Advance Booking

I've been catching up with my favorite series all week, and reading the fantastic Samit Basu, so there hasn't been much activity on the blog. Just a reminder, my giveaway for Beth Fantaskey's Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is open internationally till February 21!

So, a look at the NYT best-seller list.

HARDCOVER FICTION:
1. WORST CASE- James Patterson and Michael Lewitz
Snippet: New York detective raising 10 children alone investigates a string of kidnappings and killings of teenagers by a villain with unusual motives.
My View: I've lost count of the number of books Patterson has written and the number of times he's topped this list.
2. THE HELP- Kathryn Stockett
Snippet:A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.
My View: There are a lot of good reviews of this book all over the blogosphere, and Beth of Beth Fish Reads has an Amy Einhorn perpetual challenge going on, to mark the books published by Amy Einhorn Books.
3. FLIRT- Laurell K. Hamilton
Snippet: Anita Blake, vampire hunter, and the men in her life. 18th book in the series.
My View: My roommate read like 7 or 8 books in the series, then got frustrated (and a little weirded out) by Blake's love life.
4. WINTER GARDEN- Kristin Hannah
Snippet:After their father’s death, two sisters must cooperate to run his apple orchard and care for their difficult mother.
5. THE LOST SYMBOL- Dan Brown
Snippet: Robert Langdon among the Masons.
My View: Read my review here.

HARDCOVER NON-FICTION:
1. GAME CHANGE- John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
Behind the scenes at the 2008 election with Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, John and Elizabeth Edwards, John McCain and Sarah Palin.
2. THE POLITICIAN- Andrew Young
A tell-all by John Edwards’s closest aide.
3. ON THE BRINK- Henry M. Paulson Jr.
The Treasury secretary during the autumn of 2008 describes the decisions that were made during the financial meltdown.
4. I AM OZZY- Ozzy Osbourne with Chris Ayres
Recollections of heavy metal’s “Prince of Darkness.”
5. THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS- Rebecca Skloot
Race, poverty and science intertwine in the story of the woman whose cancer cells were cultured without her permission in 1951 and have supported a mountain of research undertaken since then.

PAPERBACK TRADE FICTION:
1. A RELIABLE WIFE- Robert Goolrick
Snippet: Complications ensue when a wealthy Wisconsin widower in 1907 advertises for a spouse.
My View: Sounds like a fun book, but you never know.
2. THE LAST SONG- Nicholas Sparks
Snippet: A 17-year old spends the summer with her father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love.
My View: After watching A Walk To Remember, I thought of reading the book. Couldn't get beyond 10 pages. Haven't dared to touch another Sparks since then.
3. DEAR JOHN-Nicholas Sparks
Snippet: An unlikely romance between a soldier and an idealistic young woman is tested after 9/11.
My View: See No. 2 above
4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO-Stieg Larsson
Snippet: A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.
My View: I finished this book a couple of days back, and loved it. Review up this week.
5. THE LOVELY BONES-Alice Sebold
Snippet: A girl looks down from heaven as she describes the aftermath of her kidnapping and murder.
My View: Another book which has received rave reviews all over the blogosphere.

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION:
1. THE LOST CITY OF Z, by David Grann
A New Yorker writer searches for a British explorer who was lost in the Amazon in 1925.
2. THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis
The evolving business of football, viewed through the rise of the left tackle Michael Oher.
3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
A former climber builds schools in villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
4. A PEOPLE''S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, by Howard Zinn
An account from the point of view of women, African-Americans and others who are often marginalized.
5. ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT'S ME, CHELSEA, by Chelsea Handler
Humorous personal essays from the comedian.

Which of these would you like to read?

And this week's giveaways are:

Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books is giving away a copy of Michelle Moran's Nefertiti till February 15
Steph Su Reads is giving away a choice of ARCs until February 28