Washington Area Bestsellers

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Sunday, February 12, 2006

Paperback
Fiction
1
THE CLOSERS(Warner, $7.99). By Michael Connelly
After two years of retirement, Harry Bosch returns to the LAPD in its new cold-case unit.
1
2
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.
10
3
HONEYMOON(Warner, $13.95). By James Patterson
& Howard Roughan.An FBI agent suspects the alluring fiancée in a wealthy banker's death.
5
4
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.
12
5
SKELETON MAN(HarperTorch, $7.99)
By Tony Hillerman.Leaphorn and Chee hunt for diamonds lost in a 1956 plane collision over the Grand Canyon.
1
6
CORDINA'S ROYAL FAMILY: GABRIELLA & ALEXANDER
(Silhouette, $7.99). By Nora Roberts.Passion, danger and noble blood swirl through these two romance novellas.
1
7
THE THIRD SECRET(Ballantine, $7.99). By Steve Berry
The final mystery of Fatima--which Pope John Paul II revealed in 2000--may be more than it seems.
1
8
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.
69
9
IMPOSSIBLE(Dell, $7.99). By Danielle Steel
The owner of an influential gallery begins a tempestuous affair with a younger, somewhat Bohemian artist.
1
10
CRAZY IN LOVE(Bantam, $7.50). By Luanne Rice
To offset her obsessive need for the perfect life, Georgie Swift devises a job interviewing victims of sudden tragedy.
1
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.
11
2
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95)
By James Frey.Billed as a memoir of addiction recovery, the author now admits to fabricating/embellishing his tale.
19
3
COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL
OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond
The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement.
6
4
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.
15
5
UNDERSTANDING ARABS: A GUIDE FOR MODERN TIMES
(Intercultural, $19.95). By Margaret K. Nydell.Aprimer on Arab culture for the layperson, updated in Sept. 2005.
1
6
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.
57
7
THE LONG ROAD HOME: ONE STEP AT A TIME
(Andrews McMeel, $9.95). By G.B. Trudeau.Seven months of the "Doonesbury" strip about B.D.'s Iraq duty.
1
8
ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION: USING THE MYSTERIESOF AUTISM TO DECODE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
(Harvest, $15). By Temple Grandin & Catherine Johnson
1
9
THE GREAT INFLUENZA: THE EPIC STORY OF THE
DEADLIEST PLAGUE IN HISTORY(Penguin, $16)
By John M. Barry.The worldwide toll of the 1918 virus.
4
10
CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN
(Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations.
6
Hardcover
Fiction
1
CELL(Scribner, $26.95). By Stephen King
A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously through all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into killers.
2
2
MEMORY IN DEATH(Putnam, $24.95). By J.D. Robb
Cop Eve Dallas rebuffs her cruel foster mother's attempt at blackmail--and finds her murdered the very next day.
2
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 killer's identity.
97
4
GONE(Bantam, $25). By Lisa Gardner
P.I. "Rainie" Connor vanishes from her car on a rural Oregon road, leaving police and family to find the truth.
1
5
THE LAST TEMPLAR(Dutton, $24.95)
By Raymond Khoury.Modern-day zealots fromthe Knights Templar aim to reclaim a treasure not seen since 1291.
2
6
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.
5
7
STAR WARS: OUTBOUND FLIGHT(Del Rey, $26.95)
By Timothy Zahn.Beforethe Clone Wars, the Jedi launch an ambitious mission to colonize worlds beyond the galaxy.
1
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.
11
9
THE PALE HORSEMAN(HarperCollins, $25.95)
By Bernard Cornwell.A.D. 877: The Saxon noblemen Uhtred and Alfred entrench to repel the Viking invaders.
3
10
SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING(Putnam, $26.95)
By Amy Tan.A Burmese vacation is scuttled when American travelers are seized by a mystical rebel tribe.
6
Nonfiction/General
1
MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE
WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95)
By John Grogan.For the love of an unruly Labrador.
8
2
THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50)
By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact.
43
3
YOU'RE WEARING THAT? UNDERSTANDING MOTHERS
AND DAUGHTERS IN CONVERSATION
(Random House, $25.95). By Deborah Tannen
2
4
FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES
THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95)
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
42
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.
17
6
NIGHT(FSG, $19.95). By Elie Wiesel
Wiesel's memoir of the Holocaust--a wrenching act of witness--is the new selection of Oprah's Book Club.
3
7
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.
3
8
STATE OF WAR: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA
AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION(Free Press, $26)
By James Risen.Exposing a domestic spying program.
5
9
OUR ENDANGERED VALUES: AMERICA'S MORAL
CRISIS(Simon & Schuster, $25). By Jimmy Carter
Cautioning against religious fundamentalism's influence.
12
10
AMERICAN VERTIGO: TRAVELING AMERICA IN THE
FOOTSTEPS OF TOCQUEVILLE(Random House, $24.95)
By Bernard-Henri Lévy.One Frenchman's view.
1

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended February 5, 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.)

