Bookshelf

Best Sellers Special Interest Group 

The Omnilore Best Sellers Book Discussion SIG was formed in May, 2012.  It regularly met on the second Monday of each month from noon to 1:00 P.M., to discuss the “book of the month” in a free-form format using open-ended discussion questions.  This SIG was open to all Omniloreans interested in reading and discussing current best sellers, both fiction and nonfiction.  Everyone was welcome to attend whether you had finished the book, were in the process of reading it, or are just curious about the topic.  [From the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 until going on hiatus in 2023 while seeking new organizers/leadership (volunteer to Best-Sellers@Omnilore.org), the Best Sellers SIG met via Zoom.]

As with any Special Interest Group, there was no need to enroll, no need to do a presentation…just show up in L8 (pre-pandemic) or link into Zoom on the day and time with enthusiasm, prepared to participate.

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The past Best Sellers selections covered a wide variety of topics and are listed here to lend the flavor of the SIG so far (along with links for purchasing in various versions from Amazon):

  • May 14 (2012)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins    (Hardcover)  (Paperback)  (Kindle)
  • June 11

Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 by Charles Murray    (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • July 9

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain   (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Aug. 13

The Tiger’s Wife by Tia Obreht     (Hardcover)  (Paperback)  (Kindle)
  • Sep. 10

Wild by Cheryl Strayed      (Hardcover)   (Kindle)   (Audio CD Edition)  
  • Oct. 8

Canada by Richard Ford     (Hardcover)   (Paperback – large print)   (Kindle)
  • Nov. 12

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman    (Hardcover)   (Paperback)   (Kindle)
  • Dec.  10
Mission to Paris by Alan Furst      (Hardcover)   (Paperback)   (Kindle)
  • Jan. 14 (2013)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
 (Hardcover)     (Paperback - large print)     (Kindle)
  • Feb. 11
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowlin    (Hardcover)   (Kindle)  (Paperback unavailable at present)
  • Mar. 11
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt     (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Apr. 8
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes    (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • May 13

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot   (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • June 10
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese   (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • July 8
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo   (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Aug. 12
The Black Box by Michael Connelly    (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Sep. 9
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Oct. 14
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce  (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Nov. 11
Bossypants by Tina Fey   (Paperback)  (Library Binding)   (Kindle)
  • Dec. 9
The Inferno by Dan Brown   (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • Jan. (2014)
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan   (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)   
  • Feb.
Defending Jacob by William Landry   (Paperback)  (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • March
Thieves of Book Row by Travis McDade   (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • April
The Jasmine Trade  by Denise Hamilton   (Hardcover)   (Kindle)    (Paperback)
  • May
Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel    (Hardcover)   (Kindle)
  • June
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green   (Hardcover)   (Kindle) 
  • July
Orange is the New Black:  My Year in a Woman's Prison  by Piper Kerman 
 (Hardcover)   (Kindle)  (Paperback)
 
  • Aug.
The Ex-Pats  by Chris Pavone   (Hardcover)   (Kindle)  (Paperback)   (Audio CD)
  • Oct.
A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren    
(Hardcover)   (Kindle)   (Paperback)   (Audio CD)  (Audible Audio Edition)  
  • Nov.

Orphan Train: A Novel  by Christina Baker Kline 
(Hardcover)   (Kindle)   (Paperback)   (Audio CD)  (Audible Audio Ed.)  
  • Dec.
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold Berlin...  by Daniel James Brown
(Hardcover)   (Kindle)   (Paperback)   (Audio CD)  (Audible Audio Edition)
  • Jan.  (2015)

The Rosie Project  by Graeme Simsion    
(Hardcover)    (Kindle)    (Paperback)   (Audio CD)   (Audible Audio Edition)
  • Feb

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History  by Elizabeth Kolbert   
(Hardcover)    (Paperback)   (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition) 
  • March
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear  
(Hardcover)    (Paperback)    (Kindle)   (Audio CD)   (Audible Audio Edition)  
  • April
No book this month    
  • May
Ghettoside by Jill Leovy    
(Hardcover)   (Paperback)    (Kindle)   (Audio CD)   (Audible Audio Edition) 
  • June
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
 (Hardcover)    (Paperback)   (Kindle)   (Audio CD)   (Audible Audio Edition)  
  • July
Being Mortal: What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande   
(Hardcover)    (Paperback)   (Kindle)   (Audio CD)   (Audible Audio Edition)
  • August
Sycamore Row  by John Grisham  

(Hardcover)    (Paperback)    (Kindle)    (Audio CD)   (Audible Audio Edition)
  • September
No book this month
  • October

