Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Feb. 22, 2009
| Fiction | weeks on list | |
| 1. | The Associate by John Grisham (Doubleday : $27.95) A dark secret forces a law school graduate to take a job at a corrupt law firm that could cost him his life. | 2 |
| 2. | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney(Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in organized sports in order to toughen him up. | 4 |
| 3. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 31 |
| 4. | The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle à la “Hamlet.” | 30 |
| 5. | 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. | 28 |
| 6. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 28 |
| 7. | Run for Your Life by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown: $27.99) A killer called “The Teacher” is offing the elite in NYC. | 1 |
| 8. | The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $25.99) Aliens take over the minds of humans. | 27 |
| 9. | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $24.95) A journalist explores the cold-case disappearance of a Swedish teen heiress. | 8 |
| 10. | Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (Ace: $24.95) A car mechanic by day and supernatural heroine by night takes on paranormal enemies. | 1 |
| 11. | The Women by T.C. Boyle (Viking: $27.95) Frank Lloyd Wright’s life as told through the experiences of the four women who loved him. | 1 |
| 12. | The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston (Ballantine: $25) A crime-scene cleanup worker gets ensnared in some high-stakes high jinks. | 1 |
| 13. | 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. | 12 |
| 14. | Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press: $27.95) A bounty hunter tracks a killer lurking in the woods of New Jersey. | 6 |
| 15. | The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: $25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff of a plastic-surgery clinic. | 10 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | The Yankee Years by Joe Torre (Doubleday: $26.95) Behind the scenes of what it really took to keep the Yankees on top of the baseball world. | 2 |
| 2. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 13 |
| 3. | 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. | 2 |
| 4. | 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. | 20 |
| 5. | 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. | 41 |
| 6. | Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (Simon & Schuster: $21) The actress and writer’s humorous confession to alcoholism, drug addiction and mental breakdowns. | 6 |
| 7. | The Black Hand by Chris Blatchford (William Morrow: $25.95) An in-depth look at the Mexican Mafia told through the biography of Rene “Boxer” Enriquez. | 1 |
| 8. | Snark by David Denby (Simon & Schuster: $15.95) Critic and author Denby discusses the meaning and history of snark. | 1 |
| 9. | The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) Life’s secrets, distilled. | 97 |
| 10. | The Inaugural Address 2009 by Barack Obama (Penguin: $12) A keepsake edition commemorating the inauguration of the 44th president with the words of Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Waldo Emerson. | 1 |
| 11. | The Great Depression Ahead by Harry S. Dent Jr. (Free Press: $27) The economic forecaster shares his techniques and explains their impact on the economic downturn. | 1 |
| 12. | When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $25.99) Musings on life and smoking. | 27 |
| 13. | A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News commentator explores his childhood and its relevance to his later life. | 13 |
| 14. | American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House. | 10 |
| 15. | Breakthrough by Suzanne Somers (Crown: $25.95) Advice on healthy living and the newest treatments for longevity. | 6 |
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