On the L.A. Times bestseller list: A fading newspaper
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Tom Rachman didn’t much like working as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press or editor at the International Herald Tribune. “I’m mad about journalism, but the daily grind really got to me,” he told the Globe and Mail. But his experiences in journalism informed his debut novel, “The Imperfectionists,” a collection of linked stories about the staff of a fading international newspaper. After Christopher Buckley gave the book a rave review in the New York Times -- “so good I had to read it twice simply to figure out how he pulled it off” -- people started buying. This week, “The Imperfectionists” enters the L.A. Times bestseller list at No. 8. “When writing a book, you dream of responses like this but don’t allow yourself to indulge too much in imagining them,” the British-born, Canadian-raised 35-year-old told interviewer Scott Bukti. After it was announced this week that Brad Pitt had bought the film rights, Rachman told the Globe and Mail, “It all feels a bit unreal.”
-- Carolyn Kellogg
twitter.com/paperhaus
After the jump: the bestseller list for Sunday, June 6.
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers | ||
| Place | Book | Weeks on list |
1. | The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, cook and college graduate intertwine. | 53 |
2. | 61 Hours by Lee Child (Delacorte: $28). Roving ex-military cop Jack Reacher helps a small South Dakota town deal with sinister forces.
| 2 |
3. | Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $25.95) Sookie Stackhouse copes with loss and paranormal politics. | 3 |
4. | The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $27.95) The final book of the Millennium Trilogy finds Lisbeth convalescing while Blomkvist investigates her father’s death and cover-up. | 1 |
5. | 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. | 3 |
6. | Storm Prey by John Sandford (Putnam: $27.95). Agent Lucas Davenport’s surgeon wife is a key witness in a botched robbery case. | 2 |
7. | The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (Hyperion: $17.99) Siblings battle Egyptian gods to uncover family secrets and find their Egyptologist father. | 3 |
8. | The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (Dial Press: $25) Daily life in a ragtag English-language newspaper in Rome. | 1 |
9. | Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (Penguin: $17.99) Rose prepares for graduation from the Vampire Academy while still yearning for Dimitri. | 1 |
10. | Fever Dream by Douglas Preston (Grand Central: $26.99) Special Agent Pendergast delves into his wife’s mysterious and tragic death. | 3 |
11. | Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende (HarperCollins: $26.99) The intertwined lives of a young slave girl and plantation owner on a Caribbean island in the 1700s. | 3 |
12. | The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Percy Jackson and his army of demigods battle the Lord of Time. | 24 |
13. | 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 |
14. | The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon: $24.95) Multiple adventures await sleuth Precious Ramotswe. | 5 |
15. | Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson (Random House: $25). An English widower fights to keep greedy relatives from selling a valuable family heirloom. | 6 |
16. | The 9th Judgment by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Detective Lindsay Boxer calls on the Women’s Murder Club to catch two elusive criminals. | 4 |
17. | This Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow (Algonquin: $22.95) After losing both parents, a young biracial girl must deal with racism and the tragic events surrounding her family. | 1 |
18. | The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis (Knopf: $26.95) An English college boy spends a lustful summer in Italy juggling two women. | 1 |
19. | Private Life by Jane Smiley (Knopf: $26.95). A woman is trapped in a marriage to an eccentric astronomer in early 20th century San Francisco. | 2 |
20. | Point Dume by Katie Arnoldi (Overlook: $24.95). Surf culture and marijuana farming collide in Malibu. | 2 |
Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers | ||
| Place | Book | Weeks on list |
1. | Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth (Scribner: $24) The connection between eating and core beliefs that brings fulfillment. | 8 |
2. | War by Sebastian Junger (Twelve: $26.99) The author’s account of 14 months with a U.S. Army platoon in Afghanistan. | 2 |
3. | The Promise by Jonathan Alter (Simon & Schuster: $28) An inside look at President Obama’s first year in office. | 1 |
4. | 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. | 11 |
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. | 9 |
6. | Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco: $27) The singer’s early days and relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. | 16 |
7. | 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. | 3 |
8. | The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman (Harper: $25.99) The stand-up comic known for her salty humor shares her life story. | 5 |
9. | Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $26.95) The author tackles her fears of marriage by delving into the institution’s history. | 13 |
10. | The Men Who Would Be King by Nicole Laporte (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $28) The rise and fall of DreamWorks Studios. | 3 |
11. | Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler (Grand Central: $25.99) Essays and amusing tales from the comic’s personal life. | 6 |
12. | Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre (Harmony: $25.99). A true account of how a fictional story and a dead body fooled the Nazis in World War II. | 2 |
13. | My Dad Says by Justin Halpern (HarperCollins: $15.99) A son’s compilation of his elderly father’s ramblings and observations. | 3 |
14. | Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (Knopf: $24.95) An exploration of the Tarahumara Indians and their secrets of long-distance running. | 7 |
15. | The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $14.95) Behind the scenes during the making of the movie. | 11 |
16. | Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath (Gallup Press: $22.95) An upgraded assessment on how to find your top talents. | 4 |
17. | I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Ayres (Grand Central : $26.99) The heavy-metal singer reminisces on his death-defying life. | 8 |
18. | Oprah by Kitty Kelley (Crown: $30) A probing account into the queen of all media’s empire and her personal life. | 5 |
19. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $299). An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 67 |
20. | When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead by Jerry Weintraub (Twelve: $25.99). Memoir of the legendary Hollywood producer and manager. | 2 |
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. | Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann ($15) |
4. | Little Bee by Chris Cleave ($14) |
5. | Tinkers by Paul Harding ($14.95) |
6. | A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick ($14.95) |
7. | Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese ($15.95) |
8. | The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein ($14.99) |
9. | The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan ($7.99) |
10. | Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner ($15) |
11. | The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ($7.99) |
12. | The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan ($7.99) |
13. | Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts ($16) |
14. | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ($13.95) |
15. | The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón ($15.95) |
Paperback Nonfiction Bestsellers | |
| Place | Book |
1. | Food Rules by Michael Pollan ($7.99) |
2. | The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb ($17) |
3. | Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15) |
4. | Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15) |
5. | Blink by Malcolm Gladwell ($15.99) |
6. | For You, Mom. Finally by by Ruth Reichl ($13) |
7. | Awkward Family Photos by Mike Bender and Doug Chernack ($15) |
8. | Julius Caesar (No Fear Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare ($5.95) |
9. | L.A. Noir by John Buntin ($16) |
10. | What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel ($24.95) |
11. | Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad ($14.99) |
12. | Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon ($14.99) |
13. | The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls ($15) |
14. | The Lost City of Z by David Grann ($15.95) |
15. | Julie & Julia by Julie Powell ($7.99) |
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