February 2009 Bestsellers List

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HARDCOVER FICTION

1.    Midnight by Sister Souljah (Atria, $26.95)*
2.    Just Too Good to Be True by E. Lynn Harris (Doubleday, $24.95)*
3.    Love & Lies by Kimberla Lawson Roby (William Morrow, $23.95)*
4.    The Million Dollar Deception by RM Johnson (Simon & Schuster, $24)*
5.    She Had It Coming by Mary Monroe (Dafina, $24)*
6.    Seen It All And Done the Rest by Pearl Cleage (One World/Ballentine, $25)*
7.    The Tempest Tales by Walter Mosley (Black Classic Press, $19.95)*
8.    She Had It Coming by Mary Monroe (Dafina, $24)*
9.    Something On the Side by Carl Weber (Dafina, $24)*
10.    Who’s Loving You by Mary B. Morrison (Dafina, $24)*

PAPERBACK FICTION
1.    Mistress of the Game by Sherrie Walker (Triple Crown Publications, $15)*
2.    Gutter by K’wan (St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95)*
3.    True to the Game III by Teri Woods (Grand Central Publishing, $14.99)*
4.    Can I Get a Witness? by ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Pocket, $14) (5)
5.    Testing Relationships by Brittney Holmes (Urban Christian, $14.95)*
6.    Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (HarperCollins, $15.95)*
7.    Living Consequences by Brittney Holmes (Kensington Books, $14.95)*
8.    Black & Ugly As Ever by T. Styles (The Cartel Publications, $13.05)*
9.    From the Streets to the Sheets by Noire (One World/Ballantine, $14)*
10.    The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah (Pocket Star, $7.99)*

HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1.    The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (Crown, $25)*
2.    Letters To A Young Sister by Hill Harper (Gotham, $22.50) (1)
3.    Life Overflowing by T.D. Jakes (Bethany House, $19.99)*
4.    Solidarity Divided by Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Fernando Gapasin (University of California Press, $24.95)*
5.    Hiding in Hip Hop by Terrance Dean (Atria, $23)*
6.    Grace After Midnight by Felecia “Snoop” Pearson and David Ritz (Grand Central Publishing, $22)*
7.    Take Back Your Family by Rev Run and Justine Simmons (Penguin Group, $25)*
8.    Hope On a Tightrope by Cornel West (Hay House, $19.95)*
9.    PowerNomics by Dr. Claud Anderson (PowerNomics Corporation of America, $27)*
10.    Before You Do by T.D. Jakes (Atria, $25)*

PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1.    The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (Vintage, $7.99) (3)
2.    Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press, $14.95) (5)
3.    The Black Male Handbook edited by Kevin Powell (Atria, $15)*
4.    Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, $9.95)*
5.    Change We Can Believe In by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press, $13.95)*
6.    Letters to A Young Brother by Hill Harper (Gotham, $13)*
7.    Somebody’s Someone by Regina Louise (Agate, $14.95)*
8.    The Willie Lynch Letter by William Lynch and Kashif Malik Hassan-el (Lushena, $4.95) (7)
9.    A Chronology of the Bible by Yosef Ben-Jochannan (Black Classic Press, $4)*
10.    The Five Negro Presidents by J.A. Rogers (Helga M. Rogers, $4)*
11.    And God Said…Just Walk by Karen D. Spencer (Vantage Press, $8.95)*

ABOUT THIS LIST: The Essence Best Sellers List is based on reports of retail sales. Respondents are African-American bookstores. Numbers in parentheses indicate last month’s position. An asterisk indicates a title that did not appear on last month’s list. REPORTING STORES: Jokae’s African-American Books & Custom Framing (Dallas), 800-749-7725; Kana CDs & Books (Columbus, Ohio), 614-306-1843; Truth Bookstore (Southfield, Michigan), 248-557-4824; Pyramid Books (Boynton Beach, Florida), 561-731-4422; Precious Memories Reading and Collectibles (Richmond), 804-726-8501; Knowledge Bookstore (Brampton, Ontario), 905-459-9875; Hood Book Headquarters (Warren, Michigan), 313-515-7961; MochaReaders (Dayton), 937-361-7657; Da Book Joint (Chicago), 773-978-3555; Not Just a Bookstore (St. Louis), 877-361-9955; Underground Books (Sacramento, California), 916-737-3333.