New York Times hardcover best-sellers | Jan. 25, 2009

Fiction

1. Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s; $27.95). Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum hunts an evil genius and his sidekick who are hiding in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens.

2. The Host, by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown; $25.99). One woman won’t surrender to the aliens who have taken control.

3. Black Ops, by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam; $26.95). An Army officer and special presidential agent is targeted for death — but by whom?

4. Scarpetta, by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam; $27.95). Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta takes on a new assignment in New York.

5. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (Ecco; $25.95). A young mute takes refuge with three dogs in the Wisconsin woods after his father’s death.

Nonfiction

1. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown; $27.99). Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunity — from the author of Blink and The Tipping Point.

2. Guilty, by Ann Coulter (Crown Forum; $27.95). Columnist argues that liberals victimize everyone else by pretending to be victims themselves.

3. Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central; $19.99). A kitten left freezing in the returned-book slot of an Iowa public library rises to fame.

4. American Lion, by Jon Meacham (Random House; $30). Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Newsweek’s editor.

5. Too Fat to Fish, by Artie Lange with Anthony Bozza (Spiegel & Grau; $24.95). Humorous memories from the comedian, a member of the cast of “The Howard Stern Show.”

Advice, how-to and miscellaneous

1. The Power of Soul, by Zhi Gang Sha (Atria; $26). Applying the soul’s power for healing, the prevention of illness, rejuvenation and enlightenment.

2. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion; $21.95). Thoughts on seizing every moment from Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor who died of pancreatic cancer at age 47.

3. Flat Belly Diet, by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass (Rodale; $25.95). Nutrition advice and workout tips from the editors of Prevention magazine.

4. The Ultramind Solution, by Mark Hyman (Scribner; $27.50). How to pinpoint underlying biological problems to improve brain performance and allay depression, anxiety and more.

5. The Best Life Diet Cookbook, by Bob Greene (Simon & Schuster; $25). More than 175 recipes for eating well while shedding pounds.