USA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 01.16.2011

Thursday, January 20, 2011: According to USA TODAY, the following list contains the top 25 best selling books (out of 150) - based on sales through Sunday, 01/16/2011.  For the complete list of 150 books for the week or just to check out more information - plus reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list - visit their website.

 Note of the week: 20% of the top 25 books for the week, fall into the YA / Children's books category (highlighted in orange). The Cast Woman have taken over the #1 position with book eight in their House of Night series, AWAKENED - while Suzanne Collins continues to reign over the top 25 list, with all 3 books in THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, coveting spots 6, 11, and 14.  

Legend:

Position This Week, Last Week, Title, Author (Publisher), Price

1 1 Awakened, Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast (St. Martin's Griffin), $17.99
2 2 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (Vintage), $14.95
3 3 The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson (Knopf Doubleday), $25.95
4 5 Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (Random House), $27.00
5 4 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson (Knopf), $27.95
6 8 The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $14.99
7 6 The Confession, John Grisham (Doubleday), $28.95
8 0 The Inner Circle, Brad Meltzer (Grand Central), $26.99
9 11 Water for Elephants: A Novel, Sara Gruen (Algonquin), $14.95
10 0 The Sentry, Robert Crais (Putnam Adult), $26.95
11 14 Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $17.99
12 10 Live to Tell, Lisa Gardner (Bantam), $7.99
13 0 What the Night Knows, Dean Koontz (Bantam), $28.00
14 0 Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $17.99
15 9 Decision Points, George W. Bush (Crown), $35.00
16 40 Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's Griffin), $14.99
17 20 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $13.95
18 17 Deliver Us From Evil, David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing), $9.99
19 12 Heaven is for Real, Todd Burpo, Sonja Burpo, Colton Burpo, Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson), $16.99
20 16 Cross Fire, James Patterson (Little, Brown), $12.99
21 25 Cutting for Stone: A Novel, Abraham Verghese (Knopf), $26.95
22 18 Dead or Alive, Tom Clancy, Grant Blackwood (Putnam Adult), $14.99
23 13 Deja Vu, Fern Michaels (Zebra), $7.99
24 84 Sexy Forever, Suzanne Somers (Crown Archetype), $25.99
25 23 The Help, Kathryn Stockett (Putnam Adult), $12.99

And The Winner Is...

Another great contest has come to an end...

It was a pretty great turn out, with over 26 entries (even though not everyone left a comment!).

So without further ado - the winner selected via Random.org is...

Ebyss

I just sent you an email (you may want to check your junk folder) to get all your information - let me know if you didn't receive it? It's coming from my elschneider@hotmail.com address.

Congratulations, Ebyss! I hope you enjoy the book (and you'll have to let me know what you think, since I haven't read it yet!).

Thanks everyone, for another great contest! 

Stay tuned...I'm about to move over to my new website and blog in the next few weeks - you never know what I'll be giving away next! 

________________________________________________

Happy New Year, everyone! 

If you're like me, then you too can't believe it's already 2011! Yikes...where has the time gone?

But what better way to start off the new year, then with a new book? 

And the new book in question?

AWAKENED, by P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast.

I've rather enjoyed the House of Night series - and their eighth installment in the series, AWAKENED, comes out on Tuesday, January 4th. I'm looking forward to reading this one!

Sooooo, to help welcome the new year and get everyone started on the right foot - I'm giving away a copy of AWAKENED to one of my lucky followers!

The Rules:

Sorry folks, this one is only open to my U.S. and Canadian followers.

How Can I Win?

Enter HERE, and fill out the form to win! But please leave a comment below, telling me you've entered!

Contest Timeline:

Contest is open from today, 1.2.11 to next Friday, 1.14.11 - and a winner will be selected on 1.15.11. All entries (aka comments) for this contest need to be received before 11:59pm PST on Friday, 1.14.11 to be eligible. The winner will be drawn via Random.org on 1.15.11 and announced on my blog.

 
Description of AWAKENED, from The House Of Night website:

 
Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over her immortal consort Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae (since she saved his life), but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Care to read an excerpt?

http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/awakenedxrpt.html

Good luck everyone!

New York Times Best Sellers: Children's / YA for Week Ending January 9, 2011

For week ending January 9, 2011, here are the New York Times Top Selling Children's / YA Books. For more information and all top 10's that made the NY Times Bestseller lists, check out their site: NYTimes.

Suzanne Collins continues to hold onto the Children's Series #1 position, with THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy. 

In Paperback - two new books grace the top 10: WHEN YOU REACH ME, by Rebecca Stead in the #5 position, and IDENTICAL, by Ellen Hopkins taking over the #6 spot.