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	Paperback
	Fiction
1	THE CLOSERS(Warner, $7.99). By Michael Connelly After two years of retirement, Harry Bosch returns to the LAPD in its new cold-case unit.	1
2	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.	10
3	HONEYMOON(Warner, $13.95). By James Patterson & Howard Roughan.An FBI agent suspects the alluring fiancée in a wealthy banker's death.	5
4	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.	12
5	SKELETON MAN(HarperTorch, $7.99) By Tony Hillerman.Leaphorn and Chee hunt for diamonds lost in a 1956 plane collision over the Grand Canyon.	1
6	CORDINA'S ROYAL FAMILY: GABRIELLA & ALEXANDER (Silhouette, $7.99). By Nora Roberts.Passion, danger and noble blood swirl through these two romance novellas.	1
7	THE THIRD SECRET(Ballantine, $7.99). By Steve Berry The final mystery of Fatima--which Pope John Paul II revealed in 2000--may be more than it seems.	1
8	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.	69
9	IMPOSSIBLE(Dell, $7.99). By Danielle Steel The owner of an influential gallery begins a tempestuous affair with a younger, somewhat Bohemian artist.	1
10	CRAZY IN LOVE(Bantam, $7.50). By Luanne Rice To offset her obsessive need for the perfect life, Georgie Swift devises a job interviewing victims of sudden tragedy.	1
	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.	11
2	A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95) By James Frey.Billed as a memoir of addiction recovery, the author now admits to fabricating/embellishing his tale.	19
3	COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement.	6
4	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.	15
5	UNDERSTANDING ARABS: A GUIDE FOR MODERN TIMES (Intercultural, $19.95). By Margaret K. Nydell.Aprimer on Arab culture for the layperson, updated in Sept. 2005.	1
6	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.	57
7	THE LONG ROAD HOME: ONE STEP AT A TIME (Andrews McMeel, $9.95). By G.B. Trudeau.Seven months of the "Doonesbury" strip about B.D.'s Iraq duty.	1
8	ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION: USING THE MYSTERIESOF AUTISM TO DECODE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (Harvest, $15). By Temple Grandin & Catherine Johnson	1
9	THE GREAT INFLUENZA: THE EPIC STORY OF THE DEADLIEST PLAGUE IN HISTORY(Penguin, $16) By John M. Barry.The worldwide toll of the 1918 virus.	4
10	CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations.	6
	Hardcover
	Fiction
1	CELL(Scribner, $26.95). By Stephen King A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously through all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into killers.	2
2	MEMORY IN DEATH(Putnam, $24.95). By J.D. Robb Cop Eve Dallas rebuffs her cruel foster mother's attempt at blackmail--and finds her murdered the very next day.	2
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 killer's identity.	97
4	GONE(Bantam, $25). By Lisa Gardner P.I. "Rainie" Connor vanishes from her car on a rural Oregon road, leaving police and family to find the truth.	1
5	THE LAST TEMPLAR(Dutton, $24.95) By Raymond Khoury.Modern-day zealots fromthe Knights Templar aim to reclaim a treasure not seen since 1291.	2
6	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.	5
7	STAR WARS: OUTBOUND FLIGHT(Del Rey, $26.95) By Timothy Zahn.Beforethe Clone Wars, the Jedi launch an ambitious mission to colonize worlds beyond the galaxy.	1
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.	11
9	THE PALE HORSEMAN(HarperCollins, $25.95) By Bernard Cornwell.A.D. 877: The Saxon noblemen Uhtred and Alfred entrench to repel the Viking invaders.	3
10	SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING(Putnam, $26.95) By Amy Tan.A Burmese vacation is scuttled when American travelers are seized by a mystical rebel tribe.	6
	Nonfiction/General
1	MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95) By John Grogan.For the love of an unruly Labrador.	8
2	THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact.	43
3	YOU'RE WEARING THAT? UNDERSTANDING MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN CONVERSATION (Random House, $25.95). By Deborah Tannen	2
4	FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner	42
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.	17
6	NIGHT(FSG, $19.95). By Elie Wiesel Wiesel's memoir of the Holocaust--a wrenching act of witness--is the new selection of Oprah's Book Club.	3
7	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.	3
8	STATE OF WAR: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION(Free Press, $26) By James Risen.Exposing a domestic spying program.	5
9	OUR ENDANGERED VALUES: AMERICA'S MORAL CRISIS(Simon & Schuster, $25). By Jimmy Carter Cautioning against religious fundamentalism's influence.	12
10	AMERICAN VERTIGO: TRAVELING AMERICA IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TOCQUEVILLE(Random House, $24.95) By Bernard-Henri Lévy.One Frenchman's view.	1