FICTION
1. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
by Ken Follet
New American Library
Murder, arson and lust surround the building of a cathedral.
2. ATONEMENT
by Ian McEwan
Anchor
A chronicle of the disintegration of an English family's idyllic life.
3. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
by Sara Gruen
Algonquin
A young man and an elephant save a Depression-era circus.
4. NINETEEN MINUTES
by Jodi Picoult
Washington Square
The aftermath of a high-school shooting reveals the fault lines in a small New Hampshire town.
5. THE KITE RUNNER
by Khaled Hosseini
Riverhead
An Afghan-American returns to Kabul to learn how a childhood friend has fared.
6. THE 6TH TARGET
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Grand Central
Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club investigate the disappearance of several children.
7. THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
by Philippa Gregory
Touchstone
A tale of courtly intrigue starring Henry VIII and Mary and Anne Boleyn.
8. THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB
by Kate Jacobs
Berkley
A group of women meet weekly at a New York City yarn shop.
9. THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER
by Kim Edwards
Penguin
A doctor's decision to secretly send his newborn daughter to an institution haunts everyone involved.
10. THE ALCHEMIST
by Paulo Coelho
HarperOne
A Spanish shepherd boy travels to Egypt in search of treasure.
11. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
by Cormac McCarthy
Vintage
Mayhem ensues after a West Texas man stumbles upon US$2 million in drug money and decides to keep it.
12. THE ROAD
by Cormac McCarthy
Vintage
A father and son travel in post-apocalypse America.
13. BODY SURFING
by Anita Shreve
Back Bay
A woman takes a job as a tutor with a wealthy family.
NONFICTION
1. EAT, PRAY, LOVE
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Penguin Books
A writer's yearlong journey in search of self takes her to Italy, India and Indonesia.
2. THREE CUPS OF TEA
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Penguin
A former climber builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
3 THE AUDACITY OF HOPE
by Barack Obama
Three Rivers
The Illinois senator proposes that Americans move beyond their political divisions.
4. FAIRTAX: THE TRUTH
by Neal Boortz and John Linder with Rob Woodall
Harper
A radio host and a US congressman defend their 2005 plan for abolishing federal income taxes and the IRS.
5. 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN
Don Piper with Cecil Murphey
Revell
A minister on the otherworldly experience he had after an accident.
6. DREAMS FROM MY FATHER
by Barack Obama
Three Rivers
The senator on life as the son of a black African father and a white American mother.
7. THE INNOCENT MAN
by John Grisham
Delta and Dell
Grisham's first nonfiction book concerns a man wrongly sentenced to death.
8. THE GLASS CASTLE
by Jeannette Walls
Scribner
The author recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings moved constantly.
9. INTO THE WILD
by Jon Krakauer
Anchor
A man's obsession with the wilderness ends in tragedy.
10. THE WORLD IS FLAT
by Thomas L. Friedman
Picador
A new edition of the columnist's analysis of 21st-century economics and foreign policy.
11. THE GIFT OF FEAR
by Gavin de Becker
Delta and Dell
Intuitive signals that can protect us from becoming the victims of violence.
12. THE TIPPING POINT
by Malcolm Gladwell
Back Bay/Little, Brown
A study of social epidemics, otherwise known as fads.
13. THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
by Michael Pollan
Penguin
Tracking dinner from the soil to the plate, a journalist juggles appetite and conscience.
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