Washington Area Bestsellers

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Sunday, December 18, 2005

Paperback
Fiction
1

THE BROKER(Dell, $7.99). By John Grisham

The CIA finagles the release of an attorney from federal prison to gain access to a satellite surveillance system.

3
2

RED LILY(Jove, $7.99). By Nora Roberts

The ghost of the Harper bride becomes malevolent when the current Harper scion finds a new paramour.

2
3

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA(Vintage, $14.95)

By Arthur Golden.The celebrated geisha, Sayuri, relates her rise to fame and fortune in 1930s imperial Japan.

5
4

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.

62
5

STATE OF FEAR(Avon, $7.99). By Michael Crichton

Eco-terrorists plot to create "natural disasters" in an effort to further their radical agenda.

7
6

GOING HOME(Silhouette, $7.99). By Nora Roberts

Three novellas reprinted in a new omnibus: "Unfinished Business," "Island of Flowers" and "Mind Over Matter."

2
7

WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED

WITCH OF THE WEST(Regan, $15). By Gregory Maguire

This riff on the "Oz" tales features a misunderstood witch.

17
8

WHITEOUT(Signet, $7.99). By Ken Follett

The debt-ridden son of a pharmaceutical company's founder burgles the lab, with unforeseen consequences.

7
9

PREP(Random House, $13.95). By Curtis Sittenfeld

An Indiana teen enrolls at one of Boston's most exclusive private schools, heightening her already anxious state.

1
10

VANISHING ACTS(Washington Square, $14)

By Jodi Picoult.A young woman confronts the painful reality that she was kidnapped as a child by her own father.

3
Nonfiction/General
1

A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95)

By James Frey.A former screenwriter and drug dealer chronicles his addiction and recovery.

12
2

WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES?(Three Rivers, $12.95)

By Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg.Audacious questions to ask your doctor after that third cocktail.

18
3

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.

50
4

SEE NO EVIL: THE TRUE STORY OF A GROUND

SOLDIER IN THE CIA'S WAR ON TERRORISM

(Three Rivers, $14). By Robert Baer.A bungling agency.

1
5

HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON

(Vintage, $15). By Joseph J. Ellis.A biography of the statesman from British army soldier to U.S. president.

5
6

IN COLD BLOOD(Vintage, $14). By Truman Capote

Its melding of crime reportage and a novel's structure made this account of a 1959 Kansas murder an instant classic.

8
7

GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL(Norton, $16.95)

By Jared Diamond.The impact of geography and the environment on the course of civilization.

52
8

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.

93
9

BAD CAT: 244 NOT-SO-PRETTY KITTIES AND

CATS GONE BAD(Workman, $9.99). By Jim Edgar

Candid photos of felines acting up and acting out.

34
10

BAD DOG: 278 OUTSPOKEN, INDECENT, AND

OVERDRESSED DOGS(Workman, $9.95)

By R.D. Rosen, Harry Prichett and Rob Battles

5
Hardcover
Fiction
1

S IS FOR SILENCE(Putnam, $26.95). By Sue Grafton

P.I. Kinsey Millhone looks into the case of Violet Sullivan, an impetuous mother who vanished 34 years earlier.

1
2

MARY, MARY(Little, Brown, $27.95)

By James Patterson.Hollywood's A-list stars look to Alex Cross to protect them from a vicious serial killer.

4
3

THE CAMEL CLUB(Warner, $26.95). By David Baldacci

A band of zealous conspiracy theorists stumbles across intrigue after witnessing a murder on Roosevelt Island.

7
4

THE LIGHTHOUSE(Knopf, $25.95). By P.D. James

Commander Dalgliesh is dispatched to Combe Island, an isolated retreat for the well-to-do, where murder is afoot.

3
5

PREDATOR(Putnam, $26.95). By Patricia Cornwell

Forensic examiner Kay Scarpetta, now based in Florida, is stymied by a series of bizarre slayings and thorny clues.

7
6

LIGHT FROM HEAVEN(Viking, $26.95). By Jan Karon

Father Tim endeavors to revitalize a long-neglected mountain church in the Mitford Years series' swan song.

5
7

AT FIRST SIGHT(Warner, $24.95). By Nicholas Sparks

Jeremy Marsh and Lexie Darnell, last seen in Sparks's "True Believer," are coping with the stress of engagement.

7
8

FOREVER ODD(Bantam, $27). By Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas, who can see the dead, is "asked" for help by the ghost of his father's best friend, recently murdered.

2
9

THE MARCH(Random House, $25.95)

By E.L. Doctorow.Gen. Tecumseh Sherman's slash and burn through Georgia and the Carolinas in the Civil War.

6
10

CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT(Knopf, $25.95)

By Anne Rice.The Holy Family's trek back to Nazareth from Egypt, narrated by a 7-year-old Jesus.

6
Nonfiction/General
1

TEACHER MAN: A MEMOIR(Scribner, $26)

By Frank McCourt.The author of "Angela's Ashes" recounts his tenure in the NYC public school system.

4
2

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50)

By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact.

36
3

TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS OF

ABRAHAM LINCOLN(Simon & Schuster, $35)

By Doris Kearns Goodwin.Presidential finesse.

7
4

OUR ENDANGERED VALUES: AMERICA'S MORAL

CRISIS(Simon & Schuster, $25). By Jimmy Carter

Cautioning against religious fundamentalism's influence.

6
5

1776(Simon & Schuster, $32). By David McCullough

Military campaigns and personal narratives tell the story of the first full year of the American Revolution.

24
6

THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING(Knopf, $23.95)

By Joan Didion.A memoir of grief and mourning; winner of the 2005 National Book Award for nonfiction.

10
7

FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES

THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95)

By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

35
8

THE COMPLETE CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Andrews McMeel, $150). By Bill Watterson.The cartoon strip in its entirety from its first syndication in 1985.

8
9

MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE

WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95)

By John Grogan.For the love of an unruly Labrador.

1
10

AMAZING PEACE: A CHRISTMAS POEM

(Random House, $9.95). By Maya Angelou.Read at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, Dec. 1, 2005.

1

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended December 11, 2005. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright 2005 by Nielsen BookScan. (Right-hand column of italicized numbers reflects weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. Advice, reference and self-help books appear on a separate, monthly list.)


© 2005 The Washington Post Company

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