Local bestsellers

FICTION

1. THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central, $24.99.) A 17-year-old girl spends the summer with her divorced father in North Carolina and finds many kinds of love.

2. SOUTH OF BROAD, by Pat Conroy. (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $29.95.) An unlikely group's friendship from the '60s to the '80s, by the author of "The Prince of Tides."

3. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.

4. ALEX CROSS'S TRIAL, by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) The detective Alex Cross writes a novel about his great-uncle, who fought the Klan.

5. SPARTAN GOLD, by Clive Cussler with Grant Blackwood. (Putnam, $26.96.) Husband-and-wife treasure hunters search for bottles of wine from Napoleon's "lost cellar."

6. DARK SLAYER, by Christine Feehan. (Berkley, $25.95.) A slayer who travels with a wolf pack frees a Dragonseeker from prison and falls in love with him; a Carpathian novel.

7. THE WHITE QUEEN, by Philippa Gregory. (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, $25.99.) Palace intrigue during the War of the Roses, by the author of "The Other Boleyn Girl."

8. DEXTER BY DESIGN, by Jeff Lindsay. (Doubleday, $25.) A serial killer who arranges victims in artful poses challenges the Miami Police Department and its blood splatter analyst, Dexter.

9. THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $25.95.) A Swedish hacker becomes a murder suspect.

10. DEAD AND GONE, by Charlaine Harris. (Ace, $25.95.) Sookie Stackhouse searches for the killer of a werepanther.

NONFICTION

1. OFFICIAL BOOK CLUB SELECTION, by Kathy Griffin. (Ballantine, $25.) A humorous memoir from the star of "My Life on the D-List."

2. CULTURE OF CORRUPTION, by Michelle Malkin. (Regnery, $27.95.) President Obama and his team are portrayed as tax cheats, petty crooks, influence peddlers and Wall Street cronies.

3. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed, from the author of "Blink."

4. IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET SERVICE, by Ronald Kessler. (Crown, $26.) Agents and the presidents they protect.

5. LIBERTY AND TYRANNY, by Mark R. Levin. (Threshold Editions, $25.) A conservative manifesto from a talk-show host and president of Landmark Legal Foundation.

6. STRENGTH IN WHAT REMAINS, by Tracy Kidder. (Random House, $26.) A medical student survives civil war and genocide in Burundi, and flourishes in the United States.

7 (x). BORN TO RUN, by Christopher McDougall. (Knopf, $24.95.) Secrets of distance running from a Mexican Indian tribe.

8. A BOLD FRESH PIECE OF HUMANITY, by Bill O'Reilly. (Broadway, $26.) The Fox News commentator on his upbringing and career.

9. HALF THE SKY, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. (Knopf, $27.95.) Women fighting sexual oppression in Asia and Africa.

10. TRAVELING WITH POMEGRANATES, by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. (Viking, $25.95.) The novelist ("Secret Life of Bees") and her daughter travel together in Europe at a difficult time in both their lives.

ADVICE, HOW-TO AND MISCELLANEOUS

1. MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING, VOL. 1, by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. (Knopf, $40.) A reissue of the book that started Julia Child's career.

2. THE CONVERSATION, by Hill Harper. (Gotham, $22.50.) How black men and women can improve their relationships.

3. THE LAST LECTURE, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. (Hyperion, $21.95.) Thoughts on "seizing every moment," from a professor who died of cancer at age 47.

4. ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A MAN, by Steve Harvey with Denene Millner. (Amistad/HarperCollins, $23.99.) Relationship tips from the comedian and host of "The Steve Harvey Morning Show."

5. THE 50TH LAW, by 50 Cent and Robert Greene. (HarperStudio/HarperCollins, $19.99.) Conquering fear to attain power: a philosophy of life.

An (x) indicates that a book's sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A (b) indicates that some bookstores report receiving bulk orders. Rankings reflect sales for the week ending Sept. 12 at thousands of venues.