Country Bookshelf

Following closely on the heels of the posting of our bestseller list for November is this hot-off-the-virtual-presses excessively timely December bestseller list. Congrats – again! – to all the local authors who are so well-loved by our staff and customers. Happy New Year!

New Non-Fiction (hardcover)

1. Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson

2. Double Take by Kevin Connolly

3. Big Burn by Timothy Egan

4. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

5. Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer

Non-Fiction (paperback)

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

2. The Soloist by Steve Lopez

3. My Life in France by Julia Child

4. Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

5. Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink edited by David Remnick

Regional

1. Northern Pacific Railroad & Yellowstone National Park by Phyllis Smith and William Hoy

2. The Lost Explorer by Conrad Anker

3. Montana Place Names by the Montana Historical Society

4. Montana Women Homesteaders edited by Sarah Carter

5. Ski Trails of Southwest Montana by Melynda Harrison

Fiction (paperback)

1. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

2. Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

3. Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

4. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

5. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

6. Where the White Horses Gallop by Beatrice MacNeil

7. Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven

8. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

New Fiction (hardcover)

1. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

2. Farmer’s Daughter by Jim Harrison

3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

4. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

5. Both Way Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy

Mystery

1. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

2. Triple Cross by Mark T. Sullivan

3. U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

4. Blue Heaven by C. J. Box

Young Adult (series & stand-alone titles)

1. The Hunger Games & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2. Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

3. Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

5. Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Juvenile Series

1. Rainbow Magic Fairies by Daisy Meadows

2. Tintin by Herge

3. Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

4. The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker

5. Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne

Juvenile Stand-Alone Titles

1. Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson

2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

3. Tree that Time Built (poems) selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston

4. The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley

5. Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

 While I realize this Country Bookshelf Bestseller List for November is nearly a month late, I had to still complete it and put it out (for consistency and/or posterity, whichever holds more sway with you).

Special congratulations to Kevin Connolly for topping the New Non-Fiction list and Maile Meloy for leading our New Fiction list.

New Non-Fiction (hardcover)

1. Double Take by Kevin Connolly

2. Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson (pre-orders)

3. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

4. Big Burn by Timothy Egan

5. Superfreakonomics by Levitt & Dubner

Non-Fiction (paperback)

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

2. Finding Beauty in a Broken World by Terry Tempest Williams

3. The Soloist by Steve Lopez

4. Alex & Me by Irene Pepperberg

5. Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson

Regional

1. Montana Place Names by the Montana Historical Society

2. Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West

3. Yonder by John Heminway

4. The Surrounded by D’Arcy McNickle

5. Montana Women Homesteaders edited by Sarah Carter

Mystery

1. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

2. Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

3. Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten

4. Heat Lightning by John Sandford

New Fiction (hardcover)

1. Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy

2. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

3. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

5. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro

6. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell

7. Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan

Fiction (paperback)

1. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

2. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

3. Where the White Horses Gallop by Beatrice MacNeil

4. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

5. Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven

Young Adult

1. Jamie Poole & the Isle of Osiris by Ellen Figura

2. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

4. Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz

Juvenile

1. Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney

2. Tintin Series by Herge

3. Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan

4. Peter & the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

5. The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

This has been a fabulous year for Montana authors. Here are a few of the congratulations we’d like to make:

Kevin Michael Connolly will appear on the Today Show tomorrow (Wednesday, December 23rd). His book, Double Take, has been so popular with our customers that we are currently out of stock and it is back-ordered. Go to Kevin’s blog to hear what he has to say about it. Update: As of 12/30/09 Double Take is again IN STOCK.

Maile Meloy’s latest offering, Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It, has been selected one of the New York Times’ ten best books of the year (fiction category).

Greg Mortenson’s follow-up to the beloved Three Cups of Tea, Stones Into Schools, has already rocketed up the New York Times Bestseller list and since its release less than a month ago (December 1st), has become the Country Bookshelf’s bestselling title of the the entire year. (As of this writing – 12/22 – we still have signed copies.)

So, many congratulations and thanks go to these and all the other local authors who have been so successful and so kind to us this year.  Thank you for letting us be your local bookshop. Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year!