The following were the bestselling books at independent bookstores in and around Chicago during the week ended Sunday, December 5:
Hardcover Fiction
1. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
2. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
3. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
4. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
2. Life by Keith Richards
3. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
4. Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten
5. Decision Points by George W. Bush
Paperback Fiction
1. Major Petttigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
2. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
3. Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
4. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
5. Tinkers by Paul Harding
Paperback Nonfiction
1. Just Kids by Patti Smith
2. Michelin Chicago 2011
3. Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne
4. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
5. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Children's
1. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
2. Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama and Loren Long
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
4. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
5. Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
Reporting bookstores: Anderson's, Naperville and Downers Grove; Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock; the Book Table, Oak Park; the Book Cellar, Lincoln Square; Lake Forest Books, Lake Forest; the Bookstall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka; and 57th St. Books; Seminary Co-op; Women and Children First, Chicago.
[Many thanks to the booksellers and Carl Lennertz!]