BOOK WORLD: May 23, 2010

NONFICTION HARDCOVER

1. WOMEN FOOD AND GOD: AN UNEXPECTED PATH TO ALMOST EVERYTHING
(Scribner, $24). By Geneen Roth. Tackling compulsive eating. (5)

2. SPOKEN FROM THE HEART (Scribner, $30)
By Laura Bush. The former first lady’s reflections on eight years in the White House and what came before. (2)

3. WAR (Twelve, $26.99)
By Sebastian Junger. Fourteen months embedded with a platoon of the 173rd Airborne brigade in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. (1)

4. THE BIG SHORT: INSIDE THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE
(Norton, $27.95). By Michael Lewis. The murky world of financial derivatives. (9)

5. HEROES FOR MY SON (Harper Studio, $19.99)
By Brad Meltzer. The bestselling thriller writer’s list of famous folk he wanted to be sure his young son would come to know. (1)

6. THE LAST STAND: CUSTER, SITTING BULL, AND THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN (Viking, $30)
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Clarifying a bit of history. (2)

7. CHELSEA CHELSEA BANG BANG
(Grand Central, $25.99). By Chelsea HandlerA new batch of essays from the comedian. (10)

8. OPRAH: A BIOGRAPHY (Crown, $30)
By Kitty Kelley. The celebrity biographer’s unauthorized look at the life of the media mogul and talk show host. (5)

9. THE MIRROR TEST: IS YOUR BUSINESS REALLY BREATHING?
(Business Plus, $24.99). By Jeffrey W. Hayzlettwith Jim Eber. Identifying problems and tackling them head-on. (1)

10. CRISIS ECONOMICS: A CRASH COURSE IN THE FUTURE OF FINANCE
(Penguin Press, $27.95). By Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm (1)

FICTION HARDCOVER

1. DEAD IN THE FAMILY (Ace, $25.95)
By Charlaine Harris. This 10th Sookie Stackhouse tale delves into family dynamics and romantic liaisons. (2)

2. HEART OF THE MATTER (St. Martin’s, $26.99)
By Emily Giffin. Told in alternating voices by the women in a doctor’s life—his loving wife and the woman he’s drawn to. (1)

3. INNOCENT (Grand Central, $27.99)
By Scott Turow. Rusty Savitch is a murder suspect once more in this “Presumed Innocent” sequel. (2)

4. THE HELP (Amy Einhorn, $24.95)
By Kathryn Stockett. A frank chronicle of the lives of several black maids working in a town in 1960s Miss. (44)

5. THE 9TH JUDGMENT (Little, Brown, $27.99)
By James Patterson. The Women’s Murder Club works to find the link between seemingly isolated crimes. (3)

6. FEVER DREAM (Grand Central, $26.99)
By Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast suspects foul play in the death of his beloved wife. (1)

7. DELIVER US FROM EVIL (Grand Central, $27.99)
By David Baldacci. Covert operative Shaw returns to thwart a Ukrainian trading in nuclear arms and slavery. (4)

8. THE IMPERFECTIONISTS (Dial, $25)
By Tom Rachman. The tumultuous, often comic goings-on at a struggling English-language paper in Rome. (1)

9. PRIVATE LIFE (Knopf, $26.95)
By Jane Smiley. This historical novel recounts the intimate, poignant details of a woman’s marriage to a disturbed scientist. (1)

10. THE DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB (Pantheon, $24.95)
By Alexander McCall Smith. The new No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency tale. (4)

NONFICTION PAPERBACK

1. MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS: A MEMOIR OF GOING HOME
(Holt, $14). By Rhoda Janzen. Coping, all at once, with a stray husband and car crash. (4)

2. EAT PRAY LOVE: ONE WOMAN’S SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING ACROSS ITALY, INDIA AND INDONESIA (Penguin, $15)
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Forthcoming film. (128)

3. TYPE TALK: THE 16 PERSONALITY TYPES THAT DETERMINE HOW WE LIVE, LOVE, AND WORK (Dell, $17)
By Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen (1)

4. TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION: 49 TECHNIQUES THAT PUT STUDENTS ON THE PATH TO COLLEGE
(Jossey-Bass, $27.95). By Doug Lemov (3)

5. ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT’S ME, CHELSEA
(Simon Spotlight, $16). By Chelsea Handler. Irreverent essays. (15)

6. LANDMARK: THE INSIDE STORY OF AMERICA’S NEW HEALTH CARE LAW AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR US ALL
(PublicAffairs, $12.95). By The Washington Post (2)

7. THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN’S MISSION TO PROMOTE PEACE
(Griffin, $19.95). By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (157)

8. MY HORIZONTAL LIFE: A COLLECTION OF ONE-NIGHT STANDS(Bloomsbury, $14.95). By Chelsea Handler. A litany of assignations. (3)

9. THE GIFT OF FEAR: AND OTHER SURVIVAL SIGNALS THAT PROTECT US FROM VIOLENCE
(Dell, $15). By Gavin de Becker (2)

10. GETTING TO YES: NEGOTIATING AGREEMENT WITHOUT GIVING IN (Penguin, $16). By Roger Fisher and William Ury. Second edition. (1)

FICTION PAPERBACK

1. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
(Vintage, $14.95). By Stieg Larsson. First book in the late Swede’s “Millennium Trilogy”; basis of new film. (47)

2. THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
(Vintage, $15.95). By Stieg Larsson. Sex trafficking between Sweden and Eastern Europe is exposed. (8)

3. SAVOR THE MOMENT (Berkley, $16)
By Nora Roberts. A longtime crush reaches fruition in this third chapter of the “Bride Quartet.” (3)

4. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER (Washington Square, $15)
By Jennifer Weiner. Two girlfriends, one popular, the other not so much, and the course their lives take. (2)

5. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE (Vision, $9.99)
By James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge. A serial killer preys on NYC’s most affluent residents. (3)

6. SOUTH OF BROAD (Dial, $16)
By Pat Conroy. The writer’s first novel in 14 years centers on a disparate group in Charleston, S.C. (2)

7. LITTLE BEE (Simon & Schuster, $14)
By Chris Cleave. This wry second novel from a British journalist explores the state of war and refugees. (13)

8. WICKED PREY (Berkley, $9.99)
By John Sandford. A Republican convention in St. Paul is full of surprises (and terror) for Davenport. (2)

9. GUARDIAN OF LIES (Harper, $9.99)
By Steve Martini. A Costa Rican beauty is accused of murder in this Paul Madriani thriller. (3)

10. SUMMER ON BLOSSOM STREET (Mira, $7.99)
By Debbie Macomber. The Seattle A Good Yarn shop finds its new hybrid class, “Knit to Quit,” a hit. (3)

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended May 16, 2010. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2010 by Nielsen BookScan. The numbers following each entry represent the total weeks on The Post's bestseller lists.