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough  

(Hardcover)   (Paperback)    (Kindle)    (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)

  • November
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
(Hardcover)   (Paperback)    (Kindle)    (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)
  • December
In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)      (Audible Audio Edition)    (Paperback - not available til 2016)
  • Jan. (2016)
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg   
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)      (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback available May 2016)
  • February
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout    
(Hardcover)    (Paperback)    (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)  
  • March
Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
 (Hardcover)     (Paperback)    (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • April
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
(Hardcover)    (Paperback)    (Kindle)    (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)   
  • May
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)    (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)
  • June
The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan      
(Hardcover)     (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)    (Paperback not available)
  • July

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)    (Kindle)    (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)
  • August
Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • September
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton
(Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)    (Hardcover not available) 
  • October

No book this month  
  • November
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger  
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)    (Paperback not available)
  • December
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)    (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)
  • Jan. (2017)
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)       (Paperback not available)
  • February
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh   
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • March
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education...by Malala Yousafzai
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • April
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
 (Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • May  

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)      (Audible Audio Edition)     (no audio CD available for this selection)
  • June
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • July
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)       (Audible Audio Edition)      (no audio CD available for this selection)
  • August


No book this month
  • September
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
(Hardcover)       (Kindle)       (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback not available)
  • October
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
by Sheryl Sandburg & Adam Grant
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • November
The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • December

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition) 
  • Jan.   (2018)

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
(Hardcover)   (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • February
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival...by Nina Willner 
(Hardcover)   (Paperback)     (Kindle)   (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)
  •  March
The Dry by Jane Harper  
(Hardcover)   (Paperback)    (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • April

Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul A. Offit
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback not available)
  • May

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See  
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)      (Audible Audio Edition)

  • June
No book this month 
   
  • July
Brain Rules for Aging Well by John Medina
(Hardcover)       (Kindle)       (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD & paperback not available)
  • August
The Bomb Maker by Thomas Perry
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • September
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover   
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • October

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • November
The Lost City of the Monkey God  by Douglas Preston
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • December
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • Jan.  (2019)
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
 (Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • February

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles  
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • March

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • April
Happiness by Aminatta Forna
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)       (Audible Audio Edition)       (Audio CD not available)
  • May

The Library Book by Susan Orlean
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)    (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback available Oct. 1)

  • June

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD available April 30)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • July
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and  Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • August
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • September
No book this month
  • October

Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America 
by Catherine Kerrison  
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • November
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • December

Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World 
by Scott Harrison
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • Jan.  (2020)
The Fox by Frederick Forsythe 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)

  • February

No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us
by Rachel Louise Snyder
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • March

The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay  
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • April
Postponed til May       
  • May
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
by Sonia Purnell 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • June
 Uniform Justice  by Donna Leon
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • July
The Yellow House by Sarah Broom
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • August
A Long Petal of the Sea  by Isabelle Allende
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • September
The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Deborah Blum
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • October
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
 (Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)
  • November
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)    
  • December
A Minute to Midnight  by David Baldacci
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD) 
  • Jan.  (2021)
Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America by David Kamp
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition) 
  • February

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • March
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
by Dierdre Mask
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition) 
  • April
The Searcher  Klara and the Sun by Tana French
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)      (Audible Audio Edition)       (Audio CD not available)
  • May
The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans; A Story of Love and War
by Catherine Grace Katz
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)    
  • June
All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny 
(Hardcover)      (Paperback)      (Kindle)      (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • July
Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria
(Hardcover)     (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback available October 2021)
  • August
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)  
  • September
Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz
(Hardcover)     (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback available January 2022)
  • October
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition) 
  • November
Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)    

  • December

 The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 
(Hardcover)      (Kindle)      (Audio CD)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Paperback available February 2022)
  • Jan.  (2022)
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant 
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • February

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)     (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD not available) 
  • March
Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson
(Hardcover)     (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Paperback not available)     (Audio CD not available)
  • April
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD)  
  • May
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD)   
  • June
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD not available)
  • July
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD)
  • August
Twenty Years Later  by Charlie Donlea
 (Hardcover)     (Paperback not available)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD not available)
  • September
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
(Hardcover)     (Paperback not available)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD)
  • October
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)       (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD)
  • November
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest  by Suzanne Simard
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)      (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)     (Audio CD not available)
  • December
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
(Hardcover)     (Paperback)       (Kindle)     (Audible Audio Edition)      (Audio CD)


All of these books are available in both print (hardcover and sometimes paperback) and Kindle e-book formats from Amazon.com.  
Click on any link after each title above to view Amazon's offering for the book in that format.