Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, January 29, 2006; Page BW11
| 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. | 8 |
| 2 | MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA(Vintage, $14.95) By Arthur Golden.The celebrated geisha, Sayuri, tells of her rise to fame and fortune in 1930s imperial Japan. | 10 |
| 3 | HONEYMOON(Warner, $13.95) By James Patterson & Howard Roughan.An FBI agent suspects the alluring fiancée in a wealthy banker's death. | 3 |
| 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. | 67 |
| 5 | GILEAD(Picador USA, $14). By Marilynne Robinson An elderly minister, in failing health, reflects on his enduring faith and a lifetime spent in the same Iowa town. | 2 |
| 6 | 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. | 21 |
| 7 | DOUBLE TAP(Jove, $7.99). By Steve Martini The expert slaying of a defense contractor's CEO casts suspicion on an Army vet turned security guard. | 4 |
| 8 | 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. | 6 |
| 9 | THE MOTIVE(Signet, $7.99). By John Lescroart San Francisco policeman Abe Glitsky teams with old pal Dismas Hardy to solve a case of double murder and arson. | 1 |
| 10 | THE KNOWN WORLD(Amistad, $13.95) By Edward P. Jones.The tangled relationship between an ex-slave (and plantation owner) and his former master. | 4 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his four years spent in a concentration camp during World War II. | 9 |
| 2 | A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95) By James Frey.A screenwriter and drug dealer's (now controversial) chronicle of addiction and recovery. | 17 |
| 3 | COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement. | 4 |
| 4 | 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. | 55 |
| 5 | CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations. | 4 |
| 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. | 13 |
| 7 | 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. | 23 |
| 8 | 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. | 6 |
| 9 | THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER: A MEMOIR (Warner, $13.95). By Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks The siblings' contemplative journey around the world. | 2 |
| 10 | GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL(Norton, $16.95) By Jared Diamond.The impact of geography and the environment on the course of civilization. | 57 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | 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. | 95 |
| 2 | THE HOSTAGE(Putnam, $26.95). By W.E.B. Griffin A diplomat's murder, a family held captive and the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal meld in this Charley Castillo thriller. | 3 |
| 3 | THE PALE HORSEMAN(HarperCollins, $25.95) By Bernard Cornwell.A.D. 877: The Saxon noblemen Uhtred and Alfred entrench to repel the Viking invaders. | 1 |
| 4 | EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE(Ballantine, $25.95) By Judith McNaught.A romantic dalliance in the tropics ensnares a young woman in a high-profile murder inquiry. | 4 |
| 5 | DEATH DANCE(Scribner, $26). By Linda Fairstein A ballerina's grisly murder at the opera affords DA Alex Cooper entree to Lincoln Center's rarefied backstage. | 1 |
| 6 | 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. | 6 |
| 7 | THE CAT WHO DROPPED A BOMBSHELL (Putnam, $23.95). By Lilian Jackson Braun.Felines Koko and Yum Yum tackle another Pickax City murder. | 2 |
| 8 | 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. | 9 |
| 9 | ARTHUR & GEORGE(Knopf, $24.95). By Julian Barnes A fictional twist on Conan Doyle's real-life defense of George Edalji, whose trial was swayed by racial prejudice. | 1 |
| 10 | ON THE RUN(Bantam, $26). By Iris Johansen A mother and daughter, both in CIA protective custody, are forced to flee when their location is discovered. | 4 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | NIGHT(FSG, $19.95). By Elie Wiesel Wiesel's novel-cum-memoir of the Holocaust--a wrenching act of witness--is the new selection of Oprah's Book Club. | 1 |
| 2 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact. | 41 |
| 3 | MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95) By John Grogan.For the love of an unruly Labrador. | 6 |
| 4 | STATE OF WAR: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION(Free Press, $26) By James Risen.Exposing the domestic spying scandal. | 3 |
| 5 | THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING(Knopf, $23.95) By Joan Didion.A memoir of mourning; winner of the 2005 National Book Award for nonfiction. | 15 |
| 6 | FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 40 |
| 7 | BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING (Little, Brown, $25.95). By Malcolm Gladwell The complex psychology behind our snap decisions. | 42 |
| 8 | MY YEAR IN IRAQ: THE STRUGGLE TO BUILD A FUTURE OF HOPE(Simon & Schuster, $27) By L. Paul Bremer III with Malcolm McConnell | 2 |
| 9 | AT CANAAN'S EDGE: AMERICA IN THE KING YEARS, 1965-68(Simon & Schuster, $35). By Taylor Branch The third and final volume of Branch's civil rights history. | 1 |
| 10 | DAVE BARRY'S MONEY SECRETS: LIKE: WHY IS THERE A GIANT EYEBALL ON THE DOLLAR?(Crown, $24.95) By Dave Barry.The humorist's take on our legal tender. | 1 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended January 22, 2006. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2006 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.)
