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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

January 23, 2011

1

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.

2

What the Night Knowsby Dean Koontz
Someone is murdering entire families — recreating in detail a crime spree that took place two decades earlier — and a homicide detective is certain that his own family will be targets.

3

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.

4

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.

5

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.

6

The Outlawsby W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV
Charley Castillo investigates a deadly biohazard that he thought had been destroyed.

7

Freedomby Jonathan Franzen
Franzen’s first novel since "The Corrections" (2001) is both an absorbing portrait of a dysfunctional Midwestern family and a telling snapshot of our troubled times.

8

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

9

Three Secondsby Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom
An undercover police officer takes on the organized drug traffic in Scandinavian prisons.

10

Secrets to the Graveby Tami Hoag
The cast of “Deeper Than the Dead” become involved in a new case of violence that disturbs their community.

11

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.

12

Damageby John Lescroart
The San Francisco detective Abe Glitsky faces a wealthy heir who is seeking revenge against those who sent him to prison.

13

The Judas Gateby Jack Higgins
Sean Dillon hunts down the organizers of a Taliban ambush that killed 12 Army Rangers and a British medical team in Afghanistan.

14

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.

15

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.

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Hardcover Nonfiction

January 23, 2011

1

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.

2

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

3

Cleopatraby Stacy Schiff
Reimagining the Egyptian queen.

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

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

7

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

8

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

9

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

10

_____ 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.

11

____ Finish Firstby Tucker Max
A tale of bad decisions, debauchery and reckless sex.

12

Unbearable Lightnessby Portia de Rossi
The actress discusses her career, her anorexia and her years of hiding her lesbianism.

13

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

14

The Emperor of All Maladiesby Siddhartha Mukherjee
An oncologist’s history of cancer and its treatment covers both the eureka moments and the decades of despair; a PBS tie-in.

15

Zombie Spaceship Wastelandby Patton Oswalt
Wide-ranging essays by the comedian.