December’s international bestsellers list had a young adult flavor. J.K. Rowling’s worldwide hit The Tales of Beedle the Bard landed on the top of the fiction list in Germany; slightly further down, the final volume in Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series, Inkdeath, debuted in the fourth spot; Inkdeath was released in the U.S. in September by Scholastic. In Italy, Christopher Paolini’s Brisingr hit the combined bestseller list in the #2 spot, while his earlier book Eragon slipped from the top position to #6 in Germany. The Italian bestseller list also was full of books by America’s hottest author, Stephenie Meyer, whose Twilight series titles occupied the third, sixth and 12th (Eclipse) spots.

While Beedle the Bard, Twilight, Brisingr and Breaking Dawn were the fifth, sixth, ninth and 10th top sellers in Spain in December, a slightly older woman took the top spot: The Girl Who Played with Fire, the sequel to Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, debuted at #1. Tattoo is a bestseller for Knopf in the U.S., and the second book is scheduled for July release. Landing at #3 in Spain is the latest from Swedish thriller writer Henning Mankell; Mankell has enjoyed some success in the U.S. with his Kurt Wallendar novels and a collection of five stories, The Pyramid, released last fall by New Press.

Germany
Fiction Nonfiction
1 The Tales of Beedle the BardJ.K. Rowling Carlsen Off Duty: A BalanceHelmut Schmidt Siedler
2 The Angel’s GameCarlos Ruiz Zafón S. Fischer Who Am I and How Many?Richard D. Precht Goldmann
3 WetlandsCharlotte Roche DuMont I Am Off for a Little WhileHape Kerkeling Malik
For week ending December 21, used by arrangement with Buchreport
Spain
Fiction Nonfiction
1 The Girl Who Played with FireStieg Larsson Destino GomorraRoberto Saviano Debate
2 The Girl with the Dragon TattooStieg Larsson Destino The SecretRhonda Byrne Urano
3 The Chinese ManHenning Mankell Tusquets The Queen in PersonPilar Urbano Planeta
For week ending December 21, used by arrangement with El Cultural
Italy
Combined List
1 The Age of DoubtAndrea Camilleri Sellerio Editore Palermo The Angel’s GameCarlos Ruiz Zafón Mondadori 4
2 BrisingrChristopher Paolini Rizzoli A Journey Across the Economic Empire and the Dreams of the CamorraRoberto Saviano Mondadori 5
3 Breaking DawnStephenie Meyer Fazi TwilightStephenie Meyer Fazi 6
For week ending December 21, used by arrangement with Informazioni Editorial