Books

Bestsellers compiled from our survey of the nation's top independent bookstores listed below

photo: Sylvia Plachy

Randall Kennedy, author of Nigger, Our no. 5 bestseller

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More About

• Donald Phelps
• Hollywood (California)
• David Edmonds
• Books and Literature
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

HARDCOVER

1. THE CORRECTIONSby Jonathan FranzenFarrar, Straus & Giroux, $26
   
   
2. WHAT WENT WRONGby Bernard LewisOxford University Press, $23
   
   
   
3. WITTGENSTEIN'S POKERby David Edmonds and John EidinowEcco Press, $24
   
   
   
4. BASKET CASEby Carl HiaasenKnopf, $25.95
   
   
   
5. NIGGERby Randall KennedyPantheon, $22
   
   
   
6. PEACE LIKE A RIVERby Leif EngerAtlantic Monthly Press, $24
   
   
   
7. ISLAM: A SHORT HISTORYby Karen ArmstrongModern Library, $19.95
   
   
   
8. CRASHING THE PARTYby Ralph NaderSt. Martin's, $24.95
   
   
   
9. AUSTERLITZby W.G. SebaldRandom House, $25.95
   
   
   
10. THE SECRET LIFE OF PUPPETSby Victoria NelsonHarvard University Press, $29.95
    
    
    

PAPERBACK

1. 9-11 by Noam ChomskySeven Stories Press, $8.95
   
   
   
2. A BEAUTIFUL MINDby Sylvia NasarTouchstone, $16
   
   
   
3. FAST FOOD NATIONby Eric SchlosserHarperCollins, $13.95
   
   
   
4. THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAYby Michael ChabonPicador, $15
   
   
   
5. UNDERSTANDING POWERedited by R. Mitchell and John SchoeffelNew Press, $19.95
   
   
   
6. THE BODY ARTISTby Don DeLilloScribner, $12
   
   
   
7. ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAYby David SedarisLittle, Brown, $14.95
   
   
   
8. WHITE TEETHby Zadie SmithKnopf, $14
   
   
   
9. PRODIGAL SUMMERby Barbara KingsolverHarperPerennial, $14
   
   
   
10. BRUNELLESCHI'S DOMEby Ross KingPenguin, $13
    
    
    

Bailey/Coy BooksSeattle, WA; Black Oak BooksBerkeley, CA; Book SoupWest Hollywood, CA; Book WomanAustin, TX; Canterbury BooksMadison, WI; City Lights BookstoreSan Francisco, CA; Cody's BooksBerkeley, CA; Fact & FictionMissoula, MT; Farley's BookshopNew Hope, PA; Harvard Book StoreCambridge, MA; Labyrinth BooksNew York, NY; Left Bank BooksSt. Louis, MO; Midnight Special BookstoreSanta Monica, CA; Politics & ProseWashington, D.C.; Posman BooksNew York, NY; Prairie Lights BookstoreIowa City, IA; The Regulator BookshopDurham, NC; Ruminator BooksSt. Paul, MN; St. Mark's BookshopNew York, NY; Seminary Co-operative Bookstore, Inc.Chicago, IL; Shaman Drum BookshopAnn Arbor, MI; That Bookstore in BlythevilleBlytheville, AR; Women & Children FirstChicago, IL.

Also in This Week’s Books Section:

Joy Press on The Sweetest Dream by Doris Lessing

Alisa Solomon on Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine by Raja Shehadeh

J. Hoberman on Reading The Funnies: Essays On Comic Strips by Donald Phelps