Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, March 26, 2006; Page BW11
| Paperback | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | THE MERMAID CHAIR(Penguin, $14) By Sue Monk Kidd.Jessie visits her ailing mother, still grief-stricken after Jessie's father's death 33 years before. | 2 |
| 2 | RAGE(Ballantine, $7.99). By Jonathan Kellerman Psychiatrist Alex Delaware revisits the chilling case of two teens convicted of killing a toddler eight years earlier. | 3 |
| 3 | KILL THE MESSENGER(Bantam, $7.99). By Tami Hoag A bike courier finds his life in jeopardy because of a parcel meant for a just-murdered defense attorney. | 3 |
| 4 | WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS(HarperTorch, $7.99) By Elizabeth George.Scotland Yard's Lynley and Havers tackle a killing spree with racial overtones. | 3 |
| 5 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal. | 75 |
| 6 | IRELAND(Avon, $7.99). By Frank Delaney A BBC reporter's fictionalized saga recounts the colorful history of the Emerald Isle. | 3 |
| 7 | 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. | 8 |
| 8 | THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN (Hyperion, $12). By Mitch Albom.A parable illustrating the importance of life's smallest acts. | 1 |
| 9 | COLD SERVICE(Berkley, $7.99). By Robert B. Parker Spenser comes to the aid of his longtime friend Hawk, who is seriously wounded in a hit by the Ukrainian mob. | 1 |
| 10 | 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. | 16 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | THE COVENANT WITH BLACK AMERICA (Third World, $12). Ed. by Tavis Smiley.Prominent African Americans propose a proactive plan for change. | 2 |
| 2 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his experience in Nazi camps during World War II. | 17 |
| 3 | IN COLD BLOOD(Vintage, $14). By Truman Capote Its melding of crime reportage and fictional techniques made this account of a grisly murder an instant classic. | 21 |
| 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. | 63 |
| 5 | COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement. | 12 |
| 6 | A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95) By James Frey.The author now admits to fabricating and embellishing his memoir of addiction recovery. | 25 |
| 7 | CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations. | 12 |
| 8 | SMASHED: STORY OF A DRUNKEN GIRLHOOD (Penguin, $14). By Koren Zailckas.Now 25 and sober, Zailckas describes a young life defined by alcohol. | 1 |
| 9 | ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION: USING THE MYSTERIESOF AUTISM TO DECODE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR(Harvest, $15) By Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson | 7 |
| 10 | THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14) By Jeanette Walls.A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and the unorthodox upbringing she survived. | 4 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | LABYRINTH(Putnam, $25.95). By Kate Mosse The lives of two women living 800 years apart are linked by a peculiar stone ring and the mystery of the Grail. | 1 |
| 2 | THE 5TH HORSEMAN(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.Patients' puzzling deaths at a hospital suggest a ruthless murderer. | 5 |
| 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 wily killer. | 103 |
| 4 | DIRTY BLONDE(HarperCollins, $25.95) By Lisa Scottoline.A federal judge's secret sex life is exposed when she becomes a suspect in a brutal murder. | 1 |
| 5 | THE TENTH CIRCLE(Atria, $26). By Jodi Picoult Graphic art illustrates this tale (with a "Purgatorio" metaphor) of a family coping with a daughter's rape. | 2 |
| 6 | THE TEMPLAR LEGACY(Ballantine, $24.95) By Steve Berry.An ex-Justice Department agent spars with a lethal Templar order seeking a lost archive. | 4 |
| 7 | THE LAST TEMPLAR(Dutton, $24.95) By Raymond Khoury.Modern-day zealots fromthe Knights Templar hunt for a treasure not seen since 1291. | 8 |
| 8 | CELL(Scribner, $26.95). By Stephen King A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously via all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into zombies. | 8 |
| 9 | THE HOUSE(Delacorte, $27). By Danielle Steel A wealthy client's bequest offers attorney Sarah Anderson the chance to renovate a grand San Francisco manor. | 3 |
| 10 | THE REBELS OF IRELAND: THE DUBLIN SAGA (Doubleday, $28.95). By Edward Rutherfurd.The conclusion of Rutherfurd's sweeping epic of Irish history. | 3 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | COBRA II: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE INVASION AND OCCUPATION OFIRAQ(Pantheon, $27.95) By Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor | 1 |
| 2 | MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95) By John Grogan.For the love of an unruly Labrador. | 14 |
| 3 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact. | 49 |
| 4 | MISQUOTING JESUS: THE STORY BEHIND WHO CHANGED THE BIBLE AND WHY (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95). By Bart D. Ehrman | 2 |
| 5 | FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 48 |
| 6 | MANHUNT: THE 12-DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER (Morrow, $26.95). By James L. Swanson.John Wilkes Booth's sensational, elusive flight from Washington, D.C. | 6 |
| 7 | YOU'RE WEARING THAT? UNDERSTANDING MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN CONVERSATION (Random House, $25.95). By Deborah Tannen | 8 |
| 8 | A YEAR IN THE WORLD: JOURNEYS OF APASSIONATE TRAVELLER(Broadway, $26). By Frances Mayes European destinations beyond her Tuscan villa. | 1 |
| 9 | BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING (Little, Brown, $25.95). By Malcolm Gladwell The complex psychology behind our snap decisions. | 48 |
| 10 | THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING(Knopf, $23.95) By Joan Didion.A memoir of mourning; winner of the 2005 National Book Award for nonfiction. | 23 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended March 19, 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.)
