Washington Area Bestsellers

	Paperback
	Fiction
1	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.	30
2	HIDDEN PREY(Berkley, $7.99). By John Sandford Detective Davenport, acting as a special agent, is assigned to the case of a Russian found murdered on the docks.	1
3	ANGELS & DEMONS(Pocket Star, $7.99) By Dan Brown.The Illuminati, a secret cabal, threatens the Vatican at the outset of a papal conclave.	68
4	THE TAKING(Bantam, $7.99). By Dean R. Koontz A rural California town, doused with an eerie, radiant downpour, soon realizes it's part of a global alien invasion.	1
5	A LOVING SCOUNDREL(Pocket Star, $7.99) By Johanna Lindsey.Lindsey revives her Malory series with this tale of Jeremy Malory, pirate-turned-gentleman.	1
6	KISS ME WHILE I SLEEP(Ballantine, $7.99) By Linda Howard.Lily Mansfield, a CIA assassin, alarms the agency when she begins to abide by her own set of rules.	1
7	JUST ONE LOOK(Signet, $7.99). By Harlan Coben A housewife is stymied by her husband's disappearance and its odd connection to a tragedy from her past.	1
8	NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME(Pocket, $7.99) By Mary Higgins Clark.A serial killer using the moniker "the Owl" targets women at a high school reunion.	6
9	R IS FOR RICOCHET(Berkley, $7.99). By Sue Grafton P.I. Kinsey Millhone agrees to look after a just-paroled heiress, whose former boss is wanted by the Feds.	5
10	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.	48
	Nonfiction/General
1	THE TIPPING POINT: HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE(Back Bay, $14.95) By Malcolm Gladwell.A look at fads and their origins.	18
2	BAD CAT: 244 NOT-SO-PRETTY KITTIES AND CATS GONE BAD(Workman, $9.95). By Jim Edgar Candid photos of felines acting up and acting out.	11
3	READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN(Random House, $13.95) By Azar Nafisi.A professor recalls her clandestine Western literature discussion groups for women students.	65
4	WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS?: HOW THE CONSERVATIVES WON THE HEART OF AMERICA (Owl, $14). By Thomas Frank	2
5	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.	61
6	DREAMS FROM MY FATHER(Three Rivers, $13.95) By Barack Obama.A memoir of a challenging, often lonely youth by the freshman senator from Illinois.	36
7	GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL(Norton, $16.95) By Jared Diamond.The impact of geography and the environment on the rise of civilization.	21
8	ALEXANDER HAMILTON(Penguin, $18) By Ron Chernow.The remarkable life of the Founding Father who went from aide-de-camp to treasury secretary.	5
9	LEAP OF FAITH: MEMOIRS OF AN UNEXPECTED LIFE (Miramax, $13.95). By Queen Noor.Her journey from American youth (née Lisa Halaby) to Jordanian monarch.	5
10	THE BOOKSELLER OF KABUL(Back Bay, $12) By Asne Seierstad.A journalist's portrait of a family coping with the grim realities of life after war.	3
	Hardcover
	Fiction
1	TRUE BELIEVER(Warner, $24.95). By Nicholas Sparks A science reporter, famed for his fraud-debunking articles, looks into eerie lights in a North Carolina cemetery.	3
2	THE MERMAID CHAIR(Viking, $24.95) By Sue Monk Kidd.Jessie's caregiver trip to her mother's side brings some surprising secrets to light.	4
3	IN THE COMPANY OF CHEERFUL LADIES (Pantheon, $19.95). By Alexander McCall Smith Sixth installment of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."	2
4	THE DA VINCI CODE(Doubleday, $24.95) By Dan Brown.Ciphers and riddles impede a symbologist's quest for the Holy Grail and a killer's identity.	68
5	NO PLACE LIKE HOME(Simon & Schuster, $25.95) By Mary Higgins Clark.A woman's tragic past looms when her new husband innocently buys her childhood home.	4
6	STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH(Del Rey, $25.95) By Matthew Stover.The novelization of George Lucas's forthcoming film of "Episode III."	5
7	THE INNOCENT(Dutton, $26.95). By Harlan Coben Matt Hunter's life is roiled when he receives images of his wife's infidelity through his cell phone.	1
8	SATURDAY(Doubleday, $26). By Ian McEwan February 2003: A London neurosurgeon's day of leisure shifts from the mundane to the life-threatening.	6
9	CAN'T GET ENOUGH(Doubleday, $19.95) By Connie Briscoe.This sequel to "P.G. County" offers more drama and shenanigans in the Maryland suburbs.	1
10	PREP(Random House, $21.95). By Curtis Sittenfeld An Indiana teen enrolls at one of Boston's most exclusive private schools, heightening her already anxious state.	13
	Nonfiction/General
1	THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalization's colossal impact.	4
2	WINNING(HarperBusiness, $27.95). By Jack Welch with Suzy Welch.A top-to-bottom guidebook for business management by the former CEO of General Electric.	4
3	BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING (Little, Brown, $25.95). By Malcolm Gladwell The complex psychology behind our snap decisions.	16
4	FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner	3
5	AND ONE MORE THING BEFORE YOU GO ... (Free Press, $13.95). By Maria Shriver.Advice for girls during the transition from high school to college.	3
6	MY LIFE SO FAR(Random House, $26.95) By Jane Fonda.Thedaughter of Hollywood royalty, actress and controversial activist sets the record straight.	4
7	CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS: A TRUE STORY (Broadway, $26). By Kurt Eichenwald.The sinking of Enron and its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen.	5
8	THE MOMENTS, THE MINUTES, THE HOURS: THE POETRY OF JILL SCOTT(St. Martin's, $18.95) By Jill Scott.Verse by the R&B chanteuse.	1
9	ON BULLSHIT(Princeton Univ., $9.95) By Harry G. Frankfurt.A philosophical primer for detecting the phenomenon in our culture today.	6
10	BEING PERFECT(Random House, $12.95) By Anna Quindlen.The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist reflects on the definition of perfection in one's life.	1