Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Feb. 1, 2009
| Fiction | weeks on list | |
| 1. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 28 |
| 2. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 25 |
| 3. | Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press: $27.95) A bounty hunter tracks a killer lurking in the woods of New Jersey. | 3 |
| 4. | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial Press: $22) A writer corresponds with islanders after German occupation. | 25 |
| 5. | The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle à la “Hamlet.” | 27 |
| 6. | The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (Children’s High Level Group: $12.99) A collection of five fairy tales inspired by the “ Harry Potter” series. | 6 |
| 7. | Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta travels to New York to examine a psychiatric patient at Bellevue. | 6 |
| 8. | The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $25.99) Aliens take over the minds of humans. | 24 |
| 9. | A Mercy by Toni Morrison (Knopf: $23.95) A slave girl is sold by her mother in late-1600s America to give her a better life. | 9 |
| 10. | Black Ops by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam: $26.95) A task force agent tracks down terrorists who murdered an American diplomat in Buenos Aires. | 3 |
| 11. | The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee (Viking: $25.95) A tale of romance in Hong Kong along with a WWII plot line revealing a lover’s past. | 1 |
| 12. | 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) Greed, murder and desperation haunt a U.S.-Mexico border town. | 9 |
| 13. | Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (Little, Brown: $24.99) A hit man in a witness protection program is discovered working as a doctor by a former mob associate. | 2 |
| 14. | Cross Country by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross pursues an African underworld figure and mass-murder suspect to Nigeria. | 8 |
| 15. | The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: $25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff of a plastic-surgery clinic. | 8 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 10 |
| 2. | The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. | 38 |
| 3. | Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact that a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library and its patrons. | 17 |
| 4. | Guilty by Ann Coulter (Crown Forum: $27.95) The political commentator accuses liberals of always playing the victim. | 2 |
| 5. | American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House. | 8 |
| 6. | Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (Simon & Schuster: $21) The actress and writer’s humorous confession to alcoholism, drug addiction and mental breakdowns. | 4 |
| 7. | Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) The actor, comedian and Howard Stern sidekick shares his life stories. | 9 |
| 8. | Why We Suck by Denis Leary (Viking: $26.95) The comedian’s biting commentary on the state of the world. | 5 |
| 9. | The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) Life’s secrets, distilled. | 94 |
| 10. | The Complete Quincy Jones by Quincy Jones (Insight Editions: $45) Photos, letters and memories from the composer’s personal collection. | 1 |
| 11. | American Prince by Tony Curtis with Peter Golenbock (Harmony: $25.95) A memoir of the actor’s life and loves during Hollywood’s golden age. | 1 |
| 12. | Goodnight Bush by Erich Origen and Gan Golan (Little, Brown: $14.99) A parody of the children’s classic “Goodnight Moon.” | 24 |
| 13. | You: Being Beautiful by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press: $26.99) A scientific approach to the myths and stereotypes of how we define beauty. | 3 |
| 14. | When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $25.99) Musings on life and smoking. . | 25 |
| 15. | The American Journey of Barack Obama by the editors of Life magazine (Little, Brown: $24.99) A biography and historical journey of the new president. | 2 |
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