Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, April 23, 2006; Page BW11
| Paperback | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | THE DA VINCI CODE(Anchor, 14.95; $7.99) By Dan Brown.A startling murder and ancient cryptograms spur a perilous hunt for the Cup of Christ. | 3 |
| 2 | ANGELS & DEMONS(Pocket Star, $9.99) By Dan Brown.The Illuminati, a secret cabal, threatens the Vatican at the outset of a papal conclave. | 91 |
| 3 | 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. | 6 |
| 4 | 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. | 4 |
| 5 | TRUE BELIEVER(Warner, $12.95). By Nicholas Sparks A science reporter, famed for his myth-debunking articles, investigates eerie lights in a North Carolina cemetery. | 1 |
| 6 | DECEPTION POINT(Pocket, $9.99). By Dan Brown A meteorite discovered by NASA, containing never-before-seen fossils, may be a giant hoax. | 39 |
| 7 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal. | 79 |
| 8 | TIME AND AGAIN(Silhouette, $7.99). By Nora Roberts Two romance novellas, "Time Was" and "Times Change," featuring the time-traveling Hornblower brothers. | 3 |
| 9 | FULL SCOOP(St. Martin's, $7.99). By Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes.It's a season ofromance (and a little danger) for the zany residents ofBeaumont, S.C. | 2 |
| 10 | COUNTDOWN(Bantam, $7.99). By Iris Johansen Jane Maguire's striking likeness to an ancient Roman actress haunts her once more in this fast-paced thriller. | 3 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | THE COVENANT WITH BLACK AMERICA (Third World, $12). Ed. by Tavis Smiley.Prominent African Americans propose a proactive plan for change. | 6 |
| 2 | 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. | 25 |
| 3 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his experience in Nazi camps during World War II. | 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. | 67 |
| 5 | COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement. | 16 |
| 6 | SMASHED: STORY OF A DRUNKEN GIRLHOOD (Penguin, $14). By Koren Zailckas.Now 25 and sober, Zailckas describes a young life defined by alcohol. | 5 |
| 7 | THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14) By Jeanette Walls.A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and the unorthodox upbringing she survived. | 8 |
| 8 | CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations. | 15 |
| 9 | GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES: THE SECRET LIFE OFA CRITIC IN DISGUISE(Penguin, $15) By Ruth Reichl.Stealth and costumes at the dinner table. | 1 |
| 10 | A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95) By James Frey.The author now admits to fabricating and embellishing his memoir of addiction recovery. | 29 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE(Simon & Schuster, $25.95) By Mary Higgins Clark.Twins' telepathic link is a blessing when only one girl is returned after their kidnapping. | 2 |
| 2 | DARK HARBOR(Putnam, $25.95). By Stuart Woods Stone Barrington suspects a serial killer in the murder of his cousin Dick and his family in rural Maine. | 1 |
| 3 | GONE(Ballantine, $26.95). By Jonathan Kellerman Alex Delaware investigates an offbeat acting studio in the murder of a student who faked her own abduction. | 3 |
| 4 | CHASING DESTINY(Dutton, $24.95) By Eric Jerome Dickey.Keith's daughter runs away while he's juggling his estranged wife and newly pregnant lover. | 1 |
| 5 | DARK TORT(Morrow, $24.95). By Diane Mott Davidson Goldy Schulz, flourishing caterer and sometime sleuth, investigates the death of a paralegal at a client's firm. | 1 |
| 6 | 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. | 6 |
| 7 | THE 5TH HORSEMAN(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.Patients' puzzling deaths at a hospital suggest a ruthless murderer. | 9 |
| 8 | 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. | 5 |
| 9 | OAKDALE CONFIDENTIAL(Pocket, $19.95) By Anonymous.The "novel" that is causing a stir on the daytime soap "As the World Turns" is brought to life. | 1 |
| 10 | SUITE FRANÇAISE(Knopf, $25). By Irène Némirovsky The recently discovered manuscript of an unfinished novel exploring French collaboration with the Germans in WWII. | 1 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | DON'T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS: MADEA'S UNINHIBITED COMMENTARIES ON LOVE AND LIFE(Riverhead, $23.95). By Tyler Perry | 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. | 18 |
| 3 | COBRA II: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE INVASION AND OCCUPATION OFIRAQ(Pantheon, $27.95) By Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor | 5 |
| 4 | THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS(National Geographic, $22) Ed. by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer and Gregor Wurst The papyrus pages of Judas's testament translated. | 1 |
| 5 | FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 52 |
| 6 | AMERICAN THEOCRACY: THE PERIL AND POLITICS OF RADICAL RELIGION, OIL, AND BORROWED MONEY IN THE 21ST CENTURY(Viking, $26.95). By Kevin Phillips | 4 |
| 7 | AMERICAN GOSPEL: GOD, THE FOUNDING FATHERS, AND THE MAKING OF A NATION (Random House, $23.95). By Jon Meacham | 2 |
| 8 | MY LIFE IN FRANCE(Knopf, $25.95). By Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme.The beloved chef relates her initial encounters with French cuisine and joie de vivre. | 1 |
| 9 | MISQUOTING JESUS: THE STORY BEHIND WHO CHANGED THE BIBLE AND WHY (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95). By Bart D. Ehrman | 6 |
| 10 | THE LOST GOSPEL: THE QUEST FOR THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS ISCARIOT(National Geographic, $27) By Herbert Krosney.Tracking down a piece of history. | 1 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended April 16, 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.)
