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New York Times Best Seller lists

The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is updated online every Wednesday evening. Below are best seller lists for hardcover fiction and non-fiction. For more lists, visit our New York Times Children’s Best Sellers page or The New York Times’s Best Sellers page.

Hardcover Fiction

October 25, 2009

1

The Lost Symbolby Dan Brown
The Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon among the Masons.

2

A Touch of Deadby Charlaine Harris
The complete Sookie Stackhouse stories.

3

The Helpby Kathryn Stockett
Three women — a white socialite and two black maids — work on a tell-all book about black domestic servants in 1960s Mississippi.

4

The Professionalby Robert B. Parker
Rich women are turning up dead, and the Boston P.I. Spenser investigates.

5

The Last Songby Nicholas Sparks
A 17-year-old girl spends the summer with her divorced father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love.

6

Evidenceby Jonathan Kellerman
The Los Angeles psychologist-detective Alex Delaware helps solve the grisly murder of an architect and his companion.

7

Half Broke Horsesby Jeannette Walls
A re-creation of the life of the author’s grandmother — a mustang breaker, schoolteacher, ranch wife and mother of two — in the Southwest.

8

An Echo in the Boneby Diana Gabaldon
Jamie Fraser and his time-traveling wife, Claire, encounter pirates on the high seas; the seventh Outlander novel.

9

Rough Countryby John Sandford
Virgil Flowers investigates a string of murders at a Minnesota resort for women.

10

Her Fearful Symmetryby Audrey Niffenegger
A woman haunts the flat she’s left to her twin nieces near Highgate Cemetery in London.

11

The Ghost Kingby R. A. Salvatore
In the final book of the Transitions fantasy series, Drizzt faces a powerful foe, a demonic crystal shard.

12

The Christmas Listby Richard Paul Evans
A man changes his life after he reads his own obituary and learns what others think of him.

13

The Unseen Academicalsby Terry Pratchett
In this Discworld fantasy, the benevolent tyrant of Ankh-Morpork suggests that Unseen University put together a football team.

14

South of Broadby Pat Conroy
An unlikely group’s friendship from the ’60s to the ’80s, by the author of "The Prince of Tides."

15

Dead and Goneby Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse searches for the killer of a werepanther.

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Hardcover Nonfiction

October 25, 2009

1

Have a Little Faithby Mitch Albom
A suburban rabbi and a Detroit pastor teach lessons about the comfort of belief.

2

Arguing with Idiotswritten and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others
Making the case against big government.

3

True Compassby Edward M. Kennedy
The late senator’s autobiography.

4

Where Men Win Gloryby Jon Krakauer
The story of Pat Tillman, the N.F.L. player who enlisted after 9/11, and the Army’s cover-up of his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

5

The Murder of King Tutby James Patterson and Martin Dugard
Investigating the Boy King’s sudden death.

6

The Time of My Lifeby Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi
A memoir by the actor, who died in September, and his wife.

7

Outliersby Malcolm Gladwell
Unexpected factors that explain why some people succeed, such as upbringing, timing and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.

8

The Greatest Show on Earthby Richard Dawkins
Evidence for evolution; a counterattack on advocates of intelligent design.

9

The National Parksby Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns
A companion to the PBS series.

10

Half the Skyby Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Women’s equality as the “paramount moral challenge” of our era.

11

High on Arrivalby Mackenzie Phillips with HIlary Liftin
The actress and daughter of Papa John Phillips recalls a life of parties, drugs and a complicated relationship with her father.

12

Official Book Club Selectionby Kathy Griffin
A humorous memoir from the star of “My Life on the D-List.”

13

American on Purposeby Craig Ferguson
The Scottish-born comedian describes his journey to late-night television stardom and American citizenship.

14

The Case for Godby Karen Armstrong
Armstrong, a former nun, seeks to rescue the idea of God from atheists and literal-minded believers alike.

15

Read My Pinsby Madeleine Albright
A look at the former secretary of state’s life, and her diplomacy, through the brooches she wore.