Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Jan. 31, 2010
| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined as they change a Mississippi town. | 34 |
| 2. | First Rule by Robert Crais (Putnam: $26.95) Joe Pike’s past catches up with him when an old friend’s entire family is killed. | 2 |
| 3. | 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. | 22 |
| 4. | Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler (Knopf: $25.95) After being attacked, an unambitious, unemployed teacher loses his memory and embraces the exuberance of a younger woman. | 2 |
| 5. | Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel ( Henry Holt: $27) The rise of Henry VIII’s advisor Thomas Cromwell. | 12 |
| 6. | 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. | 8 |
| 7. | Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro (Knopf: $25.95) The short-story master explores women and their relationships in 10 new stories. | 9 |
| 8. | Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker (Dutton: $26.95) ATF agents patrolling the flow of illegal guns into the U.S. brace for vengeance from the violent Gulf Cartel. | 2 |
| 9. | Summertime by J.M. Coetzee (Viking: $25.95) A re-imagining of the author’s biography, according to the women in his life, after his death. | 2 |
| 10. | Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom (Random House: $25) A collection of interconnected stories examining the many forms of love. | 1 |
| 11. | The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown: $26.99) The past and present converge in a mystery surrounding a tormented artist. | 1 |
| 12. | The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper: $26.99) A writer’s escapades encompass 1930s Mexican artist communities and Cold War America. | 11 |
| 13. | Too Much Money by Dominick Dunne (Crown: $29) A high-society journalist attempts to uncover the truth in the suspicious death of a billionaire. | 3 |
| 14. | 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. | 14 |
| 15. | 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. | 20 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $26.95) After being forced to wed, the author tackles her fears of marriage by delving into the history and background of the institution. | 2 |
| 2. | Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (Harper: $27.99) An insider’s explanation of how the drama of the U.S. presidential campaign of 2008 unfolded. | 2 |
| 3. | Star by Peter Biskind (Simon & Schuster: $30) An intimate biography of Hollywood’s leading ladies’ man, Warren Beatty. | 2 |
| 4. | What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) A collection of the author’s writings of everyday and extraordinary people. | 13 |
| 5. | Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson (Viking: $26.95) The author’s continued struggle to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan in this sequel to “Three Cups of Tea.” | 7 |
| 6. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 57 |
| 7. | The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz (Amber-Allen: 19.95) How to recover your authentic self. | 2 |
| 8. | Drive by Daniel H. Pink (Riverhead: $26.95) A science-based case of rethinking what motivates people at work and home. | 2 |
| 9. | 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. | 17 |
| 10. | Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (Knopf: $24.95) An exploration of the Tarahumara Indians and their secrets of long-distance running. | 5 |
| 11. | Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking: $32.95) A behind-the-scenes account of the players in America’s financial market crisis. | 7 |
| 12. | Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath (Gallup Press: $22.95) An upgraded assessment on how to find your top talents. | 1 |
| 13. | 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. | 36 |
| 14. | The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin(Harper: $25.99) A year spent trying to be happier by making small changes in various aspects of daily life. | 1 |
| 15. | Los Angeles, Portrait of a City by Kevin Starr and Jim Heimann (Taschen: $70) A photographic journey through the city’s cultural, political, industrial and sociological history. | 3 |
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