USA Today celebrates the 15th anniversary of its own Best-Seller list by rounding up the top sellers since October of 1993.

I'm surprised to see that the Atkins book is second on the list, well ahead of the number 11 South Beach Diet. I would've thought that the popularity of South Beach, largely at the expense of Atkins, would've reversed those numbers, but it's all good.

BTW, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution is the only book anywhere near the top of the list that I've read. Haven't even read To Kill a Mockingbird, at No. 22. Tried number 35 but bailed.

Let's see ... still looking down the list ...

Good grief: Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter is number 58? I barely remember that -- must've been a handy guide that caught on during the height of the low-carb craze. I always used the counter in the back of New Diet Revolution. Anyway, still looking ...

No. 59: Read part of it but gave up.

Oooo! No. 64! Read it! AND No. 65, a long time ago! And, ummm, No. 81. What dad hasn't read that one? Did read No. 82 -- I'm on a roll here.

Did I mention this list has 150, not 100, titles? It just keeps going. I've read Nos:

106
119 (Given to me by the author, for free, at a convention)
122
Part of 140
146

That's it.

Here's the list

USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books List Top 150 books of the last 15 years
(Oct. 28, 1993 through Oct. 23, 2008)

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
2. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution Robert C. Atkins
3. The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
10. Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
11. The South Beach Diet Arthur Agatston
12. Tuesdays With Morrie Mitch Albom
13. Angels & Demons Dan Brown
14. What to Expect When You're Expecting Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway
15. The Purpose-Driven Life Rick Warren
16. The Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom
17. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen R. Covey
18. The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
19. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus John Gray
20. The Secret Rhonda Byrne
21. Rich Dad, Poor Dad Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter
22. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
23. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... And It's All Small Stuff Richard Carlson
24. The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd
25. Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert
26. Twilight Stephenie Meyer
27. The Notebook Nicholas Sparks
28. The Memory Keeper's Daughter Kim Edwards
29. The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
30. Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
31. A New Earth Eckhart Tolle
32. Oh, the Places You'll Go! Dr. Seuss
33. The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz
34. Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt
35. The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
36. Body-for-Life Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37. New Moon Stephenie Meyer
38. Night Elie Wiesel, translations by Marion Wiesel and Stella Rodway
39. Chicken Soup for the Soul Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
40. The Greatest Generation Tom Brokaw
41. Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer
42. The Celestine Prophecy James Redfield
43. Wicked Gregory Maguire
44. Good to Great Jim Collins
45. Eclipse Stephenie Meyer
46. Eragon Christopher Paolini
47. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells
48. Your Best Life Now Joel Osteen
49. In the Kitchen With Rosie Rosie Daley
50. Simple Abundance Sarah Ban Breathnach
51. A Child Called It Dave Pelzer
52. A Million Little Pieces James Frey
53. The Testament John Grisham
54. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger
55. Deception Point Dan Brown
56. The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
57. Marley & Me John Grogan
58. Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter Robert C. Atkins
59. Life of Pi Yann Martel
60. The Brethren John Grisham
61. The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide Arthur Agatston
62. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town John Grisham
63. For One More Day Mitch Albom
64. The Polar Express Chris Van Allsburg
65. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
66. The Last Lecture Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67. What to Expect the First Year Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway
68. Love You Forever Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw
69. Green Eggs and Ham Dr. Seuss
70. A Painted House John Grisham
71. The Rainmaker John Grisham
72. Skipping Christmas John Grisham
73. Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
74. The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time Mark Haddon
75. Life Strategies Phillip C. McGraw
76. Seabiscuit: An American Legend Laura Hillenbrand
77. The Summons John Grisham
78. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil John Berendt
79. The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien
80. The Runaway Jury John Grisham
81. Goodnight Moon Board Book Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd
82. The Perfect Storm Sebastian Junger
83. Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson
84. The Giver Lois Lowry
85. Embraced by the Light Betty J. Eadie
86. The Chamber John Grisham
87. You: On A Diet Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88. The Prayer of Jabez Bruce Wilkinson
89. Holes Louis Sachar
90. Digital Fortress Dan Brown
91. The Shack William P. Young
92. The Devil Wears Prada Lauren Weisberger
93. Water for Elephants Sara Gruen
94. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
95. The Seat of the Soul Gary Zukav
96. Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
97. The Partner John Grisham
98. Lord of the Flies William Golding
99. Eldest: Inheritance, Book II Christopher Paolini
100. The Broker John Grisham
101. The Street Lawyer John Grisham
102. A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1: The Bad Beginning Lemony Snicket
103. The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
104. Into the Wild Jon Krakauer
105. The King of Torts John Grisham
106. The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell
107. The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans
108. Hannibal Thomas Harris
109. The Audacity of Hope Barack Obama
110. Running With Scissors Augusten Burroughs
111. The Glass Castle: A Memoir Jeannette Walls
112. My Sister's Keeper Jodi Picoult
113. The Last Juror John Grisham
114. The Devil in the White City Erik Larson
115. Left Behind Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116. America (The Book) Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show
117. The Red Tent Anita Diamant
118. John Adams David McCullough
119. The Christmas Box Richard Paul Evans
120. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares
121. Sugar Busters! H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, Luis A. Balart
122. Blink Malcolm Gladwell
123. The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle
124. 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life Don Piper, Cecil Murphey
125. The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien
126. 1776 David McCullough
127. The Bridges of Madison County Robert James Waller
128. Where the Heart Is Billie Letts
129. The Ultimate Weight Solution Phillip C. McGraw
130. Protein Power Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades
131. Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
132. Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer
133. Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
134. Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135. You: The Owner's Manual Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
136. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List Patricia Schultz
137. Self Matters Phillip C. McGraw
138. She's Come Undone Wally Lamb
139. 1984 George Orwell
140. The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis
141. The Millionaire Next Door Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko
142. The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory
143. The Zone Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144. The Pilot's Wife Anita Shreve
145. The Lost World Michael Crichton
146. Atonement Ian McEwan
147. He's Just Not That Into You Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
148. Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury
149. The World Is Flat Thomas L. Friedman
150. Cross James Patterson

Looks like I've read (or started to read) 26 of these titles.
The ones I enjoyed the most were the self-help "Good to Great" and "The World Is Flat". By Far.
For fiction, I thought "Water For Elephants" was great.

Have read 24 of them. Own--and intend to read--6 more. Saw the movie version of 2.

I wonder if any of the older books--Lord of the Rings etc.--would be higher on the list if it were easier to track sales of used books. Or can they? Does anyone know how bestseller rankings are calculated? Is it just sales of new books? And, for instance, if I buy the version of Lord of the Rings that includes all three titles, does my purchase bolster the rank of The Fellowship of the Ring?

Having worked in a book store for a number of years (both as a college student and a few years after), most of these don't surprise me. You'd be surprised how many people still buy the Atkins stuff, for instance.

Let's see....

Read — 22
Own, but haven't read yet — 2