Making a move: Ally Condie's MATCHED has jumped up to the #3 position, from last week's #9. While I thought the foundation for the book was an interesting concept - it was a bit slow moving for me at times - check out my full review here on my blog

 Children's Series

This Week		Children's Series	Weeks on List
1		THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, hardcover and paper) In a dystopian society a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)	19
2		DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Abrams, hardcover only) The travails of adolescence, in cartoons. (Ages 9 to 12)	103
3		VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead. (Razorbill, paper only) Undead boarding school. (Ages 12 and up)	38
4		BLUE BLOODS, by Melissa de la Cruz. (Hyperion, hardcover and paper) Young and privileged vampires are having a blood feud. (Ages 14 and up)	18
5		PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, hardcover and paper) Battling mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)	182
6		HARRY POTTER, by J. K. Rowling. (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, hardcover and paper) A young wizard hones his skills while fighting evil. (Ages 10 and up)	240
7		PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, by Sara Shepard. (HarperTeen, hardcover and paper) Four girls less perfect than they seem. (Ages 14 and up)	31
8		THE TWILIGHT SAGA, by Stephenie Meyer. (Megan Tingley/Little, Brown, hardcover and paper) Vampires and werewolves in school. (Ages 12 and up)	178
9		HOUSE OF NIGHT, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. (St. Martin’s, hardcover and paper) Vampires in school. (Ages 14 and up)	109
10		WARRIORS, by Erin Hunter. (HarperCollins, hardcover and paper) Four clans of cat warriors aspire to meet up with the StarClan. (Ages 10 to 14)	97

Children's Paperback Books

This Week		Children's Paperback Books	Weeks on List
1		WITCH AND WIZARD, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. (Little, Brown, $9.99.) One of each, a sister and brother, flex their new powers. (Ages 10 and up)	9
2		FALLEN, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $9.99.) Love is thwarted at a boarding school with an unusual student body. (Ages 12 and up)	14
3		HUSH, HUSH, by Becca Fitzpatrick. (Simon & Schuster, $17.99.) A love story of immortals and ancient battles. (Ages 14 and up)	14
4		THE BOOK THIEF, by Markus Zusak. (Knopf, $11.99.) A girl saves books from Nazi burning. (Ages 14 and up)	173
5		WHEN YOU REACH ME, by Rebecca Stead. (Yearling, $6.99.) A sixth-grade girl in New York City begins receiving mysterious notes. (Ages 9 and up)	1
6		IDENTICAL, by Ellen Hopkins. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster, $10.99.) Identical twins alternate in recounting family secrets and destructive behavior. (Ages 14 and up)	1
7		THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Dave McKean. (HarperCollins, $7.99.) To avoid a killer, a boy lives in a cemetery. (Ages 10 and up)	14
8		BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. (Little, Brown, $17.99.) A secret wrapped in a Southern Gothic novel. (Ages 12 and up)	10
9		THE MAZE RUNNER, by James Dashner. (Delacorte, $9.99.) A stone wall imprisons teenagers who live by their wits and have no memories. (Ages 12 and up)	12
10		SHIVER, by Maggie Stiefvater. (Scholastic, $8.99.) Love among the lupine. (Ages 13 and up)	25

Children's Chapter Books

This Week		Children's Chapter Books	Weeks on List
1		THE GIFT, by James Patterson and Ned Rust. (Little, Brown, $17.99.) A sister and brother flex their new powers; a Witch and Wizard book. (Ages 10 and up)	3
2		THE LOST HERO, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $18.99.) A return to Camp Half-Blood and semi-divine characters old and new. (Ages 10 and up)	12
3		MATCHED, by Ally Condie. (Dutton, $17.99.) In this dystopian romance, a girl rebels against a deterministic future society. (Ages 12 and up)	5
4		THE RED PYRAMID, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99.) Ancient gods (this time from Egypt) and a mortal family meet. (Ages 10 and up)	35
5		TORMENT, by Lauren Kate. (Delacorte, $17.99.) A novel about the nephilim, the children of humans and fallen angels. (Ages 12 and up)	12
6		THE LYING GAME, by Sara Shepard. (HarperTeen, $16.99.) A long-lost twin impersonates her dead sister to try to solve her murder. (Ages 14 and up)	2
7		CRESCENDO, by Becca Fitzpatrick. (Simon & Schuster, $18.99.) A world where the truth is sought and feared; a sequel to “Hush, Hush.” (Ages 14 and up)	9
8		CLOCKWORK ANGEL, by Cassandra Clare. (McElderry/Simon & Schuster, $19.99.) Victorian England proves a treacherous place. (Ages 14 and up)	13
9		SAPPHIQUE, by Catherine Fisher. (Dial/Penguin, $17.99.) In the sequel to "Incarceron," Finn makes it Outside to discover it is a prison of another kind. (Ages 14 and up)	1
10		HARRY POTTER FILM WIZARDRY, by Brian Sibley. (Collins Design/HarperCollins, $39.99.) Deep background, subtext and behind-the-screen details from the moviemakers. (Ages 18 and up)	11

USA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 01.02.2011

According to USA TODAY, the following list contains the top 25 best selling books (out of 150) - based on sales through Sunday, 01/02/2011.  For the complete list of 150 books for the week or just to check out more information on them - plus reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list -  visit their website.


 Note of the week: Of the top 25 books gracing the first list of the year, 7 of them fall into the YA / Children's books category (highlighted in orange) - that equates to 28%! However, Mr. Larsson covets the #1, #2, and #4 positions, with his tattooed-pyromaniac-obviously not allergic to bees, series. 


