John Waters steps onto the L.A. Times bestseller list
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John Waters was called “The Pope of Trash” by no less than William S. Burroughs. His outrageous cult films -- “MondoTrasho,” “Pink Flamingos,” “Female Trouble,” “Polyester” -- led, improbably, to increasing mainstream success. No less than Johnny Depp sang and danced for Waters in “Cry-Baby.” That movie followed “Hairspray,” which starred heavyweight transvestite Divine as Edna Turnblad, mother of Ricki Lake’s Tracy, the shy overweight girl who becomes a model for Hefty Hideaway and fights to integrate the local teen dance show. If you’d told John Waters fans then, in 1988, that in 15 years the Broadway adaptation would win eight Tony awards -- including best musical -- they wouldn’t have been able to believe you. But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
Speaking of nonfiction, that’s where John Waters is this week -- his new book, “Role Models,” enters the L.A. Times bestseller list at No. 11. “Role Models” is a book of essays on writers, musicians, public figures and others who Waters admires. Some are the type anyone might see as a hero -- Tennessee Williams, Johnny Mathis -- and others belong more uniquely in Waters’ pantheon, including Leslie Van Houghton and Esther Martin, owner of the scariest bar in Baltimore.
-- Carolyn Kellogg
twitter.com/paperhaus
See the complete bestseller list for June 20, 2010, after the jump.
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers
Fiction | weeks on list | |
1. | The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $27.95) The highly anticipated final book of the “Millennium Trilogy.” | 3 |
2. | The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, cook and college graduate intertwine. | 54 |
3. | The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $13.99) The story of the newborn vampire army as they close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens. | 1 |
4. | Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton ( | 2 |
5. | The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Hyperion: $17.99) Siblings battle Egyptian gods to uncover family secrets and find their Egyptologist father. | 5 |
6. | The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (Dial Press: $25) The goings-on at a ragtag English-language newspaper in Rome. | 3 |
7. | 61 Hours by Lee Child (Delacorte: $28) Roving ex-military cop Jack Reacher helps a small South Dakota town deal with sinister forces. | 4 |
8. | Innocent by Scott Turow (Grand Central: $27.99) Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto return to the courtroom after the mysterious death of Rusty’s wife. | 5 |
9. | The Lion by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central: $27.99) A terrorist returns to the U.S. to kill those responsible for bombing his village. | 1 |
10. | Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham (Dutton: $16.99) A 13-year-old aspiring lawyer finds himself in the middle of a murder trial. | 2 |
11. | Storm Prey by John Sandford (Putnam: $27.95) Agent Lucas Davenport’s surgeon wife is a key witness in a botched robbery case. | 4 |
12. | Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $25.95) Sookie Stackhouse copes with loss and the paranormal. | 5 |
13. | The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Percy Jackson and his army of demigods battle the Lord of Time. | 26 |
14. | The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse (Free Press: $23) The lives of Mexican Americans converge over the shooting of a young girl in an L.A. suburb. | 1 |
15. | Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin ( | 3 |
16. | The Spy by Clive Cussler ( | 1 |
17. | Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic: $17.99) In a post-apocalyptic future kids are forced to fight in gladiator-like matches to the death. | 5 |
18. | Strip by Thomas Perry (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $26) An LAPD detective is caught in the middle of a gangster war and high-stakes drama at home. | 4 |
19. | The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (Knopf: $26.95) Jewish lovers in Paris are forced to return to Hungary during World War II. | 2 |
20. | Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday: $24.95). A washed-up actress looking for a comeback embarks on a love affair with a gold-digging suitor. | 2 |
Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers
1. | ---- My Dad Says by Justin Halpern (HarperCollins: $15.99) A son’s compilation of his elderly father’s ramblings and observations. | 5 |
2. | Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth (Scribner: $24) How the connection between eating and core beliefs brings fulfillment. | 10 |
3. | War by Sebastian Junger (Twelve: $26.99) The author’s account of 14 months with a U.S. Army platoon in Afghanistan. | 4 |
4. | The Big Short by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton: $27.95) How the U.S. economy was driven to near collapse by the bond and real estate markets. | 12 |
5. | Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle (Free Press: $25) A Jesuit priest recounts working with L.A. youth through his gang intervention program. | 11 |
6. | Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush (Scribner: $30) The former first lady’s memoir of growing up in West Texas and life in the White House. | 5 |
7. | The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking: $30). Col. Custer, Sitting Bull and the battle of Little Big Horn. | 2 |
8. | Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre (Harmony: $25.99). A true account of a how a fictional story and a dead body fooled the Nazis in World War II. | 2 |
9. | 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. | 76 |
10. | Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens (Twelve: $26.99) The contrarian shares his political and personal life stories. | 2 |
11. | Role Models by John Waters (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $25) A self-portrait of the cult filmmaker as told through profiles of famous personalities. | 1 |
12. | Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco: $27) The singer’s early days and relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. | 18 |
13. | The Promise by Jonathan Alter (Simon & Schuster: $28) An inside look at President Obama’s first year in office. | 3 |
14. | Delivering Happiness byTony Hsieh (Business Plus: $23.99) The transformation of Zappos CEO from Harvard student to entrepreneur | 1 |
15. | Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (Little, Brown: $25.99) An examination of and behind-the-scenes look at factory farming. | 9 |
16. | The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman (Harper: $25.99) The stand-up comic known for her salty humor shares her life story. | 7 |
17. | LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary (DK Publishing: $21.99) Details, history and lingo about all the Star Wars characters and vehicles. | 1 |
18. | Wooden byJohn Wooden & Steve Jamison (McGraw-Hill: $19.95) The timeless wisdom and teachings of the late UCLA basketball coach. | 1 |
19. | Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler (Grand Central: $25.99) Essays and amusing tales from the comic’s personal life. | 8 |
20. | Left Behind by Sebastian Edwards (University Of Chicago Press: $29) A political and economic history of Latin America. | 2 |
Paperbacks Fiction
1. | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) | |
2. | The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson ($15.95) | |
3. | Tinkers by Paul Harding ($14.95) | |
4. | Little Bee by Chris Cleave ($14) | |
5. | Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann ($15) | |
6. | Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese ($15.95) | |
7. | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ($13.95) | |
8. | The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan ($7.99) | |
9. | The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan ($7.99) | |
10. | A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick ($14.95) | |
11. | The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein ($14.99) | |
12. | Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner ($15) | |
13. | That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo ($15) | |
14. | The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger ($13.99) | |
15. | The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ($7.99) | |
Paperbacks: Non-Fiction | ||
1. | Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15) | |
2. | Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15) | |
3. | Food Rules by Michael Pollan ($7.99) | |
4. | L.A. Noir by John Buntin ($16) | |
5. | The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb ($17) | |
6. | Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon ($14.99) | |
7. | How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer ($14.95) | |
8. | Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler ($16) | |
9. | Blink by Malcolm Gladwell ($15.99) | |
10. | The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz ($12.95) | |
11. | What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel ($24.95) | |
12. | Blink by Malcolm Gladwell ($15.99) | |
13. | Secret Stairs by Charles Fleming ($16.95) | |
14. | Shop Class as Soul Craft by Matthew B. Crawford ($15) | |
15. | Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton ($15.95) | |
Rankings are based on a weekly poll of Southern California bookstores.
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