David Oliver Relin

Here's an idea for a feel-good Christmas present -- a "benevolit" book. That's what I'm calling this relatively new and increasingly popular genre of travel literature. They are typically narratives of journeys that were so life-changing as to inspire the author to start a philanthropy dedicated to helping those who helped them on their adventures. Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin Viking (2006): 349 pp., $16 The meteoric success in the category is "Three Cups of Tea," by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, which, despite being of average literary merit, has spent more than 145 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Here's an idea for a feel-good Christmas present -- a "benevolit" book. That's what I'm calling this relatively new and increasingly popular genre of travel literature. They are typically narratives of journeys that were so life-changing as to inspire the author to start a philanthropy dedicated to helping those who helped them on their adventures. Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin Viking (2006): 349 pp., $16 The meteoric success in the category is "Three Cups of Tea," by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, which, despite being of average literary merit, has spent more than 145 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen ($13.95) 3. Out Stealing Horses by Per Fiction Petterson ($14) 4. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 5. Away by Amy Bloom ($14) Nonfiction 1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15) 2. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle ($14) 3. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15) 4. Big Russ & Me by Tim Russert ($13.95) 5. Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander ($14)

Fiction 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) 2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14) 3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ($15) 4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ($14) 5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ($12.95) 6. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein ($14.

Fiction 1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 2. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99) 3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson ($14) 5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy ($14.95) Nonfiction 1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15) 2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15) 3. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama ($7.99) 4. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama ($14.95)

Fiction 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) 2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14) 3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ($15) 4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ($14) 5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ($12.95) 6. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein ($14.

Fiction 1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 2. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99) 3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson ($14) 5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy ($14.95) Nonfiction 1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15) 2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15) 3. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama ($7.99) 4. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama ($14.95)

1. The Shack by William P. Young ($14.99) 2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) 3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer ($10.99) Fiction 4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson ($14) 5. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo ($14.95) Nonfiction 1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15) 2. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15) 3. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle ($14) 4. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah ($12) 5. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama ($7.99)