Legend:
Position This Week, Last Week, Title, Author (Publisher), Price


1 0 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (Vintage), $14.95
 2 0 The Girl Who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson (Knopf Doubleday), $25.95
 3 0 The Confession, John Grisham (Doubleday), $28.95
4 0 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson (Knopf), $27.95
5 0 Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (Random House), $27.00
6 0 Decision Points, George W. Bush (Crown), $35.00
7 0 What the Night Knows, Dean Koontz (Bantam), $28.00
8 0 The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $14.99

9 0 Cross Fire, James Patterson (Little, Brown), $12.98

10 0 Ruthless Game, Christine Feehan (Jove), $7.99

11 8 Dead or Alive, Tom Clancy, Grant Blackwood (Putnam Adult), $28.95
12 0 Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $17.99
13 2 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, Jeff Kinney (Amulet Books), $13.95
14 37 Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic), $17.99
15 0 Water for Elephants: A Novel, Gruen, Sara (Algonquin), $14.95
16 0 Live to Tell, Lisa Gardner (Bantam), $7.99
17 11 Witch & Wizard: The Gift, James Patterson, Ned Rust (Little, Brown for Young Readers), $17.99
18 15 The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $18.99
19 0 Port Mortuary, Patricia Cornwell (Putnam Adult), $12.99
20 0 Deja Vu, Fern Michaels (Zebra), $7.99
21 0 The Outlaws, W.E.B. Griffin, William E. Butterworth IV (Putnam Adult), $27.95
22 0 The Help, Kathryn Stockett (Putnam Adult), $12.99
23 19 The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown (Anchor), $9.99
24 0 Secrets to the Grave, Tami Hoag (Dutton Adult), $26.95
25 31 Last Sacrifice, Richelle Mead (Razorbill), $17.99

My Review: MATCHED by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cassia Reyes has just turned seventeen - and over the course of her entire life - there's one thing missing: she's never had a choice. The Society dictates everything - what you eat, what you wear, where you work, where you live, what you do with your free time, when you die - and most importantly, upon the year you turn 17, who you'll marry.

When Cassia is Matched with her childhood best friend, Xander - a rarity that individuals are matched with someone they know, let alone lives in the same district - things couldn't be more perfect. He's everything she's ever wanted and then some.

Upon being matched, every individual is given a profile microcard that contains data on their chosen partner - but when Cassia watches Xander's profile, someone else appears on her screen: another one of her childhood friends, Ky Markham.

She's told it's a glitch - a rare malfunction in the system - and to disregard the information about Ky and move on with her match to Xander. However, Cassia can't seem to forget.

With advice from her dying grandfather: Do not go gentle into that good night, from a secret poem only the two of them share, Cassia realizes that choices do exist. But is she strong enough to make them?

As the story unfolds, both Cassia and Ky find themselves partnered in various activities the Society has chosen for them. And the more and more time they spend together, the more she realizes that maybe Ky appearing as her match, wasn't a mistake after all. He brings with him an inspiring sense of creativity, something that isn't allowed in the Society - along with the ability to write, which he teaches to Cassia.

As the two of them fall in love, Cassia realizes the awful truth behind the Society, and she knows she can no longer follow its dictates. But the Society has other plans - which doesn't include the two of them being together.

Overall, I found the concept of the story intriguing, but sometimes a little slow. There were moments where I wanted something more exciting to happen - and it just didn't. However, I appreciate Condie's creativity and found myself upset at some of the actions the Society took - more so, because I would never have survived in a world where decisions were made for me.

With the ending unresolved and easily setting itself up for the next one in the series (this is book #1 in a trilogy), I will be reading the sequel.

Good read.

View all my reviews

Happy New Year Book Giveaway!

Happy New Year, everyone! 

If you're like me, then you too can't believe it's already 2011! Yikes...where has the time gone?

But what better way to start off the new year, then with a new book? 

And the new book in question?

AWAKENED, by P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast.

I've rather enjoyed the House of Night series - and their eighth installment in the series, AWAKENED, comes out on Tuesday, January 4th. I'm looking forward to reading this one!

Sooooo, to help welcome the new year and get everyone started on the right foot - I'm giving away a copy of AWAKENED to one of my lucky followers!

The Rules:

Sorry folks, this one is only open to my U.S. and Canadian followers.

How Can I Win?
Enter HERE, and fill out the form to win! But please leave a comment below, telling me you've entered!


Contest Timeline:
Contest is open from today, 1.2.11 to next Friday, 1.14.11 - and a winner will be selected on 1.15.11. All entries (aka comments) for this contest need to be received before 11:59pm PST on Friday, 1.14.11 to be eligible. The winner will be drawn via Random.org on 1.15.11 and announced on my blog.
 
Description of AWAKENED, from The House Of Night website:
 
Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over her immortal consort Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae (since she saved his life), but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Care to read an excerpt?

http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/awakenedxrpt.html

Good luck everyone!