National bestsellers for week ended May 19

Top-selling books in the fiction, nonfiction and advice categories.

The New York Times
June 5, 2012 at 8:54PM

FICTION

1. STOLEN PREY, by John Sandford. (Putnam, $27.95.) When a Minnesota family is murdered, Minneapolis investigator Lucas Davenport believes a Mexican drug gang is involved.

2. 11TH HOUR, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club investigate a possible serial killer.

3. DEADLOCKED, by Charlaine Harris. (Ace, $27.95.) Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse investigates a murder that has more to do with her than she imagines.

4. THE COLUMBUS AFFAIR, by Steve Berry. (Ballantine, $27.) The daughter of a disgraced journalist is held by a man who wants to force her father to help him discover a secret left by Columbus.

5. CALICO JOE, by John Grisham. ( Doubleday, $24.95.) A pitcher beans a promising rookie, ending both their careers; years later, the pitcher's son brings them together.

6. THE INNOCENT, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central, $27.99.) A hit man who has become a target of the government rescues a teenage girl whose parents have been murdered and who may be at the center of a dangerous conspiracy.

7. IN ONE PERSON, by John Irving. (Simon & Schuster, $28.) An aspiring writer struggles with his sexuality.

8. BRING UP THE BODIES, by Hilary Mantel. (John Macrae/Holt, $28.) In this sequel to "Wolf Hall," Thomas Cromwell conspires against Anne Boleyn, whom Henry VIII has turned against so he can marry Jane Seymour.

9. THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE, by Stephen King. (Scribner, $27.) A new entry in the Dark Tower epic western-fantasy series; this novel, King says, is "Dark Tower 4.5."

10. HOME, by Toni Morrison. (Knopf, $24.) A bitter Korean War veteran returns to a segregated America and revisits his small Georgia hometown.

NONFICTION

1. THE AMATEUR, by Edward Klein. (Regnery, $27.95.) A journalist argues that President Obama is callow and unable to lead.

2. THE PASSAGE OF POWER, by Robert A. Caro. (Knopf, $35.) The fourth volume of "The Years of Lyndon Johnson," Caro's monumental biography, follows events from 1958 through the Kennedy assassination.

3. THE ART OF INTELLIGENCE, by Henry A. Crumpton. (Penguin Press, $27.95.) The former operations officer who led the CIA's fight against al-Qaida in Afghanistan after 9/11 reviews the lessons he learned from his 24-year career.

4. MY CROSS TO BEAR, by Gregg Allman with Alan Light. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The musician's memoir.

5(x). MOST TALKATIVE, by Andy Cohen. (Holt, $25.) The Bravo executive vice president who oversees "Top Chef" and "The Real Housewives" looks back on his career.

6. KILLING LINCOLN, by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. (Holt, $28.) The host of "The O'Reilly Factor" recounts the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

7. LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE, by Anna Quindlen. (Random House, $26.) The journalist and novelist, now nearly 60, looks back at her experiences and those of her generation.

8. SERVICE, by Marcus Luttrell and James D. Hornfischer. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) A Navy SEAL who was rescued in Afghanistan describes his experience in Iraq.

9. IMAGINE, by Jonah Lehrer. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.) An account of the science of creativity argues that it is not a gift but a thought process that can be learned.

10. THE PRESIDENTS CLUB, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. (Simon & Schuster, $32.50.) Two journalists examine the relationships between sitting presidents and their predecessors.

11(x). UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand. (Random House, $27.) An Olympic runner's story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II after his bomber went down over the Pacific.

ADVICE

1. THE SKINNY RULES, by Bob Harper with Greg Critser. (Ballantine, $26.) The star of "The Biggest Loser" lays out "principles for getting to thin."

2. THE CHARGE, by Brendon Burchard. (Free Press, $26.) Ten human drives that make you feel alive. (b)

3. I AM A POLE (AND SO CAN YOU!), by Stephen Colbert. Illustrated by Paul Hildebrand. (Grand Central, $15.99.) A children's book parody from the mock pundit of TV's "Colbert Report."

4. HOW WILL YOU MEASURE YOUR LIFE?, by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon. (Harper Business/HarperCollins, $25.99.) Tools for finding meaning and happiness. (b)

5. THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: FOOD FROM MY FRONTIER, by Ree Drummond. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $29.99.) More recipes.

Rankings reflect sales for the week that ended May 19 at thousands of venues nationwide. 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.

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