FICTION
1. THE 6TH TARGET
by James Patteson and Maxine Paetro
Little, Brown
In San Francisco, children and their nannies are disappearing, and Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club investigate.
2. SIMPLE GENIUS
by David Baldacci
Warner
Two former Secret Service agents investigate a scientist's murder while one battles her own demons.
3. THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION
by Michael Chabon
HarperCollins
A detective investigates the murder of a neighbor in a Jewish settlement in Alaska.
4. THE CHILDREN OF HURIN
by J.R.R. Tolkien. Edited by Christopher Tolkien
Houghton Mifflin
In Middle-earth, an evil lord wants to destroy his rival's children.
5. I HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE
by Mary Higgins Clark
Simon & Schuster
A woman marries a childhood acquaintance suspected of several murders.
6. THE WOODS
by Harlan Coben
Dutton
New evidence about a case of murder and disappearance at a summer camp 20 years earlier forces a county prosecutor to confront family secrets.
7. RANT
by Chuck Palahniuk
Doubleday
The "oral biography" of a serial killer.
8. NINETEEN MINUTES
by Jodi Picoult
Atria
The aftermath of a high school shooting reveals the fault lines in a small, close-knit New Hampshire town.
9. THE GOOD HUSBAND OF ZEBRA DRIVE
By Alexander McCall Smith
Pantheon
The eighth novel in the number one Ladies Detective Agency series.
10. BACK ON BLOSSOM STREET
by Debbie Macomber
Mira
More stories of life and love from a Seattle knitting class.
11. FOR ONE MORE DAY
by Mitch Albom
Hyperion
A troubled man gets a last chance to reconnect and restore his relationship with his dead mother.
12. BODY SURFING
by Anita Shreve
Little, Brown
A woman takes a job as a tutor and becomes involved in a wealthy family's tensions and rivalries.
NONFICTION
1. EINSTEIN
by Walter Isaacson
Simon & Schuster
A biography based on newly released personal letters.
2. AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM
by George Tenet
HarperCollins
The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency looks back on his career.
3. PAULA DEEN: IT AIN'T ALL ABOUT THE COOKIN'
by Paula Deen with Sherry Suib Cohen
Simon & Schuster
A memoir with recipes from the Southern cooking impresario.
4. GOD IS NOT GREAT
by Christopher Hitchens
Twelve
Religion as a malignant force in the world.
5. ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE
by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven Hopp and Camille Kingsolver
HarperCollins
The novelist and her family spend a year eating homegrown or local food; an argument for diversified farms and sustainable agriculture.
6. A LONG WAY GONE
by Ishmael Beah
Sarah Crichton/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
A former child soldier from Sierra Leone describes his drug-crazed killing spree and his return to humanity.
7. WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE
by Lee Iacocca
Scribner
The former CEO of Chrysler protests the lack of political and business leadership on issues like health care and energy policy.
8. 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.
9. PRESIDENTIAL COURAGE
by Michael Beschloss
Simon & Schuster
Profiles of nine presidents who had the courage to make unpopular decisions.
10. KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL
by Deborah Rodriguez with Kristin Ohlson
Random House
To aid Afghan women, an American runs a beauty school in Kabul.
11. THE BLACK SWAN
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Random House
The role of the unexpected.
12. TALES FROM Q SCHOOL
by John Feinstein
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