Los Angeles Times bestsellers for Dec. 21, 2008
| Fiction | weeks on list | |
| 1. | The Private Patient by P.D. James (Knopf: $25.95) A murder investigation focuses on the staff from a plastic-surgery clinic. | 3 |
| 2. | Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta travels to New York to examine a psychiatric patient at Bellevue. | 1 |
| 3. | The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (Children’s High Level Group: $12.99) A collection of five fairy tales inspired by the Harry Potter series. | 1 |
| 4. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 19 |
| 5. | The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle à la “Hamlet.” | 21 |
| 6. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 22 |
| 7. | 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. | 4 |
| 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. | 19 |
| 9. | 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. | 4 |
| 10. | Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler (Putnam: $27.95) The U.S. and Canada are on the brink of war in this third joint Dirk Pitt novel. | 2 |
| 11. | Cross Country by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross pursues an African underworld figure and mass-murder suspect to Nigeria. | 3 |
| 12. | The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck (Threshold: $19.99) A boy learns about family, faith and forgiveness from a disappointing Christmas gift. | 3 |
| 13. | Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz (Bantam: $27) A heart transplant recipient is stalked by a mysterious woman resembling the donor. | 2 |
| 14. | Just After Sunset by Stephen King (Scribner: $28) A collection of 13 new tales of short fiction. | 2 |
| 15. | 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) Greed, murder and desperation haunt a U.S.-Mexico border town. | 4 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 4 |
| 2. | Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $16.99) Comical tales of various holiday traditions. | 3 |
| 3. | Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact that a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library and its patrons. | 11 |
| 4. | 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. | 33 |
| 5. | Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.95) Solutions to overpopulation and the global-warming crisis. | 14 |
| 6. | Why We Suck by Denis Leary (Viking : $26.95) The comedian’s biting social commentary on the state of the world. | 3 |
| 7. | The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss (Crown: $19.95) A blueprint for living life on your own terms. | 15 |
| 8. | American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson’s path to the White House | 4 |
| 9. | The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (Howard Books: $17.99) A call to honor the significance and promise of this cherished holiday. | 1 |
| 10. | Panic by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton: $27.85) A humorous guide through five of the most costly upheavals in recent financial history. | 1 |
| 11. | Annie Leibovitz at Work by Annie Leibovitz (Random House: $40) The photographer dissects and explains the making of her favorite photos. | 3 |
| 12. | A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News commentator explores his childhood and its relevance to his life. | 9 |
| 13. | Goodnight Bush by Erich Origen and Gan Golan (Little, Brown: $14.99) A parody of the children’s classic “Goodnight Moon.” | 21 |
| 14. | The Snowball by Alice Schroeder (Bantam: $35) The life and times of investor Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha.” | 9 |
| 15. | The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead: $25.95) A profile of the Puritans who fought an early battle between church and state. | 6 |
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