Hardcover fiction refers to relatively recent titles (usually within the last year or so) that are for entertainment, not reference. The top five for the first week in May 2009 were:
1. "Just Take My Heart" by Mary Higgins Clark
2. "Look Again" by Lisa Scottoline
3. "Turn Coat" by Jim Butcher
4. "Long Lost" by Harlan Coben
5. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer
By the end of the month, the list included "Dead and Gone" by Charlaine Harris; "The 8th Confession" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro; "Pygmy" by Chuck Palahniuk; "First Family" by David Baldacci; and "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" by Alexander McCall Smith. Debbie Macomber and J.R. Ward (Nora Roberts) were in the top five for one week in mid-May. As romance novelists with a devoted following, much of their sales happen immediately after release.
These titles, also released for the first time between 2008 and 2009, often fall into history, biography or finance. The top five on May 3, 2009, were:
1. "Liberty and Tyranny" by Mark R. Levin
2. "Always Looking Up" by Michael J. Fox
3. "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
4. "Mommywood" by Tori Spelling with Hilary Liftin
5. "Columbine" by Dave Cullen
As May continued, the list included "The Girl from Ames" by Jeffrey Zaslow and "Resilience" by Elizabeth Edwards, wife of John Edwards.
Paperbacks have been re-released, usually between a year and as long as three years after original sales. They are less expensive than hardcovers. Trade fiction includes mysteries, novels and other fictions and is a standard size. The top five at the beginning of May 2009 were:
1. "The Shack" by William P. Young
2. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (part of the same series as "The 8th Confession")
3. "City of Thieves" by David Benioff
4. "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri
5. "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah
Dan Brown later made the top five with "Angels and Demons," as did Nora Roberts for "Vision in White." "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," a farce by Seth Grahame-Smith on the Jane Austen classic, stayed in the bestsellers for most of May. In the last week, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," an epistolary World War II story by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, reached No. 3.
Mass-market fiction is primarily named for its size (compact) and lower price. Including romance and popular mysteries, these books are often sold in grocery stores and nonbook retailers. The top five for the first week of May 2009 included:
1. "Tribute" by Nora Roberts
2. "Where Are You Now?" by Mary Higgins Clark
3. "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown
4. "From Dead to Worse" by Charlaine Harris
5. "Nothing to Lose" by Lee Child
"Dark Summer" by Iris Johansen made the list as did "Burning Wild" by Christine Feehan, "At Last Comes Love" by Mary Balogh and "Sail" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. In horror, both "Phantom Prey" by John Sandford and "Odd Hours" by Dean R. Koontz were among the top five at May's end.
The May 2009 best sellers in paperback nonfiction carried the spectrum from humor to intrigue to feel-good biographies:
1. "Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
2. "The Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan
3. "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" by Tucker Max
4. "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson
5. "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
"The Soloist" by Steve Lopez, "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and a Barbara Walters autobiography, "Audition," all made the list in May as well.