FICTION
1. THE THIRTEENTH TALE
by Diane Setterfield
Atria
A biographer struggles to discover the truth about an aging writer who has mythologized her past.
2. THE BOOK OF FATE
by Brad Meltzer
Warner
The apparent murder of a presidential aide reveals Masonic secrets in Washington and a 200-year-old code invented by Thomas Jefferson.
3. THE MISSION SONG
by John le Carre
Little, Brown
An English translator, born in Congo, is sent by British intelligence to work for a corporate syndicate that wants to subvert Congolese elections.
4. RISE AND SHINE
by Anna Quindlen
Random House
The lives of two sisters, one the host of a television show and the other a social worker.
5. JUDGE & JURY
by James Patterson and Andrew Gross
Little, Brown
An aspiring actress and an FBI agent join forces against a powerful mobster.
6. THE GUY NOT TAKEN
by Jennifer Weiner
Atria
Stories about women and relationships from the author of In Her Shoes.
7. IMPERIUM
by Robert Harris
Simon & Schuster
A fictional life of Marcus Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator, as told by a household slave.
8. THE MEPHISTO CLUB
by Tess Gerritsen
Ballantine
A Boston medical examiner and a detective must solve a series of murders involving apocalyptic messages and a sinister cabal.
9. DARK CELEBRATION
by Christine Feehan
Berkley
Carpathians from around the world join together to oppose their enemies’ plot to kill all Carpathian women.
10. WORLD WAR Z
by Max Brooks
Crown
An “oral history” of an imagined Zombie War that nearly destroys civilization.
11. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TO RAIN
by Alexander McCall Smith
Pantheon
The third novel featuring the philosopher Isabel Dalhousie is a mystery about the meaning of happiness.
12. THE EMPEROR’S CHILDREN
Claire Messud
Knopf
A group of privileged 30-somethings make their way in literary New York just before Sept. 11.
NONFICTION
1. I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK
by Nora Ephron.
Knopf
A witty look at aging from a novelist and screenwriter of When Harry Met Sally.
2. THE GREATEST STORY EVER SOLD
by Frank Rich
Penguin
A New York Times columnist attacks the Bush administration’s approach to message management.
3. THE CONFESSION
by James McGreevey
Regan
The former New Jersey governor comes out.
4. MARLEY & ME
by John Grogan
Morrow
A newspaper columnist and his wife learn some life lessons from their neurotic dog.
5. THE WORLD IS FLAT
by Thomas L. Friedman
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
A columnist for the New York Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy.
6. STATE OF EMERGENCY
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s
The conservative commentator argues against unchecked immigration.
7. LETTER TO A CHRISTIAN NATION
by Sam Harris
Knopf
The author of The End of Faith responds to Christians’ arguments in defense of their beliefs.
8. I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE DOING THIS!
by Bob Newhart
Hyperion
A memoir by the comedian.
9. FREAKONOMICS
by Steven D. Levitt
and Stephen J. Dubner
Morrow
A maverick scholar and a journalist apply economic theory to almost everything.
10. THE LOOMING TOWER
by Lawrence Wright
Knopf
The road to Sept. 11 as seen through the lives of terrorist planners and the FBI counterterrorism chief who died in the attacks.
11. THE GOD DELUSION
by Richard Dawkins
Houghton Mifflin
An Oxford scientist asserts that belief in God is irrational and that religion has done great harm in the world.
12. HUBRIS
by Michael Isikoff
and David Corn
Crown
The planning and marketing of the US-led invasion of Iraq, featuring the president, administration officials, neoconservatives, Iraq exiles and credulous journalists.
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