Essence

1. Wendy’s Got the Heat by Wendy Williams with Karen Hunter (Atria)
2. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted by E. Lynn Harris (Doubleday)
3. What Keeps Me Standing: Letters from Black Grandmothers on Peace, Hope, and Inspiration by Dennis Kimbro (Doubleday)
4. Skinny Women Are Evil:Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World by Mo’Nique and Sherri McGee (Atria Books)
5. Fighting for Us: Maulana Karenga, the Us Organization and Black Cultural Nationalism by Scot Brown (NYU Press)
6. Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Are We Here For? by Rick Warren (Zondervan)
7. 91/2 Couples by Wendell Scales (Capulet House Publishing)
8. Patti Labelle’s Lite Cuisine by Patti Labelle ( Gotham Books)
9. Brown Skin: Dr. Susan Taylor’s Prescription for Flawless Skin Hair and Nails by Dr. Susan Taylor
10. Witness to the Truth: John H. Scott’s Struggles for Human Rights in Louisiana by John H. Scott with Cleo Scott Brown(University of South Carolina Press)

NONFICTION PAPERBACK

1. The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson (African American Images, $9.50)
2 . Single, Saved, and Having Sex by Ty Adams (Heaven Enterprises)
3. The Willie Lynch Letter and the Making of a Slave by Kashik Malik Hassan-El (Lushena Books)
4. Prime Time: The African-American Woman’s Complete Guide to Mid-life Health and Wellness by Gayle K. Porter and Marilyn Hughes Gaston (One World/Striver’s Row)
5. Journey to the Well: 12 Lessons on Personal Transformations by Vashti Murphy Mackenzie (Penguin USA)
6. How I Retired at 26! by Asha Tyson (ATD Publishing)
7. Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery by Na’im Akbar (Mind Productions & Assoc.)
8. From the Browder Files: Survival Strategies for Africans in America 13 Steps to Freedom by Anthony T. Browder (Inst. of Karmic Guidance)
9. Isis Papers by Frances Cress Welsing (Third World Press)
10. Salt In Your Sock and Other Tried-and-True Home Remedies by Dr. Lillian Beard (Three Rivers Press)

FICTION HARDCOVER

1. Nervous by Zane (Atria)
2. Second Sunday by Michele Andrea Bowen (Warner Book/Walk Worthy Press)
3. The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey (E P Dutton)
4. Sexual Healing by Jill Nelson (Agate)
5. Sisters of APF by Zane (Atria)
6. He’s Just a Friend by Mary B. Morrison (Kensington)
7. Blessed Assurance: Inspirational Short Stories Full of Hope & Strength for Life's Journey by S. James Guitard et. al. (Literally Speaking Publishing House)
8. Baby Momma Drama by Carl Weber (Kensington)
9. The Bridge by Solomon Jones (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
10. God’s Gift to Women by Michael Baisden (Touchstone Books)

FICTION PAPERBACK

1. A Hustler’s Wife by Nikki Turner (TripleCrown Publications)
2. Caught Up! by Winston Chapman (Black Pearl Books)
3. Sin, Secrets, and Success by Carolyn Chambers Sanders (C. Chambers Publishing Co.)
4. Been There Done That by Darrien Lee (Strebor Books)
5. A Lova’ Like No Otha’ by Stephanie Perry Moore (Walkworthy Press)
6. D.C. Heights by A. J. Dalton (iuniverse)
7. Let That Be The Reason by Vickie Stringer (UpStream Publications)
8. The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah (Pocket Books)
9. A Love of My Own by E. Lynn Harris (Anchor Books)
10. Church Folk by Michele Andrea Bowen (Warner Books/Walkworthy Press)

Bookstore Spotlight on Cushcity.com, in Houston, Texas. Cofounder Gwen Richardson is reading Confessions From the Jumpseat by T. Wendy Williams. To contact the bookstore, call (800) 340-5454 or log on to cushcity.com.

About this list: The Essence Best-sellers list is based on reports of retail sales. Respondents are African-American bookstores.

Reporting Stores: Howard University Bookstore (Washington D.C.), Under One Roof (Kileen, Texas), Dynasty Books (Charlotte, N.C.), Knowledge Bookstore (Brampton, Ontario), Books For Thought (Tampa, Fla.), Alkebu-Lan’s (Antioch, Tenn.), Reflections Bookstore (Bloomfield, Conn.), Black Images Book Bazaar (Dallas, Texas), OurStory Books & Gifts (Plainfield, N.J.), Heritage Bookstore and More (Fort Meyers, Fla.), Jokae’s African-American Bookstore (Dallas, Texas), Black Classics (Mobile, Ala.), A Different Booklist (Ontario, Canada), Pyramid Books (Little Rock, AR), Cushcity.com (Houston, Texas), Sibanye (Baltimore, Md.), Pyramid Books (Boynton Beach, Fla.), Karibu Books (Hyattsville, Md.), Dorothea’s African American Books (Columbia, S.C.), Theblacklibrary.com (Boston, Mass.).

Compiled by Raquel Boler