Bestsellers - wk ending Sept. 25, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending Sunday, September 25, 2005

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
2. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, Alexander McCall Smith
3. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
4. The March, E. L. Doctorow
5. Thud!, Terry Pratchett
6. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch
7. A Sudden Country, Karen Fisher
8. Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie
9. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
10. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
2. Blink Malcolm Gladwell
3. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
4. Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich
5. Wild Ducks Flying Backward, Tom Robbins (A northwest-books.com author)
6. On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt
7. The Tender Bar, J. R. Moehringer
8. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, Alan Alda
9. You: The Owner's Manual, Michael F. Roizen, M.D., Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
10. A Man Without a Country, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

MASS MARKET

1. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
2. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
3. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
4. A Taint in the Blood, Dana Stabenow
5. The South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, M.D.
6. Deception Point, Dan Brown
7. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
8. Hour Game, David Baldacci
9. The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, Merriam-Webster (Eds.)
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (A northwest-books.com author)
2. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (A northwest-books.com author)
3. Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
6. Flush, Carl Hiaasen
7. High Rhulain (Redwall #18), Brian Jacques, David Elliot (Illus.)
8. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Movie Tie-in), Ann Brashares
9. Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
10. Junie B., First Grader: Boo...and I Mean It!, Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (Illus.)

New this week

I?ve added two new works this week. First time author and Lopez Island, Wash. resident Karen Fisher has turned out a great story about the Pioneer push west in A Sudden Country. The author has lived in the West as a teacher, wrangler, farmer, and carpenter. And, I?ve added a very local book: West Seattle 101 by westside resident Lori Hinton, who gives us a an insider?s guide to West Seattle. The 101 refers to 101 different things to do in West Seattle.

West Seattle 101

West Seattle 101 : A hundred and things to do
By Lori Hinton

The birthplace of Seattle, West Seattle has enticed adventurous pioneers since the Denny Party landed on Alki Beach in 1851. Now, this enigmatic neighborhood is the first in Seattle to have its own guidebook?West Seattle 101.

Inside you?ll find an eclectic collection of 101 things to do. Fly fish at Lincoln Park, take it off at striptease aerobics, savor ice cream at the iconic Husky Deli, and discover 98 other intriguing West Seattle activities. Written by Westside native Lori Hinton, West Seattle 101 is a true insider's guide for locals and tourists alike, packed with details for each adventure plus a peek at the colorful characters and history of this thriving community.

Read More.

A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher

A Sudden Country
By Karen Fisher

A vivid and revelatory novel based on actual events of the 1847 Oregon migration, A Sudden Country follows two characters of remarkable complexity and strength in a journey of survival and redemption.

James MacLaren, once a resourceful and ambitious Hudson?s Bay Company trader, has renounced his aspirations for a quiet family life in the Bitterroot wilderness. Yet his life is overturned in the winter of 1846, when his Nez Perce wife deserts him and his children die of smallpox. In the grip of a profound sorrow, MacLaren, whose home once spanned a continent, sets out to find his wife. But an act of secret vengeance changes his course, introducing him to a different wife and mother: Lucy Mitchell, journeying westward with her family.

Lucy, a remarried widow, careful mother, and reluctant emigrant, is drawn at once to the self-possessed MacLaren. Convinced that he is the key to her family?s safe passage, she persuades her husband to employ him. As their hidden stories and obsessions unfold, and pasts and cultures collide, both Lucy and MacLaren must confront the people they have truly been, are, and may become.

Alive with incident and insight, presenting with rare scope and intimacy the complex relations among nineteenth-century traders, immigrants, and Native Americans, A Sudden Country is, above all, a heroic and unforgettable story of love and loss, sacrifice and understanding.

About the Author

Karen Fisher has lived in the West as a teacher, wrangler, farmer, and carpenter. She now lives with her husband and their three children on Lopez Island in the Puget Sound.

Read More.

Bestsellers - wk ending Sept. 18, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending September 18, 2005.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch (A northwest-books.com author)
2. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
3. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
4. Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie
5. The Painted Drum, Louise Erdrich
6. Thud!, Terry Pratchett
7. Long Time Gone, J. A. Jance (A northwest-books.com author)
8. Straken, Terry Brooks
9. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
10. The Summer He Didn't Die Jim Harrison

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. Wild Ducks Flying Backward, Tom Robbins (A northwest-books.com author)
2. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
3. A Man Without a Country, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
4. 1776, David McCullough
5. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
6. Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich
7. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
8. Burning Fence, Craig Lesley
9. On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt
10. New Rules, Bill Maher

MASS MARKET

1. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
2. Double Shot, Diane Mott Davidson
3. A Taint in the Blood, Dana Stabenow
4. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
5. Dune: The Battle of Corrin, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
6. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
7. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
8. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
9. Hour Game, David Baldacci
10. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (A northwest-books.com author)
2. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (A northwest-books.com author)
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
4. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.)
5. Flush, Carl Hiaasen
6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Movie Tie-in), Ann Brashares
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
8. Napoleon Dynamite: The Complete Quote Book, Simon Spotlight (Eds.)
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
10. The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau

Five on bestseller list

Five, count ?em, five northwest authors on our bestseller lists this week! Jim Lynch?s first novel, The Highest Tide, is sixth in it?s debut week. Also on the hardcover bestseller list is J. A. Jance?s Long Time Gone, which has been on the list for several weeks now. Tom Robbins? new collection of short writings, Wild Ducks Flying Backward, is on the non-fiction list. And, both books by teenager Christopher Paolini are on the Children?s list. Eldest, just out, is the sequel to his earlier work Eragon.

