Best sellers

1. The Appeal, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $27.95.) Political and legal intrigue ensue when a Mississippi court decides against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste.

2. Strangers in Death, by J.D. Robb. (Putnam, $25.95.) Lt. Eve Dallas investigates a businessman's scandalous death; by Nora Roberts, writing pseudonymously.

3. 7th Heaven, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) In San Francisco, Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club hunt for an arsonist and a missing teenager.

4. Lady Killer, by Lisa Scottoline. (Harper, $25.95.) When her high school rival disappears, possibly as a result of foul play; a Philadelphia lawyer must confront her past.

5. Duma Key, by Stephen King. (Scribner, $28.) A Minnesota contractor moves to Florida to recover from an injury and begins to create paintings with mysterious power.

6. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. (Riverhead, $25.95.) A friendship between two women in Afghanistan against the backdrop of 30 years of war.

7. World Without End, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $35.) Love and intrigue in Kingsbridge, the medieval English cathedral town at the center of Follett's "Pillars of the Earth."

9. Stranger in Paradise, by Robert B. Parker. (Putnam, $25.95.) Jesse Stone, the police chief of Paradise, Mass., must protect a hit man's intended victim.

10. The First Patient, by Michael Palmer. (St. Martin's, $22.95.) When he becomes doctor to his old friend the president, a country physician discovers a conspiracy to kill him.

1. Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg. (Doubleday, $27.95.) This "alternative history of American liberalism reveals its roots in, and commonalities with, classical fascism."

2. In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. (Penguin Press, $21.95.) A manifesto urges us to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

3. The Age of American Unreason, by Susan Jacoby. (Pantheon, $26.) Are Americans hostile to knowledge?

5. Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely. (Harper, $25.95.) An MIT behavioral economist shows how emotions and social norms systematically shape our behavior.

6. I Am America (And So Can You!), by Stephen Colbert et al. (Grand Central, $26.99.) The wit and wisdom of the mock pundit of Comedy Central's "Colbert Report."

7. An Inconvenient Book, by Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe. (Threshold Editions, $26.) Beck's solutions to problems including global warming and political correctness.

8. Real Change, by Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler. (Regnery, $27.95.) How to build a better America, from the former speaker of the House.

9.(x) God's Problem, by Bart D. Ehrman. (HarperOne, $25.95.) A scholar examines the Bible's contradictory pronouncements on the meaning of suffering.

1. The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. (Atria/Beyond Words, $23.95.) The law of attraction as a key to getting what you want.

2. Women and Money, by Suze Orman. (Spiegel & Grau, $24.95.) Advice for overcoming one's dysfunctional relationship with money, including a five-month plan for getting finances on track.

3. The Third Jesus, by Deepak Chopra. (Harmony, $24.) What the "cosmic Christ" can teach, regardless of one's religious background.

4. Become a Better You, by Joel Osteen. (Free Press, $25.) Seven keys to living with joy.

5. You: Staying Young, by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz et al. (Free Press, $26.) The principles of longevity and how to combat aging's effects.