The week's best sellers

1. Scarpetta. Patricia Cornwell. Putnam, $27.95. More

Native in a strange land

In "Evening Is the Whole Day," Preeta Samarasan details the intricate and dysfunctional lives of the descendants of a south Indian who had sailed to Malaya in 1899 to work as an indentured laborer under colonial rule. More

An honest pol? Perish the thought

Would terminal sincerity in a politician count as a mental defect? David Runciman takes a sophisticated approach to the phenomenon in "Political Hypocrisy," a timely study of one of public life's in-your-face puzzles. More

'10,000 Hours' book a hit with Hollywood

Malcolm Gladwell's nonfiction book "Outliers," which establishes a threshold for achieving expertise in a complex cognitive skill like acting or playing the piano, strikes a starry chord. Just ask Dustin Hoffman. More

Book review: "Earthrise: How Man First Saw the Earth," by Robert Poole

On Christmas Eve 1968, the crew of Apollo 8, on its fourth orbit around the moon, saw the Earth rise above the lunar horizon. More

Book world debates value of Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal has been the gold standard in children's literature for more than eight decades. On the January day when the annual winner is announced, bookstores nationwide sell out, libraries clamor for copies and teachers add the work to lesson plans. More