Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Dec. 14
| 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. | 18 |
| 2. | The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: 25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff from a plastic-surgery clinic. | 2 |
| 3. | 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. | 3 |
| 4. | Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler (Putnam: $27.95) The U.S. and Canada are on the brink of war in this third joint Dirk Pitt novel. | 1 |
| 5. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 21 |
| 6. | 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. | 18 |
| 7. | Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz (Bantam: $27) A heart transplant recipient is stalked by a mysterious woman resembling the donor. | 1 |
| 8. | The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.99) A luckless attorney defends a studio executive accused of offing his wife and her lover. | 8 |
| 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. | 3 |
| 10. | The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle á la “Hamlet.” | 20 |
| 11. | The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $25.99) Aliens take over the minds of humans. | 19 |
| 12. | Cross Country by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross pursues an African underworld figure and mass-murder suspect to Nigeria. | 2 |
| 13. | Divine Justice by David Baldacci (Grand Central: $27.99) A government assassin is hunted down after avenging his wife’s death. | 4 |
| 14. | 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) Greed, murder and desperation haunt a U.S.-Mexico border town. | 3 |
| 15. | The Gate House by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central: $27.99) A man and his ex-wife attempt to reconcile years after her affair with a mob boss. | 6 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high-achievers. | 3 |
| 2. | 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. | 33 |
| 3. | American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House. | 3 |
| 4. | Goodnight Bush by Erich Origen and Gan Golan (Little, Brown: $14.99) A parody of the children’s classic “Goodnight Moon.” | 20 |
| 5. | 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. | 10 |
| 6. | Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.95) Solutions to overpopulation and the global-warming crisis. | 13 |
| 7. | Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $16.99) Comical tales of various holiday traditions. | 2 |
| 8. | Why We Suck by Denis Leary (Viking : $26.95) The comedian’s biting social commentary on the state of the world. | 2 |
| 9. | Annie Leibovitz at Work by Annie Leibovitz (Random House: $40) The photographer dissects and explains the making of her favorite photos. | 2 |
| 10. | Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) The actor, comedian and Howard Stern sidekick shares his life stories. | 4 |
| 11. | The Secret The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) Life’s secrets, distilled. | 93 |
| 12. | A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News commentator explores his childhood and its relevance on his life. | 8 |
| 13. | You: Being Beautiful by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press: $26.99) A scientific approach to the myths and stereotypes of how we define beauty. | 3 |
| 14. | For the Love by Kelly Slater (Chronicle Books: $35) The world champion surfer riffs on a life filled with big wins, big money and big loves. | 1 |
| 15. | When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $25.99) Musings on life and smoking. | 25 |
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