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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, our NYT Best Sellers for Teens page , or The New York Times's Best Sellers page.

Hardcover Fiction

January 9, 2011

1

Dead or Aliveby Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood
The covert intelligence expert Jack Ryan Jr. and his black-ops team face their greatest foe: a sadistic terrorist known as the Emir.

2

The Confessionby John Grisham
A man who committed a despicable crime but allowed another to be sent to death row in his place now wants to admit his guilt, but must convince the authorities he's telling the truth.

3

Cross Fireby James Patterson
Tracking the murderer of a relative, Alex Cross discovers a wild Washington scene with explosive secrets.

4

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nestby Stieg Larsson
In the last volume of the Millennium trilogy, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are threatened by an adversary from deep within the government.

5

Full Dark, No Starsby Stephen King
Grisly human behavior and its consequences drive this collection of stories.

6

Freedomby Jonathan Franzen
A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years.

7

Port Mortuaryby Patricia Cornwell
In the 18th Kay Scarpetta novel, the forensic pathologist masters a sophisticated new autopsy technology at an Air Force base; meanwhile, a young man’s mysterious death causes trouble at her new forensic center in Cambridge, Mass.

8

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.

9

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunkby David Sedaris. Illustrated by Ian Falconer
A look at human nature through darkly comic morality stories enacted by animals.

10

Fall of Giantsby Ken Follett
Five interrelated families from five countries are caught in the upheavals of World War I and the Russian Revolution.

11

Safe Havenby Nicholas Sparks
The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.

12

Hell's Cornerby David Baldacci
The former assassin John Carr, a k a Oliver Stone, teams with an MI-6 agent to search for the perpetrators of a terrorist attack against the British prime minister.

13

An Object of Beautyby Steve Martin
A young, beautiful and ambitious woman ruthlessly ascends the heights of the Manhattan art world.

14

Crescent Dawnby Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
Dirk Pitt seeks to discover the connection between a trove of ancient Roman artifacts and a series of mosque explosions.

15

Roomby Emma Donoghue
The world of the 5-year-old boy who narrates this novel is the 11-by-11-foot room in which his mother is being held. The basis of the movie.

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Hardcover Nonfiction

January 9, 2011

1

Decision Pointsby George W. Bush
The former president discusses his decisions on 9/11, Iraq and Katrina.

2

Unbrokenby Laura Hillenbrand
An Olympic runner’s story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. Read by Edward Herrmann. 13 hours, 56 minutes unabridged.

3

Earth (the Book)by Jon Stewart and others
A visitor’s guide to the human race, presented by "The Daily Show."

4

Lifeby Keith Richards with James Fox
The Rolling Stones guitarist's revealing autobiography is also a portrait of the era when rock came of age.

5

Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1by Mark Twain
Twain is pointedly political and willing to play the angry prophet.

6

Cleopatraby Stacy Schiff
Reimagining the Egyptian queen.

7

Decodedby Jay-Z
The hip-hop star leads a narrative journey through his lyrics and his life.

8

America by Heartby Sarah Palin
The former vice-presidential candidate reflects on family, faith and patriotism.

9

_____ My Dad Saysby Justin Halpern
A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author's father. Originally published in 2010.

10

Brokeby Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe
The Fox News host’s plan for fixing the country’s financial woes.

11

Pinheads and Patriotsby Bill O'Reilly
The Fox News commentator scrutinizes the meaning of change in the era of Obama.

12

I Remember Nothingby Nora Ephron
Reflections on age and memory, from the author of “I Feel Bad About My Neck.”

13

The Last Boyby Jane Leavy
A biography of the Yankees star Mickey Mantle.

14

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacksby Rebecca Skloot
The story of a woman whose cancer cells were cultured without her permission in 1951.

15

Colonel Rooseveltby Edmund Morris
The third and concluding volume of Morris’s monumental biography of Theodore Roosevelt.