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Fiction: weeks on list

1.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality.20

2.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.2

3.The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle a la “Hamlet.”22

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4.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.4

5.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 23

6.The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: $25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff from a plastic-surgery clinic.4

7.Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta travels to New York to examine a psychiatric patient at Bellevue.2

8.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. 20

9.The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (Harper: $29.95) A couple seek to reconstruct their lives after a tragic school shooting in Colorado.5

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10.Cross Country by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross pursues an African underworld figure and mass-murder suspect to Nigeria.4

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Nonfiction

1.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high- achievers.5

2.Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact effect that a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library and its patrons.12

3.American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House.5

4.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. 34

5.Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $16.99) Comical tales of various holiday traditions. 4

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6.Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.95) Solutions to overpopulation and the global-warming crisis.14

7.Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (Simon & Schuster: $21) The actress and writer’s humorous confession to alcoholism, drug addiction and mental breakdowns.1

8.A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News commentator explores his childhood and its relevance on to his life. 10

9.The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (Howard Books: $17.99) A call to honor the significance and promise of this cherished holiday.2

10.Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) The actor, comedian and Howard Stern sidekick shares his life stories.5

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PAPERBACKS

Fiction

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz ($14)

2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99)

3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99)

4. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99)

5. The Appeal by John Grisham ($14)

Nonfiction

1. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama ($7.99)

2. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama ($14.95)

3. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15)

4. Marley & Me by John Grogan ($13.95)

5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15)

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

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