Los Angeles Times bestsellers for July 12, 2009.
| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: $27.95) A witness enters a barbecue competition to uncover the killer of a contestant. | 2 |
| 2. | The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Doubleday: $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment. | 2 |
| 3. | Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles. | 5 |
| 4. | The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $27.99) A recently downsized reporter investigates a serial killer who uses his computer job to find his victims. | 5 |
| 5. | The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Percy Jackson and his army of demigods battle to stop the Lord of Time. | 9 |
| 6. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 51 |
| 7. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 48 |
| 8. | Doomsday Key by James Rollins (William Morrow: $27.99) Three murders reveal an ancient secret threatening the existence of mankind. | 1 |
| 9. | Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown: $27.99)A supermodel disappears from a photo shoot in Hawaii. | 1 |
| 10. | Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (Scribner: $25) A young woman must decide whether to return to her lucrative life in 1950s New York or remain in Ireland. | 4 |
| 11. | 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. | 5 |
| 12. | 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. | 22 |
| 13. | The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (William Morrow: $26.99) A vampiric virus infects New York via a deadly flight from Germany. | 2 |
| 14. | The Lovers by John Connolly (Atria: $26) Retired PI Charlie Parker delves into his father’s suicide while being hunted down by hit men. | 2 |
| 15. | Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (Delacorte: $27) The capture of a suspected suicide bomber on a N.Y. subway causes a chain of global events. | 5 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 31 |
| 2. | Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (Harper: $26.99) A call to prevent President Obama from transforming America into a socialist state. | 2 |
| 3. | 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. | 61 |
| 4. | Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad (Ecco: $25.99) The son of a daredevil tells of his life on the edge and how he survived a deadly plane crash. | 3 |
| 5. | Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. | 14 |
| 6. | Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton (Scribner: $28) A unit of Special Forces soldiers pursues the Taliban in Afghanistan after 9/11. | 5 |
| 7. | I’m Down by Mishna Wolff (St. Martin’s: $23.95) A white girl’s tale of growing up in a black Seattle neighborhood. | 2 |
| 8. | 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. | 22 |
| 9. | 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. | 9 |
| 10. | The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) Life’s secrets, distilled. | 114 |
| 11. | Excuses Begone by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: $24.95) Advice on achieving success and happiness by changing self-defeating habits. | 4 |
| 12. | Mirrors by Eduardo Galeano (Nation Books: $26.95) A history of the world told through tales of artists, writers and visionaries. | 4 |
| 13. | Renegade by Richard Wolffe (Crown: $26) A behind-the-scenes look at Barack Obama’s life as a presidential candidate. | 3 |
| 14. | Columbine by Dave Cullen (Twelve: $26.99) A journalist reconstructs the psychological journey of two teenage boys who became killers. | 6 |
| 15. | The Inaugural Address 2009 by Barack Obama (Penguin: $12) A keepsake edition commemorating the inauguration of the 44th president. | 13 |
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