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A squid attacks this week’s L.A. Times bestseller list

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Southern California is feeling squiddy this summer. China Miéville’s ‘Kraken,’ set in London, enters the L.A. Times hardcover fiction bestseller list this week at No. 15. ‘Kraken’ begins when a giant squid disappears from an exhibit; the museum curator’s quest to recover it leads to a propulsive urban fantasy of magic and monsters, peopled by criminals, sorcerers and squid worshipers. Miéville, 37, has won three Arthur C. Clarke awards and been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and other prizes.

The nonfiction bestseller list features another fish story -- Paul Greenberg’s ‘Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food.’ ‘The signal quality of Greenberg’s book is its genial and sometimes despairing struggle with contradiction,’ Richard Eder wrote in our review. ‘Not many who argue for our planet’s endangered species also write the thrill of hunting them.’ Greenberg’s book debuts at No. 6 this week.

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The extended bestseller list -- fiction, nonfiction, hardcover and paperback -- is after the jump.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers
Place Book 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. 10

2 The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The Southern lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate intertwine. 61

3 The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (Random House: $26.00) A pious Dutch official finds love in turn-of-the-19th-century Japan. 4

4 The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $26.95) Murder and a stolen Rembrandt portrait. 2

5 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. 11

6 The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (Doubleday: $25.95) Rose Edelstein’s gift of taste is bittersweet. 7

7 Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26.99) A mother and her daughters find comfort after an affair. 2

8 Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst (Random House: $26) A Greek official becomes immersed with European spies in the early days of World War II. 6

9 Savages by Don Winslow (Simon & Schuster: $25) Laguna Beach drug dealers take on a violent Baja Cartel. 3

10 A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (Forge: $22.99) A dog is reborn several times before finding his true purpose. 3

11 The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster: $25.99) Detective Dave Robicheaux investigates a serial killer and his daughter’s dangerous new boyfriend. 2

12 Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic: $17.99) The wolves of Mercy Falls return in this sequel to ‘Shiver.’ 1

13 The Obama Diaries by Laura Ingraham (Threshold: $25) A satirical look at fictional diaries of the Obamas. 2

14 The Passage by Justin Cronin (Ballantine: $27) An apocalypse with fangs: A military experiment with vampires goes wrong and imperils humanity. 8

15 Kraken by China Miéville (Del Rey: $26) A London curator’s search for a stolen Kraken exhibit leads him into a strange underworld of squid worshipers. 1

16 Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis (Knopf: $24.95) An L.A. noir nightmare that returns to ‘Less Than Zero’s’ characters as they near middle age. 7

17 Faithful Place by Tana French (Viking: $25.95) An Irish undercover cop investigates the discovery of an old girlfriend’s body. 2

18 The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Siblings battle Egyptian gods to find their Egyptologist father. 13

19 Star Wars: The Old Republic by Sean Williams (LucasBooks: $27) A prequel to the role-playing video game that takes place 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader. 1

20 Private by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) A former CIA agent tracks down the killer of a former lover. 7

Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers
Place Book Weeks on list
1 Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth (Scribner: $24) How the connection between eating and core beliefs brings fulfillment. 17

2 Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern (HarperCollins: $15.99) A son’s compilation of his elderly father’s ramblings and observations. 11

3 The Big Short by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton: $27.95) How the U.S. economy was driven to collapse by the bond and real estate markets. 20

4 The Subtle Body by Stefanie Syman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $28) The history of yoga in America. 1

5 Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (Ecco: $26.99) A gastronome’s journey for foodies everywhere. 7

6 Four Fish by Paul Greenberg (Penguin Press: $25.95) The history and debate between wild and farm-raised fish. 1

7 Win Forever by Pete Carroll (Portfolio: $25.95) The USC coach advises how to be your best in every aspect of your life. 2

8 Role Models by John Waters (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $25.00) A quasi-memoir from the iconoclastic movie director. 8

9 Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath (Gallup Press: $22.95) An upgraded assessment on how to find your top talents. 9

10 War by Sebastian Junger (Twelve: $26.99) The author’s account of 14 months with a U.S. Army platoon in Afghanistan. 11

11 Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens (Twelve: $26.99) The contrarian shares his political and personal life stories. 9

12 Orange Sunshine by Nicolas Schou (Thomas Dunne: $24.99) The history of a band of 1960s LSD-dealing hippies, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. 5

13 Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $26.95) The author tackles her fears of marriage by delving into the institution’s history. 16

14 Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle (Free Press: $25) A Jesuit priest recounts working with L.A. youth through his gang intervention program. 17

15 Change Your Brain, Change Your Body by Daniel G. Amen (Harmony: $16) Dietary advice to improve brain function and overall health. 8

16 Golden Gate by Kevin Starr (Bloomsbury: $23) A chronicle of the the longest suspension bridge in the world. 3

17 You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh (Shambhala: $19.95) Buddhist techniques and practices for finding happiness by living in the moment. 7

18 Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson (Harper: $19.99) How ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and a little black dress influenced a generation. 4

19 Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco: $27) The singer’s early days and relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. 23

20 The Men Who Would Be King by Nicole Laporte (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $28) The rise and fall of DreamWorks Studios. 6

Paperback Fiction Bestsellers
Place Book
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 Little Bee by Chris Cleave ($14)

4 One Day by David Nicholls ($14.95)

5 Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese ($15.95)

6 This is Where I Leave You by Johnathan Tropper ($15)

7 Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann ($15)

8 Tinkers by Paul Harding ($14.95)

9 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell ($15)

10 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee ($7.99)

11 Beezus & Ramona by Beverly Cleary ($5.99)

12 The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein ($14.99)

13 The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ($7.99)

14 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ($13.95)

15 A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick ($14.95)

Paperback Nonfiction Bestsellers
Place Book
1 Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15)

2 Three Cups of Tea by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson ($16)

3 Lit by Mary Karr ($14.99)

4 Zeitoun by Dave Eggers ($15.95)

5 Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad ($10)

6 The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd Edition by the College Board ($21.99)

7 Secret Stairs by Charles Fleming ($16.95)

8 Awkward Family Photos by Doug Chernack and Mike Bender ($15)

9 I’m Down by Mishna Wolff ($13.99)

10 Food Rules by Michael Pollan ($11)

11 Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt ($15.99)

12 Devil in the White City by Erik Larson ($15)

13 What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel ($24.95)

14 Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success by John Wooden ($12.99)

15 Man, Interrupted by James Bailey ($14.95)


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