Los Angeles Times bestsellers for May 24, 2009
| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $25.95) Sookie Stackhouse finds herself a pawn in a war with a race of unhuman beings. | 2 |
| 2. | The 8th Confession by James Patterson (Little, Brown : $27.99) The murders of a priest and high society couple test the limits of the Women’s Murder Club. | 3 |
| 3. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 44 |
| 4. | First Family by David Baldacci (Grand Central: $27.99) A child is kidnapped from a birthday party held at Camp David. | 4 |
| 5. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 41 |
| 6. | Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon: $23.95) In the latest installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Precious Ramotswe is in need of her own detection talents. | 3 |
| 7. | The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Percy Jackson and his army of demigods battle to stop the Lord of Time. | 2 |
| 8. | The Women by T.C. Boyle (Viking: $27.95) Frank Lloyd Wright’s life as told by four women who loved him. | 13 |
| 9. | Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday: $24.95) Terrorists disguised as foreign exchange students living with American families plot mass destruction. | 1 |
| 10. | 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. | 1 |
| 11. | 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. | 17 |
| 12. | Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central: $26.99) Special Agent Pendergast returns to New York City to investigate a murderous cult. | 1 |
| 13. | The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $25.99) Aliens take over the minds of humans. | 38 |
| 14. | Wicked Prey by John Sandford (Putnam: $27.95) Criminals with a grudge crash the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. | 1 |
| 15. | Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster: $25.95) The case of a man accused of murdering his wife reveals a medical phenomenon. | 4 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley (Twelve: $24.99) The son of William F. and Patricia Buckley tells of life with the high-powered couple and how he coped with their deaths. | 2 |
| 2. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 26 |
| 3. | Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. | 8 |
| 4. | Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey ( Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. | 15 |
| 5. | Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards (Broadway: $22.95) The wife of the former vice presidential candidate reflects on facing life’s adversities. | 1 |
| 6. | In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Laura Schlessinger (Harper: $25.99) Advice and support to mothers choosing to stay at home with their children. | 3 |
| 7. | Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox (Hyperion: $25.99) The actor’s emotional and spiritual outlook in his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. | 7 |
| 8. | The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow (Gotham: $26) Eleven childhood friends from Iowa maintain enduring friendships throughout the years. | 2 |
| 9. | 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. | 54 |
| 10. | Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl (Penguin Press: $19.95) The food journalist relates the trials of a woman she comes to find she never really knew. | 1 |
| 11. | Promises I Made My Mother by Sam Haskell (Ballantine: $24) A Hollywood agent reveals how he kept his pledge to his mother to live a decent life. | 1 |
| 12. | The Yankee Years by Joe Torre (Doubleday: $26.95) Behind the scenes of what it really took to keep the Yankees on top. | 13 |
| 13. | Eiffel’s Tower by Jill Jonnes (Viking: $27.95) An account of the landmark’s creation and portrait of Belle Epoque France. | 1 |
| 14. | In-N-Out Burger by Stacy Perman (Collins Business: $24.99) A behind-the-counter look at the fast-food chain. | 2 |
| 15. | The Lost City of Z by David Grann (Doubleday: $27.50) Col. Percy Fawcett’s quest to find an ancient Amazonian society. | 8 |
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