Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Dec. 7, 2008
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| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | A Mercy by Toni Morrison (Knopf: $23.95) A slave girl is sold by her mother in late 1600s America to give her a better life. | 2 |
| 2. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 17 |
| 3. | The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: 25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff from a plastic-surgery clinic. | 1 |
| 4. | Cross Country by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross pursues an African underworld figure and mass-murder suspect to Nigeria. | 1 |
| 5. | The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (Harper: $29.95) A couple seek to reconstruct their lives after a tragic school shooting in Colorado. | 2 |
| 6. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 20 |
| 7. | Just After Sunset by Stephen King (Scribner: $28) A collection of 13 new tales of short fiction. | 1 |
| 8. | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial Press: $22) A writer corresponds with islanders after German occupation. | 17 |
| 9. | The Gate House by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central: $27.99) A man and his ex-wife attempt to reconcile years after her affair with a mob boss. | 5 |
| 10. | Divine Justice by David Baldacci (Grand Central: $27.99) A government assassin is hunted down after avenging his wife’s death. | 3 |
| 11. | 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) Greed, murder and desperation haunt a U.S.-Mexico border town.. | 2 |
| 12. | The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.99) A luckless attorney defends a studio executive accused of offing his wife and her lover. | 7 |
| 13. | The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck (Threshold: $19.99) A boy learns about family, faith and forgiveness from a disappointing Christmas gift. | 2 |
| 14. | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $24.95) A journalist explores the cold-case disappearance of a Swedish teen heiress. | 5 |
| 15. | Brisinger by Christopher Paolini (Knopf: $27.50) Eragon, along with his dragon Saphira, must unite the rebel forces to defeat King Galbatorix. | 10 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high-achievers. | 2 |
| 2. | Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.95) Solutions to overpopulation and the global-warming crisis. | 12 |
| 3. | Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library and its patrons. | 9 |
| 4. | American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House. | 2 |
| 5. | Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) The actor, comedian and Howard Stern sidekick shares his life stories. | 3 |
| 6. | The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. | 32 |
| 7. | Why We Suck by Denis Leary (Viking : $26.95) The comedian’s biting social commentary on the state of the world. | 1 |
| 8. | Goodnight Bush by Erich Origen and Gan Golan (Little, Brown: $14.99) A parody of the children’s classic “Goodnight Moon.” | 19 |
| 9. | The Snowball by Alice Schroeder (Bantam: $35) The life and times of investor Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha.” | 8 |
| 10. | Annie Leibovitz at Work by Annie Leibovitz (Random House: $40) The photographer dissects and explains the making of her favorite photos. | 1 |
| 11. | You: Being Beautiful by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press: $26.99) A scientific approach to the myths and stereotypes of how we define beauty. | 2 |
| 12. | A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News commentator explores his childhood and its relevance on his life. | 7 |
| 13. | When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $25.99) Musings on life and smoking. | 24 |
| 14. | Call Me Ted by Ted Turner (Grand Central: $30) The media mogul reveals his personal story of triumph and tragedy. | 2 |
| 15. | Force of Nature by Laird Hamilton (Rodale Books: $27.95) A peek inside the life of the big-wave surfer. | 3 |
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