Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, July 17, 2005; Page BW11
TRACE(Berkley, $7.99). By Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta returns to the medical examiner's office to help the new director sort out a young girl's death. RULE OF FOUR(Dell, $7.99). By Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.Four roommates at Princeton attempt to unlock the secrets of a 14th-century manuscript. 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. NIGHTS OF RAIN AND STARS(Signet, $9.99) By Maeve Binchy.A tragedy at a Greek seaside resort brings four disparate tourists together. BLACK ROSE(Jove, $7.99). By Nora Roberts Roz Harper finds herself falling for the fetching genealogist she hired to track the identity of an ancestral ghost. ANGELS & DEMONS(Pocket Star, $7.99) By Dan Brown.The Illuminati, a secret cabal, threatens the Vatican at the outset of a papal conclave. THE SUMMER I DARED(Pocket, $9.95) By Barbara Delinsky.A boating accident off the Maine coast leaves three survivors facing second chances. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES(Penguin, $14) By Sue Monk Kidd.Three women beekeepers offer an abused girl comfort and a safe haven. LITTLE EARTHQUAKES(Washington Square, $14) By Jennifer Weiner.A prenatal yoga class is the setting for four women meeting andbecoming fast friends. 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. DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM (Back Bay, $14.95). By David Sedaris.A collection of witty, comic essays starring the humorist's family. READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN(Random House, $13.95) By Azar Nafisi.A professor recalls her clandestine Western literature discussion groups for women students. THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY(Vintage, $14.95) By Erik Larson.Serial killer H.H. Holmes preys on Chicago residents amid the bustle of the 1893 World's Fair. 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. GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL(Norton, $16.95) By Jared Diamond.The impact of geography and the environment on the rise of civilization. A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING (Broadway, $15.95). By Bill Bryson.A quirky, popular guide to science's grandest achievements. PLEDGED: THE SECRET LIFE OF SORORITIES (Hyperion, $13.95). By Alexandra Robbins The inner workings of one Greek chapter laid bare. ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY(Back Bay, $14.95) By David Sedaris.Autobiographical essays told with an appreciation for life's ironies. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE: MY JOURNEY BACK TO LIFE (Berkley, $14). By Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins Memoir by the five-time Tour de France champion. THE HISTORIAN(Little, Brown, $25.95) By Elizabeth Kostova.A multi-generational saga of one family's precarious scrutiny of the Dracula legend. ELEVEN ON TOP(St. Martin's, $26.95) By Janet Evanovich.Despite giving up her bounty-hunter role, Stephanie Plum is dodging danger once again. MIRACLE(Delacorte, $20). By Danielle Steel A furious storm brings together an unlikely trio: a wealthy widower, a lonely divorcée and a humble carpenter. 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. THE TRAVELER(Doubleday, $24.95) By John Twelve Hawks.The Travelers, a mystical order, challenge the Earth's subjugation by an Orwellian society. THE MERMAID CHAIR(Viking, $24.95) By Sue Monk Kidd.Jessie's visit with her ailing mother brings some surprising confidences to light. 4TH OF JULY(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.A member of the Women's Murder Club is on trial for police brutality. A LONG WAY DOWN(Riverhead, $24.95) By Nick Hornby.Four strangers, each planning to commit suicide, meet by chance on a London rooftop. CROSS BONES(Scribner, $25.95). By Kathy Reichs A murder and its link to a skeleton dating to biblical times sends forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan to Israel. THE WASHINGTONIENNE(Hyperion, $23.95) By Jessica Cutler.A roman à clef in which a young Senate staffer chronicles her sexual escapades on her blog. 1776(Simon & Schuster, $32). By David McCullough Military campaigns and personal narratives tell the story of the first full year of the American Revolution. THE SECRET MAN: THE STORY OF WATERGATE'S DEEP THROAT(Simon & Schuster, $23) By Bob Woodward.W. Mark Felt's crucial role. FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact. CONFESSIONS OF A VIDEO VIXEN(Amistad, $24.95) By Karrine Steffans.The hip-hop video actress exposes her painful past and the gritty side of a glittering industry. BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING (Little, Brown, $25.95). By Malcolm Gladwell The complex psychology behind our snap decisions. THE TRUTH ABOUT HILLARY: WHAT SHE KNEW, WHEN SHE KNEW IT, AND HOW FAR SHE'LL GO TO BECOME PRESIDENT(Sentinel, $24.95). By Edward Klein ON BULLSHIT(Princeton Univ., $9.95) By Harry G. Frankfurt.A philosophical primer for detecting the phenomenon in our culture. 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. AMERICA (THE BOOK): A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO DEMOCRACY INACTION(Warner, $24.95) By Jon Stewart and the Daily Show.Humor meets history.Paperback Fiction 1 2 2 2 3 40 4 2 5 THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME(Vintage, $12.95). By Mark Haddon.An autistic boy digs into a poodle's death, unearthing some family secrets. 58 6 6 7 78 8 2 9 31 10 1 Nonfiction/General 1 28 2 6 3 75 4 71 5 46 6 31 7 33 8 1 9 23 10 4 Hardcover Fiction 1 4 2 3 3 2 4 78 5 2 6 14 7 10 8 5 9 2 10 4 Nonfiction/General 1 6 2 1 3 13 4 14 5 2 6 26 7 3 8 15 9 14 10 34