TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of February 17, 2002

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1
NEW
THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER
Joyce Reardon
Cover of THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER

THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER

by Joyce Reardon · Hyperion

At the turn of the twentieth century, Ellen Rimbauer became the young bride of Seattle industrialist John Rimbauer, and began keeping a remarkable diary. This diary became the secret place where Ellen could confess her fears of the new marriage, her confusion over her emerging sexuality, and the nightmare that her life would become. The diary not only follows the development of a girl into womanhood, it follows the construction of the Rimbauer mansioncalled Rose Redan enormous home that would be the site of so many horrific and inexplicable tragedies in the years ahead. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red is a rare document, one that gives us an unusual view of daily life among the aristocracy in the early 1900s, a window into one womans hidden emotional torment, and a record of the mysterious events at Rose Red that scandalized Seattle society at the timeevents that can only be fully understood now that the diary has come to light. Edited by Joyce Reardon, Ph.D. as part of her research, the diary is being published as preparations are being made by Dr. Reardon to enter Rose Red and fully investigate its disturbing history.

4
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JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS
Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Cover of JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS

JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS

by Mattie J.T. Stepanek · VSP Books

Mattie J. T. Stepanek takes us on a Journey Through Heartsongs with more of his moving poems. These poems share the rare wisdom that Mattie has acquired through his struggle with a rare form of muscular dystrophy and the death of his three siblings from the same disease. His life view was one of love and generosity and as a poet and a peacemaker, his desire was to bring his message of peace to as many people as possible.

5
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UNDER FIRE
W. E. B. Griffin
Cover of UNDER FIRE

UNDER FIRE

by W. E. B. Griffin · Putnam

3 wks on list

After the epic struggle of World War II, W.E.B. Griffin’s bestselling chronicle of the Marine Corps enters a new stage of modern warfare—with new weapons, new strategies, and a new breed of warrior—on the battlefields of Korea... In 1950, Captain Ken McCoy’s report on North Korean hostilities meets with so much bureaucratic displeasure that he is promptly booted out of the Corps—and just as promptly picked up by the fledgling CIA. Soon, his predictions come true: on June 25th the North Koreans invade across the 38th parallel. Immediately veterans scattered throughout military and civilian life are called up, many with only seventy-two hours notice. For these men and their families, names such as Inchon and Pusan will acquire a new, bloody reality—and become their greatest challenge of all...

6
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BASKET CASE
Carl Hiaasen
Cover of BASKET CASE

BASKET CASE

by Carl Hiaasen · Knopf

5 wks on list

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A rollicking and hilarious novel from the bestselling author of Squeeze Me and “Florida’s most entertainingly indignant social critic” (New York Times Book Review). Jack Tagger’s years in exile at the obituaries desk of a South Florida daily haven’t dulled his investigative reporter’s nose for a good story. When Jimmy Stoma, the infamous front man of Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, dies in a fishy scuba accident, Jack sees his ticket back to page one—if only he can figure out what really happened. Standing in his way are, just for starters, his ambitious young editor, who hasn’t yet fired anyone but plans to “break her cherry” on Jack; the rock star’s pop-singer widow, who’s using the occasion of her husband’s death to relaunch her own career; and the soulless, profit-hungry owner of the newspaper, whom Jack once publicly humiliated at a stockholders’ meeting. Following clues from the late rock singer’s own music, Jack tries to unravel the lies surrounding Jimmy Stoma’s strange fate.

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1
THE CORRECTIONS
Jonathan Franzen
Cover of THE CORRECTIONS

THE CORRECTIONS

by Jonathan Franzen · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

22 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER *A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: TOP TEN “A spellbinding novel” (People) from the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Franzen, the author of Crossroads, The Corrections is a comic, tragic epic of worlds colliding: an old-fashioned world of civic virtue and sexual inhibitions, a new world of home surveillance, hands-off parenting, do-it-yourself mental health care, and globalized greed. After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson’s disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. The oldest, Gary, a once-stable portfolio manager and family man, is trying to convince his wife and himself that, despite certain alarming indicators, he is not clinically depressed. The middle child, Chip, has lost his seemingly secure academic job and is failing spectacularly at his new line of work. And Denise, the youngest, has escaped a disastrous marriage only to pour her youth and beauty down the drain of an affair with a married man—or so her mother fears. Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.

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THE MILLIONAIRES
Brad Meltzer
Cover of THE MILLIONAIRES

THE MILLIONAIRES

by Brad Meltzer · Warner

4 wks on list

A rollercoaster thriller to rival John Grisham - 'Meltzer's plot is well thought out, with a particularly vivid climax' Sunday Times on The Tenth Justice Ben Addison has got it made. He's just finished law school. He's a new clerk at the Supreme Court. It's the first step on a golden career path. But Ben is about to make a huge mistake. He's about to be tricked into leaking something he shouldn't. And he's about to land himself and his three best friends in really serious trouble.

12
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THE APPROACHING STORM
Alan Dean Foster
Cover of THE APPROACHING STORM

THE APPROACHING STORM

by Alan Dean Foster · Lucas/Del Rey/Ballantine

1 wks on list

A Jedi adventure that is a direct prequel to the upcoming movie, Star Wars: Episode II. Based on an idea by George Lucas, featuring a never-before-seen character from the new movie, and written by Star Wars veteran Alan Dean Foster. At the start of the upcoming Star Wars movie, Episode II, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are fresh off a mission on another world. This is the story of that mission. Obi-Wan and his Padawan, Anakin, are dispatched to the world of Ansion to deal with border disputes, as the Supreme Chancellor struggles desperately to hold his dying Republic together.

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A BEND IN THE ROAD
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of A BEND IN THE ROAD

A BEND IN THE ROAD

by Nicholas Sparks · Warner

18 wks on list

From the author of The Notebook and See Me, this is an epic love story you'll never forget Love can heal us, and it can tear us apart . . . Miles's life is shattered when he loses his beloved wife to a hit-and-run driver. Struggling to hold things together for his son, Jonah, but obsessing over finding justice, a powerful new romance throws everything into uncertainty. As Jonah's teacher, Sarah, discusses his struggling son with Miles, an attraction develops between them with bewildering intensity. But Sarah has a secret of her own, one that links her to Miles with a shocking force - and long-buried truths begin to unravel, putting the strength of their passion to the test. *The breathtaking new love story from Nicholas Sparks, Every Breath, is available to pre-order now* Praise for Nicholas Sparks 'Pulls at the heartstrings' Sunday Times 'When it comes to tales about love, Nicholas Sparks is one of the undisputed kings' Heat 'An absorbing page-turner' Daily Mail 'A fiercely romantic and touching tale' Heat on The Longest Ride 'An A-grade romantic read' OK! on Safe Haven 'This one won't leave a dry eye' Daily Mirror on The Lucky One

15
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THE OATH
John Lescroart
Cover of THE OATH

THE OATH

by John Lescroart · Dutton

The head of an HMO dies in his own hospital under suspicious circumstances.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.