A List Of Lists
This is the time of year for lists. The Best of this. The Best of that. Not to be left out of this great list debate, People magazine devoted an entire double issue to the lists of 2005. People created a list for everything. There’s even a little map of all the countries Angelina, Brad and the kids have visited this year and when. Exactly the kind of information I must have before I can turn the calendar to 2006.
Included in this information dump was a list called Top Ten Books of 2005. There was also a Top Ten Bestsellers as reported by Barnes and Noble through December 3rd. Funny enough, there isn’t a single book that appears on both lists. Apparently, books were either good or popular this year. So, unless a book comes on strong in these last few days of December, the Top Ten Bestsellers of 2005 were:
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. You: The Owner’s Manual by Michael E. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
3. 1776 by David McCullough
4. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
5. The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
6. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
7. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
8. The Broker by John Grisham
9. Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
10.4th of July by James Patterson
I own exactly one of these books.
December 19th, 2005 at 8:00 am
Hate to tell this to you Helen, but my 11 year old son has one upped you on this. He has TWO of these books. Both read immediately and hungrily.
And where in Nora?
December 19th, 2005 at 10:13 am
Two? I’m assuming one of those books has Harry Potter in the title. What’s the other? The Broker?
Honestly, I don’t get this list. James Patterson has two books on there? That’s an odd fact. Never would have said he was the bestselling genre writer of the year. Never. Heck, I haven’t bought a Patterson book since Kiss The Girls. After I got over the Patterson information I then spent most of yesterday trying to figure out how #2 got on there and what #4 even was. As for Nora, it’s possible she has so many books out each year that they cannibalize each other for bestseller purposes. Either that or she’s #s 11-25.
December 19th, 2005 at 10:33 am
Yeah, it was The Broker, how did you guess? Not. Actually, it was Eldest by Chris Paolini. I have only bought one Patterson my whole life. The YA novel about the kids with wings. I haven’t read it yet, but may give it to the 12 year old. Because, obviously, he is much more better with these lists than me.
My guess is that Nora’s at #11, 14, and 24.
December 19th, 2005 at 11:59 am
Don’t feel bad, HelenKay. I own only 2 — HP and 4th of July. His female murder group is the only series I buy of his and I love them. It’s hard for me to reconcile that he writes that series so well and Alex Cross has gone to the dogs….
I worked in a bookstore and I have no idea what #5 is…..
December 19th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
I own none, though I did read Harry Potter. But I actually have heard of all of them, so that’s got to count for something.