Congrats to Judith Sutton, LJ’s cookbook columnist. She’s the co-author, with Mario Batali, of the Italian Grill, which went on the NYT Hardcover Advice bestseller list at #6.

With all the attention it’s been getting, it’s no surprise the Edgar Sawtelle went on nearly every bestseller list this week, with the exception of the WSJ and Los Angeles Times lists. Its highest position is on the Washington Post list, at #4.

As a result, the Harper imprints now have three dog books on the NYT bestseller lists. The Art of Racing in the Rain and Edgar Sawtelle (Harper Ecco) sit next to each other on the Fiction list, at #13 and #14, respectively. Marley and Me is on the Paperback Nonfiction list at #8.

The Monster of Florence, also getting a lot of review attention, went on all but the Indie list. It’s highest position is #4 on the NYT list.

USA Today’s “Book Buzz” column takes note of a new entry on their bestseller list, Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World by Lisa Lillien. It enters their list at #6, with 350,000 copies in print (it went out at 200,000).

We noted the book last month, when it went on the Amazon list prior to publication. It has since been reviewed by Library Journal:

Whether they taste great is debatable, but many of the soups, salads, and main courses are very high in sodium. Nevertheless, Hungry Girl [the web site[ has many fans, and there is sure to be demand

The book has remained in Amazon’s top ten since its debut on April 1 and is now at #7.

Hungry Girl:

Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World

by Lisa Lillien

• Paperback:$17.95
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (April 29, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0312377428
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377427

Only a few titles hit the Amazon 100 list in advance of publication. When a book lands at #2 a full month in advance of publication, it’s a phenomenon.

Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World has not been reviewed in the pre-publication journals and is on order at only one of the libraries I checked.

With a retro cover and relentlessly upbeat style, the book is based on the Hungry Girl Web site which launched two years ago and provides daily information on foods that satisfy cravings without adding calories.

The publisher announced a 200,000 copy first printing.

Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World, Lisa Lillien

• Paperback:$17.95
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (April 29, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0312377428
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377427

Many best books lists appear at year’s end. But they tend to repeat the same well-known titles that you bought months ago. On the other hand, specialty lists often bring to light titles that were not covered in the pre-pub sources. This month’s Saveur offers a list of the editors’ top ten 2007 favorites. The following titles on the list did not get advance reviews and are therefore under represented in many library catalogs.

Since the Saveur piece is not online, we’ve cribbed their comments below:

Ortega, Simone and Ines. 1080 Recipes, Phaidon Press, (October 26, 2007), Hdbk, $39.95.

ISBN-10: 0714848360
ISBN-13: 978-0714848365

“…Spain’s best-selling cookbook for more than 30 years. At long last, an English-language edition, updated with recipes that reflect that country’s recent avant-garde culinary renaissance.”
Parkes, Simon. The Calcutta Kitchen, Interlink, (March 30, 2007),Hdbk, $29.95.

ISBN-10: 1566566711
ISBN-13: 978-1566566711

“a compendium of masterly recipes, essays…serves up a vision of India’s third-largest city that stays with you long after you’ve left the kitchen.”

Riley, Gillian, The Oxford Companion to Italian Food, Oxford University Press, (October 2, 2007), Hdbk, $39.95.

ISBN-10: 0198606176
ISBN-13: 978-0198606178

“an exhaustive, alphabetized encyclopedia on the foods and culinary traditions of Italy.”

Meanwhile, this month’s Gourmet looks ahead to a certain crowd pleaser from Karen Tack, “one of the most sought-after food stylists in publishing.” Her handiwork is on the cover of the issue as well as the feature article on homemade sweets (the photo of the cinnamon palmier defines “food porn” for me).

In her forthcoming Hello, Cupcake, Houghton Mifflin, (April 23, 2008), shows off her ability to play with food.

Trade Paperback, 15.95ISBN-10: 0618829253

ISBN-13: 978-0618829255

While we’re on the subject of food in the library, the Palm Desert Library has hit on a winning idea, using local chefs in their programming.