Los Angeles Times bestsellers for August 2, 2009.
| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles. | 8 |
| 2. | The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. | 8 |
| 3. | Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown: $27.99)A supermodel disappears from a photo shoot in Hawaii. | 4 |
| 4. | Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster: $25.99) The sheriff of a tiny Texas town investigates the mass murder of illegal immigrants on the Mexican border. | 1 |
| 5. | The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Doubleday: $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment. | 5 |
| 6. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 54 |
| 7. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 51 |
| 8. | Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26.99) Two childhood friends on the outs since high school reconnect when one is in trouble. | 1 |
| 9. | The Defector by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $26.95) When a Russian defector disappears, Gabriel Allon is forced to track down a deadly arms dealer. | 1 |
| 10. | Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: $27.95) A witness enters a barbecue competition to uncover the killer of a contestant. | 5 |
| 11. | Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $24) Stories, witty and soulful, explore men’s roles in society. | 1 |
| 12. | Sunnyside by Glen David Gold (Knopf: $26.95) Intertwined tales of a young soldier, Charlie Chaplin and an aspiring actor recall life in early 20th century America. | 2 |
| 13. | Black Hills by Nora Roberts (Putnam: $26.95) Two childhood friends return to South Dakota to find love and revisit an unsolved murder. | 3 |
| 14. | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in sports to toughen him up. | 23 |
| 15. | The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells (Harper: $25.99) An aspiring beautician sets off to New Orleans and finds love and tragedy along the way. | 1 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 34 |
| 2. | A Bright and Guilty Place by Richard Rayner (Doubleday: $25) The sagas of an ambitious young lawyer, a prime suspect in a mob murder, and a police photographer paint a picture of early 20th century L.A. | 3 |
| 3. | Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. | 17 |
| 4. | Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey ( Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. | 25 |
| 5. | Unmasked by Ian Halperin (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $25) A look into the final years and days of Michael Jackson. | 2 |
| 6. | Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (Harper: $26.99) A call to prevent President Obama from transforming America into a socialist state. | 5 |
| 7. | The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. | 64 |
| 8. | Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad (Ecco: $25.99) The son of a daredevil tells of his life on the edge and how he survived a deadly plane crash. | 6 |
| 9. | The Waxman Report by Henry Waxman with Joshua Green (Twelve: $24.99) The congressman from L.A. gives insight on his 35 years in the House. | 3 |
| 10. | The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich (Doubleday: $25) The story and phenomenon behind the founders of Facebook. | 1 |
| 11. | The Evolution of God by Robert Wright (Little, Brown: $25.99) The origins of various religions and the gods they worship. | 1 |
| 12. | A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (Scribner: $25) A restored edition of the classic including never-before-seen sketches of Paris. | 1 |
| 13. | Promises I Made My Mother by Sam Haskell (Ballantine: $24) A Hollywood agent reveals how he kept his pledge to his mother to live a decent life. | 5 |
| 14. | The Beckham Experiment by Grant Wahl (Crown: $24.99) How the international soccer star tried to conquer America. | 1 |
| 15. | Home Game by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton: $23.95) A father’s record of ordinary life occurrences with his three children. | 3 |
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