Best sellers

FICTION

1. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown. (Doubleday, $29.95.) Robert Langdon among the Masons.

2. AN ECHO IN THE BONE, by Diana Gabaldon. (Delacorte, $30.) Jamie Fraser and his time-traveling wife, Claire, encounter pirates on the high seas; the seventh Outlander novel.

3. 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.

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

5. HOTHOUSE ORCHID, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) A CIA special agent finds that much has changed, and not for the better, when she returns to her Florida hometown.

6. 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."

7. 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.

8. THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD, by Margaret Atwood. (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $26.95.) In a violent future society, survivors of a catastrophic pandemic make their way.

9. HARDBALL, by Sara Paretsky. (Putnam, $26.95.) Searching for an old woman's missing son, Chicago private investigator V.I. Warshawski is plunged into the politics of the 1960s.

10 (x). 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."

11. A CHANGE IN ALTITUDE, by Anita Shreve. (Little, Brown, $26.99.) A young woman's life is transformed by a mountain-climbing accident in Kenya.

NONFICTION

1. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others. (Mercury Radio Arts/Threshold Editions, $29.99.) Making the case against big government. (b)

2. TRUE COMPASS, by Edward M. Kennedy. (Twelve, $35.) The late senator's autobiography.

3. HIGH ON ARRIVAL, by Mackenzie Phillips with Hilary Liftin. (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $25.99.) The actress and daughter of musician John Phillips recalls a life of parties, drugs and a complicated relationship with her father.

4. AMERICAN ON PURPOSE, by Craig Ferguson. (Harper/HarperCollins, $25.99.) The Scottish-born comedian describes his journey to late-night television stardom and American citizenship.

5. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, by Richard Dawkins. (Free Press, $30.) Evidence for evolution; a counterattack on advocates of intelligent design.

6. WHERE MEN WIN GLORY, by Jon Krakauer. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The story of Pat Tillman, the NFL player who enlisted after 9/11, and the Army's cover-up of his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

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

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

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

10. THE CASE FOR GOD, by Karen Armstrong. (Knopf, $27.95.) Armstrong, a former nun, seeks to rescue the idea of God from atheists and literal-minded believers alike.

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. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2010, edited by Craig Glenday. (Guinness, $28.95.) Tallest, fastest, youngest, most.

3. 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."

4. MASTER YOUR METABOLISM, by Jillian Michaels with Mariska van Aalst. (Crown, $26.) A weight-loss plan by a trainer from "The Biggest Loser" on NBC.

5. 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.

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. 26 at thousands of venues.