Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, April 2, 2006; Page BW11
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| 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. | 3 |
| 2 | NO PLACE LIKE HOME(Pocket, $9.99) By Mary Higgins Clark.A woman's tragic past looms when her new husband buys her childhood home. | 1 |
| 3 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal. | 76 |
| 4 | 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. | 4 |
| 5 | WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS(HarperTorch, $7.99) By Elizabeth George.Scotland Yard's Lynley and Havers tackle a killing spree with racial overtones. | 4 |
| 6 | IRELAND(Avon, $7.99). By Frank Delaney A BBC reporter's fictionalized saga recounts the colorful history of the Emerald Isle. | 4 |
| 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. | 9 |
| 8 | 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. | 4 |
| 9 | IN THE COMPANY OF CHEERFUL LADIES (Anchor, $12.95). By Alexander McCall Smith Sixth installment of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." | 1 |
| 10 | THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN (Hyperion, $12). By Mitch Albom.A parable illustrating the importance of life's smallest acts. | 2 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | THE COVENANT WITH BLACK AMERICA (Third World, $12). Ed. by Tavis Smiley.Prominent African Americans propose a proactive plan for change. | 3 |
| 2 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his experience in Nazi camps during World War II. | 18 |
| 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. | 22 |
| 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. | 64 |
| 5 | COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement. | 13 |
| 6 | THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14) By Jeanette Walls.A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and the unorthodox upbringing she survived. | 5 |
| 7 | A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95) By James Frey.The author now admits to fabricating and embellishing his memoir of addiction recovery. | 26 |
| 8 | CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations. | 13 |
| 9 | SMASHED: STORY OF A DRUNKEN GIRLHOOD (Penguin, $14). By Koren Zailckas.Now 25 and sober, Zailckas describes a young life defined by alcohol. | 2 |
| 10 | 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. | 103 |
| 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 wily killer. | 104 |
| 2 | THE 5TH HORSEMAN(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.Patients' puzzling deaths at a hospital suggest a ruthless murderer. | 6 |
| 3 | 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. | 2 |
| 4 | THE SECRET SUPPER(Atria, $25.95). By Javier Sierra Prodded by mysterious warnings, the Church inquires into da Vinci's in-progress painting, "The Last Supper." | 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. | 3 |
| 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. | 5 |
| 7 | PRIOR BAD ACTS(Bantam, $26). By Tami Hoag A judge finds her life in jeopardy after an unpopular pre-trial ruling in the case of an accused serial killer. | 1 |
| 8 | 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. | 2 |
| 9 | THE LAST TEMPLAR(Dutton, $24.95) By Raymond Khoury.Modern-day zealots fromthe Knights Templar hunt for a treasure not seen since 1291. | 9 |
| 10 | CELL(Scribner, $26.95). By Stephen King A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously via all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into zombies. | 9 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | AMERICAN THEOCRACY: THE PERIL AND POLITICS OF RADICAL RELIGION, OIL, AND BORROWED MONEY IN THE 21ST CENTURY(Viking, $26.95). By Kevin Phillips | 1 |
| 2 | COBRA II: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE INVASION AND OCCUPATION OFIRAQ(Pantheon, $27.95) By Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor | 2 |
| 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. | 15 |
| 4 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact. | 50 |
| 5 | MISQUOTING JESUS: THE STORY BEHIND WHO CHANGED THE BIBLE AND WHY (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95). By Bart D. Ehrman | 3 |
| 6 | GAME OF SHADOWS: BARRY BONDS, BALCO, AND THE STEROIDS SCANDAL THAT ROCKED PROFESSIONAL SPORTS(Gotham, $26). By Mark Fainaru-Wada et al. | 1 |
| 7 | FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 49 |
| 8 | WHERE GOD WAS BORN: A JOURNEY BY LAND TO THE ROOTS OF RELIGION(Morrow, $26.95) By Bruce Feiler.Exploringthe Holy Land on foot. | 1 |
| 9 | 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. | 7 |
| 10 | A YEAR IN THE WORLD: JOURNEYS OF APASSIONATE TRAVELLER(Broadway, $26). By Frances Mayes European destinations beyond her Tuscan villa. | 2 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended March 26, 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. The advice/miscellaneous list below reflects sales from 02/27 to 03/26.)