Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Nov. 1, 2009
| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown : $27.99) An LAPD detective travels to Hong Kong to solve the murder of a Chinese immigrant. | 2 |
| 2. | The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C. | 6 |
| 3. | The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. | 21 |
| 4. | Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn (Atria: $27.99) Two counterterrorism operatives deal with the fallout from a deadly terrorist attack. | 2 |
| 5. | Blood’s a Rover by James Ellroy (Knopf : $28.95) A bank heist sets off an escapade through ‘60s L.A. with run-ins with the mob, the FBI and Howard Hughes. | 4 |
| 6. | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $13.95) Greg desires to spend summer vacation indoors despite his mother’s wishes for outdoor family fun. | 2 |
| 7. | Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $25.95) A woman acquaints herself with the songwriter whose album caused the breakup of her recent relationship. | 3 |
| 8. | The Wild Things by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $19.95) An interpretation and elaboration of Maurice Sendak’s “ Where the Wild Things Are.” | 1 |
| 9. | Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $26) The story of a hard-knock gal who raised horses and survived floods and the Depression. | 2 |
| 10. | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in sports to toughen him up. | 29 |
| 11. | The Humbling by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $22) A washed-up stage actor is rejuvenated when he begins an erotic affair with a younger woman. | 1 |
| 12. | Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday: $27.95) New Yorkers try to find meaning in their superficial lives. | 1 |
| 13. | The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Kay Scarpetta’s fame grows as do the bizarre events surrounding several unsolved cases. | 1 |
| 14. | The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $25.95) A hacker implicated in two murders must revisit her past to prove her innocence. | 13 |
| 15. | A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $23.95) A complete collection of Sookie Stackhouse short stories. | 2 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon (Harper: $26.99) A collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on what it means to be a man and father. | 2 |
| 2. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 47 |
| 3. | Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Hyperion: $23.99) Albom’s observations of a rabbi and a pastor on an eight-year journey of faith. | 4 |
| 4. | True Compass by Edward Kennedy (Twelve: $35) The memoirs of the late U.S. senator from Massachusetts. | 5 |
| 5. | The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (Free Press: $30) A pro-evolution argument filled with scientific evidence. | 3 |
| 6. | Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (Doubleday: $27.95) A chronicle of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned Army Ranger whose death in Afghanistan stunned the power structure. | 6 |
| 7. | Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The disappearance of a Syrian American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. | 7 |
| 8. | Arguing With Idiots by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions: $29.99) Secrets for winning arguments with small-minded people. | 4 |
| 9. | Republican Gomorrah by Max Blumenthal (Nation Books: $25) A liberal look at how fringe elements are defining a new Republican Party. | 1 |
| 10. | Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even by James J. Cramer(Simon & Schuster: $26) Tips on how to invest in a post-crash stock market. | 1 |
| 11. | Big Burn by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $27) The story and consequences of the fire of 1910 that destroyed thousands of acres of forests across the Northwest. | 2 |
| 12. | Highest Duty by Chesley B. Sullenberger (William Morrow: $25.99) The autobiography of the airline pilot who landed a plane in the Hudson River. | 1 |
| 13. | SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $29.99) More funny yet informative trivial facts and questions to ponder. | 1 |
| 14. | The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb (W.W. Norton & Co.: $24.95) Graphic depictions from all 50 chapters of the first book of the bible. | 1 |
| 15. | Cornflakes With John Lennon by Robert Hilburn (Rodale: $24.99) The rock critic’s adventures with iconic figures in rock ‘n’ roll. | 1 |
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