, #7  

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, by Geraldine Brooks. (Penguin, $15.) An expert unlocks the secrets of a rare manuscript.

Childrens

NYT Childrens, #8 

BEE AND ME, by Elle J. McGuinness. Illustrated by Heather Brown. (Accord/Andrews McMeel,, $16.99.) Why we need bees. (Ages 4 to 8)