Washington Area Bestsellers

	Paperback
	Fiction
1	BLUE DAHLIA (Jove, $7.99). By Nora Roberts Widowed Stella Rothschild and her sons move into the Harper mansion, an estate haunted by a troubled spirit.	2
2	THE KITE RUNNER (Riverhead, $14). By Khaled Hosseini An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country in the hope of atoning for a childhood betrayal.	7
3	SKIPPING CHRISTMAS (Dell, $6.99). By John Grisham A couple, jaded by all the material trappings of the holidays, vows to have a year without Christmas.	4
4	ANGELS & DEMONS (Pocket Star, $7.99) By Dan Brown. The Illuminati, a secret cabal, threatens the Vatican at the outset of a papal conclave.	45
5	THE BIG BAD WOLF (Warner, $7.99) By James Patterson. FBI novice Alex Cross matches wits with a Russian mobster trafficking in sexual slavery.	6
6	THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (Vintage, $12). By Mark Haddon. An autistic boy digs into a poodle's death, unearthing some family secrets.	25
7	THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN (Warner, $5.99) By David Baldacci. A journalist, forced to travel cross-country by train, finds unexpected rewards.	1
8	THE SINISTER PIG (HarperTorch, $7.99) By Tony Hillerman. Sgt. Jim Chee and now-retired Lt. Joe Leaphorn deal with murder and mismanaged tribal funds.	1
9	EMMA'S SECRET (St. Martin's, $7.99) By Barbara Taylor Bradford. Emma Harte, from Bradford's "A Woman of Substance," returns via her diaries.	1
10	SPLIT SECOND (Warner Vision, $7.99) By David Baldacci. Crimes against two presidential candidates, though eight years apart, may be related.	10
	Nonfiction/General
1	THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT: FINAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES (Norton, $10)	16
2	READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN (Random House, $13.95) By Azar Nafisi. A professor's memoir of her clandestine Western literature discussion groups for women students.	42
3	THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY (Vintage, $14.95) By Erik Larson. Serial killer Henry Holmes preys on Chicago residents amid the bustle of the 1893 World's Fair.	38
4	A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING (Broadway, $15.95). By Bill Bryson. A quirky, popular history of science's grandest achievements.	8
5	FLYBOYS: A TRUE STORY OF COURAGE (Back Bay, $14.95). By James Bradley. The brutal captivity of eight American POWs held by Japanese forces.	8
6	DREAMS FROM MY FATHER: A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE (Three Rivers, $13.95) By Barack Obama. Memoir by the senator-elect.	13
7	DON'T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT!: KNOW YOUR VALUES AND FRAME THE DEBATE (Chelsea Green, $10) By George Lakoff. A playbook for progressive activists.	1
8	FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (Da Capo, $15.95) By H.G. Bissinger. A year spent observing the obsession with high school football in small town Odessa, Tex.	5
9	NIGHT (Bantam, $5.99). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his four years spent in a concentration camp during World War II.	5
10	PLAN OF ATTACK (Simon & Schuster, $14) By Bob Woodward. Assessing the administration's motivations behind green-lighting the war in Iraq.	5
	Hardcover
	Fiction
1	HOUR GAME (Warner, $26.95). By David Baldacci A murderer, mimicking the modus operandi of notorious serial killers, menaces the hamlet of Wrightsburg, Va.	2
2	METRO GIRL (HarperCollins, $26.95) By Janet Evanovich. Alex Barnaby hits Miami and points beyond in a risky gamble to locate her missing brother.	1
3	THE DA VINCI CODE (Doubleday, $24.95) By Dan Brown. Ciphers and riddles impede a symbologist's quest for the Holy Grail and a murderer's identity.	45
4	THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA (Houghton Mifflin, $26) By Philip Roth. In this imagined history, Charles Lindbergh, as a Nazi sympathizer, is elected U.S. president.	6
5	ECHOES (Delacorte, $27). By Danielle Steel Spanning both world wars, this tale chronicles the romance between a Jewish woman and a Catholic aristocrat.	2
6	THE DA VINCI CODE: SPECIAL ILLUSTRATED EDITION (Doubleday, $35). By Dan Brown. The art and cryptology thriller with hundreds of apropos photos and images.	1
7	LIGHT ON SNOW (Little, Brown, $24.95) By Anita Shreve. The emotional repercussions of a father and daughter's discovery of an abandoned infant.	4
8	THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN (Hyperion, $19.95). By Mitch Albom. A parable illustrating the importance of life's smallest acts.	44
9	NORTHERN LIGHTS (Putnam, $25.95). By Nora Roberts The usual tranquility of Lunacy, Alaska, is ruffled when a resident, missing for 16 years, is discovered murdered.	4
10	TO THE LAST MAN (Ballantine, $27.95). By Jeff Shaara Actual historical figures are woven into this tale of World War I, vividly depicting the horrors of the Western Front.	2
	Nonfiction/General
1	AMERICA (THE BOOK): A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO DEMOCRACY INACTION (Warner, $24.95) By Jon Stewart & the Daily Show. Humor meets history.	7
2	HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON (Knopf, $26.95). By Joseph J. Ellis. A biography of the statesman from British army soldier to U.S. president.	2
3	WHEN WILL JESUS BRING THE PORK CHOPS? (Hyperion, $23.95). By George Carlin. The comedian's mocking riffs on America's social and political climate.	4
4	HOW TO TALK TO A LIBERAL (IF YOU MUST) (Crown Forum, $26.95). By Ann Coulter. The conservative pundit sizes up the American political scene.	5
5	WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS?: HOW CONSERVATIVES WON THE HEART OF AMERICA (Metropolitan, $24). By Thomas Frank	1
6	CHRONICLES: VOLUME ONE (Simon & Schuster, $24). By Bob Dylan. The singer and songwriter contemplates pivotal moments in his life.	5
7	THE LAST SEASON: A TEAM IN SEARCH OF ITS SOUL (Penguin Press, $24.95). By Phil Jackson with Michael Arkush. The final season with the Los Angeles Lakers.	2
8	HALLELUJAH! THE WELCOME TABLE: A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES WITH RECIPES (Random House, $29.95) By Maya Angelou. Recalling family and culinary morsels.	3
9	THE COMPLETE CARTOONS OF THE NEW YORKER (Black Dog & Levanthal, $60). Ed. by Robert Mankoff "Best of" book; two CDs containing all cartoons published.	2
10	LET ME TELL YOU A STORY: A LIFETIME IN THE GAME (Little, Brown, $25.95). By Red Auerbach & John Feinstein. Life of the legendary Celtics coach.	1

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended November 7, 2004. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2004 by Nielsen BookScan. (Right-hand column of italicized numbers reflects weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. Advice and self-help books appear on a separate, monthly list.)