Bestsellers in St. Louis

Top-Selling Titles in St. Louis

The following were the bestselling books at independent bookstores in and around St. Louis, Mo. During the week ended Sunday, July 17:

Adult

1. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
2. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
4. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
5. Bossypants by Tina Fey
6. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
7. The Kid by Sapphire
8. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
9. Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden
10. The Adjustment by Scott Phillips

Children's

1. The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Jeff Kinney
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
3. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
5. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
6. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
8. Invasion of the Potty Snatchers by Dav Pilkey
9. Best Travel Activity Book by Rand McNally
10. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

Reporting bookstores, all of which are members of the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance: Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Pudd'nhead Books, Subterranean Books, Sue's News.

Bestsellers in St. Louis

Top-Selling Titles in St. Louis

The following were the bestselling books at independent bookstores in and around St. Louis, Mo., during the week ended Sunday, July 10:

Adult

1. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
4. Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey
5. The Greater Journey by David McCullough
6. The Elements of F**king Style: A Helpful Parody by Chris Baker and Jacob Hansen
7. The Making of an All American City: East St. Louis at 150 by Mark Abbott
8. The Light Bringer by Chris DiGiuseppe and Mike Force
9. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
10. Images of America: East St. Louis by Bill Nunes

Children's

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Jeff Kinney
3. Time for Bed by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer
4. Princess Peepers Picks a Pet by Pam Calvert
5. Super Diaper Baby #2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers by Dav Pilkey
6. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7. Passion by Lauren Kate
8. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
9. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
10. I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore

Reporting bookstores, all of which are members of the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance: Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Pudd'nhead Books, Subterranean Books, Sue's News.

Bestsellers in St. Louis

Top-Selling Titles in St. Louis

The following were the bestselling books at independent bookstores in and around St. Louis, Mo. During the week ended Sunday, July 3:

Adult

1. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
2. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky
5. Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had by Edward Achorn
6. The Art of Barter by Karen S. Hoffman and Shera D. Dalin
7. Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen
8. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
9. Confessions: Fact or Fiction: A Collection of Short Stories and Memoir by Herta B. Feely and Marian O'Shea Wernicke
10. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Children's

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney
3. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
4. Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
5. In the Garden with Dr. Carver by Susan Grigsby and Nicole Tadgell
6. Where Does Maisy Live?: A Maisy Lift-the-Flap Book by Lucy Cousins
7. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
8. Heist Society by Ally Carter
9. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool
10. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Reporting bookstores, all of which are members of the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance: Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Pudd'nhead Books, Subterranean Books, Sue's News.

Book Review: The Heroin Diaries

Book Review: The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx

First sentence: "Merry Christmas."

Product description (From Amazon.com): "In one of the most unique memoirs of addiction ever published, Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx shares mesmerizing diary entries from the year he spiraled out of control in a haze of heroin and cocaine, presented alongside riveting commentary from people who were there at the time, and from Nikki himself.

When Motley Crue was at the height of its fame, there wasn't any drug Nikki Sixx wouldn't do. He spent days -- sometimes alone, sometimes with other addicts, friends, and lovers -- in a coke and heroin-fueled daze. The highs were high, and Nikki's journal entries reveal some euphoria and joy. But the lows were lower, often ending with Nikki in his closet, surrounded by drug paraphernalia and wrapped in paranoid delusions.

Here, Nikki shares those diary entries -- some poetic, some scatterbrained, some bizarre -- and reflects on that time. Joining him are Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Slash, Rick Nielsen, Bob Rock, and a host of ex-managers, ex-lovers, and more.

Brutally honest, utterly riveting, and shockingly moving, The Heroin Diaries follows Nikki during the year he plunged to rock bottom -- and his courageous decision to pick himself up and start living again."

My take: Not for the faint of heart. This is a brutally honest book. Scary honest. I am not a fan of reading auto-biographies, but I recently saw Motley Crue in concert. They are on their 30 year anniversary tour and it was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time, if not ranked right up there with the best ever. Nikki Sixx is one talented, creative man who defied the odds. More than once. Nikki died. More than once. He had an NDE which he really doesn't talk about too much in the book. (I wish he would have.) He was clinically depressed which often leads to self-medicating to take away the pain. And self-medicate, he did. He has admirable strength, in that he was able to quit on his own. He did not go into rehab. Before he "died" the last time, he was told by a psychic in Japan that if he didn't change his ways, he would not live to see the new year. That was December 22, 1987. He OD'd on December 24th.

If you've reviewed the book, leave a comment here and I'll post a link to your review!

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: VH1; Second Printing edition (October 28, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781416511946
ISBN-13: 978-1416511946
ASIN: 1416511946

My rating: B

Bestsellers in St. Louis

Top-Selling Titles in St. Louis

The following were the bestselling books at independent bookstores in and around St. Louis, Mo. During the week ended Sunday, June 26:

Adult

1. Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
4. Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had by Edward Achorn
5. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees
6. Grant by Jean Edward Smith
7. The Strawberry Letter by Shirley Strawberry
8. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
9. Why We Believe in Gods: A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith by Thomas Anderson Jr.
10. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Kids

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
3. Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks
4. Blackest Night Green Lantern by Geoff Johns
5. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
6. Only One You by Linda Kranz
7. Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela Coyle
8. Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
9. Mom, I Love Spaghetti by Gary W. Fort
10. Remarkable Animals: 1000 Amazing Amalgamations by Tony Meeuwissen

Reporting bookstores, all of which are members of the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance: Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, Pudd'nhead Books, Subterranean Books, Sue's News.