Bestsellers - wk ending Sept. 11, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending September 11, 2005

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
2. A Sudden Country, Karen Fisher
3. Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie
4. The Painted Drum, Louise Erdrich
5. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
6. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch (a northwest-books.com author)
7. Straken, Terry Brooks
8. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
9. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy
10. Long Time Gone, J. A. Jance (a northwest-books.com author)

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. You: The Owner's Manual, Michael F. Roizen, M.D., Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
2. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
3. On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt
4. 1776, David McCullough
5. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
6. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, Kevin Trudeau
7. Collapse, Jared Diamond
8. Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich
9. Wild Ducks Flying Backward, Tom Robbins (a northwest-books.com author)
10. Burning Fence, Craig Lesley

MASS MARKET

1. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
2. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
3. Double Shot, Diane Mott Davidson
4. A Taint in the Blood, Dana Stabenow
5. Hour Game, David Baldacci
6. Dune: The Battle of Corrin, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
7. Trace, Patricia D. Cornwell
8. The South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, M.D.
9. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
10. Digital Fortress, Dan Brown

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
2. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
6. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.)
7. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Movie Tie-in), Ann Brashares
8. The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Movie Tie-in), Roald Dahl

The week's featured books

I?m adding two new works this week that are rather diverse. The first is an unforgettable first novel by Olympia, Wash. resident Jim Lynch, who has won national journalism awards. The Highest Tide is a mesmerizing, allegorical, and beautifully wrought first novel about one boy?s fascination with the sea during the summer that will change his life.

Also new this week is Wild Ducks Flying Backward, a collection of short writings by Tom Robbins, who lives in the Seattle area when he?s not travelling.

Another recent addition is Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Eastern Washingtonian Patrick Carman, the second in a three-part fantasy series for young people. It?s worth checking out.

Wild Ducks Flying Backward

Wild Ducks Flying Backward
by Tom Robbins

Known for his meaty seriocomic novels, sometime Seattle-area resident Tom Robbins has also published over the years a number of short pieces, predominantly nonfiction. His travel articles, essays, and tributes to actors, musicians, sex kittens, and thinkers have appeared in publications ranging from Esquire to Harper?s, from Playboy to the New York Times, High Times, and Life. A generous sampling, collected here for the first time and including works as diverse as scholarly art criticism and some decidedly untypical country-music lyrics, Wild Ducks Flying Backward offers a rare sweeping overview of the eclectic sensibility of an American original. Read More.

The Highest Tide

The Highest Tide
by Jim Lynch

One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O?Malley slips out of his house, packs up his kayak and goes exploring on the flats of Puget Sound. But what begins as an ordinary hunt for starfish, snails, and clams is soon transformed by an astonishing sight: a beached giant squid. As the first person to ever see a giant squid alive, he instantly becomes a local curiosity. When he later finds a rare deepwater fish in the tidal waters by his home, and saves a dog from drowning, he is hailed as a prophet. Read More.

Northwest Bestsellers - week ending Sept. 4, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending Sunday, September 4, 2005

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
2. Until I Find You, John Irving
3. No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy
4. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch
5. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
6. A Sudden Country, Karen Fisher
7. Long Time Gone, J.A. Jance (Order it here)
8. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
9. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
10. Lifeguard, James Patterson

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. You: The Owner's Manual, Michael F. Roizen, M.D., Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
2. 1776, David McCullough
3. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
4. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
5. Wild Ducks Flying Backward, Tom Robbins
6. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
7. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, Kevin Trudeau
8. New Rules, Bill Maher
9. Collapse, Jared Diamond
10. 1491, Charles C. Mann

MASS MARKET

1. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
2. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
3. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
4. Double Shot, Diane Mott Davidson
5. A Taint in the Blood, Dana Stabenow
6. The South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, M.D.
7. Hour Game, David Baldacci
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, Merriam-Webster (Eds.)
10. Dune: The Battle of Corrin,Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (Order it here)
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
3. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (Order it here)
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
5. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Movie Tie-in), Ann Brashares
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Movie Tie-in), Roald Dahl
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
9. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
10. The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau

Beyond the Valley of Thorns

Beyond the Valley of Thorns
By Patrick Carman

The sequel to the fantasy book Dark Hills Divide, by Washington-based author Patrick Carman. Alexa thought her troubles were over when she defeated the man who threatened to bring down Bridwell from within. But now that the walls around her have fallen, a new, unexpected threat has risen from outside. Suddenly, Alexa is involved in a battle much, much larger than her own life-a battle in which she is destined to play a key role. Read More.