Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, May 21, 2006; Page BW15
| 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. | 7 |
| 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. | 95 |
| 3 | BROKEN PREY(Berkley, $9.99). By John Sandford Gory slayings, reminiscent of those committed by two incarcerated killers, and a new iPod keep Davenport busy. | 2 |
| 4 | A WEDDING IN DECEMBER(Back Bay, $14.95) By Anita Shreve.A winter wedding sets the stage for a reunion of college friends, exposing myriad secrets. | 2 |
| 5 | 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. | 10 |
| 6 | MAP OF BONES(Avon, $7.99). By James Rollins After a slaughter of worshipers, an ancient religious order loots the fabled bones of the Magi from a cathedral. | 3 |
| 7 | 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. | 5 |
| 8 | VELOCITY(Bantam, $7.99). By Dean Koontz An affable bartender is forced to choose a sociopath's next series of victims via menacing, time-sensitive notes. | 3 |
| 9 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal. | 82 |
| 10 | THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS(Dial, $12) By Sophie Kinsella.After a costly error, a star London attorney accepts a housekeeping position in the country. | 1 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | THE COVENANT WITH BLACK AMERICA (Third World, $12). Ed. by Tavis Smiley.Prominent African Americans propose a proactive plan for change. | 10 |
| 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. | 29 |
| 3 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his experience in Nazi camps during World War II. | 25 |
| 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. | 71 |
| 5 | THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14) By Jeannette Walls.A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and the unorthodox upbringing she survived. | 12 |
| 6 | COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement. | 20 |
| 7 | CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations. | 18 |
| 8 | 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. | 107 |
| 9 | THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO WOMEN, SEX, AND FEMINISM(Regnery, $19.95) By Carrie L. Lukas.Has feminism deceived women? | 1 |
| 10 | AMERICAN PROMETHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER (Vintage, $17.95). By Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin | 4 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | BEACH ROAD(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson and Peter de Jonge.Asensational murder case jump-starts a struggling attorney's career. | 2 |
| 2 | DIGGING TO AMERICA(Knopf, $24.95). By Anne Tyler Two couples' chance meeting at the airport while awaiting their adopted Korean daughters sparks a friendship. | 2 |
| 3 | I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER(Doubleday, $21.95) By E. Lynn Harris.A zealous preacher's run for office on an anti-gay platform divides a black Atlanta church. | 2 |
| 4 | 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. | 6 |
| 5 | BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS(Pantheon, $21.95) By Alexander McCall Smith.Precious Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" faces further challenges. | 4 |
| 6 | SECOND SIGHT(Putnam, $24.95). By Amanda Quick Victorian London: Venetia, a photographer with psychic gifts, is hired to catalogue a secret society's treasures. | 1 |
| 7 | BAD TWIN(Hyperion, $21.95). By Gary Troup Part of ABC TV's "Lost" series franchise, this is a mystery "written" by one of the passengers on that ill-fated flight. | 1 |
| 8 | PROMISE ME(Dutton, $26.95). By Harlan Coben Sports agent Myron Bolitar is alarmed when his girlfriend's daughter disappears after he gives her a lift. | 3 |
| 9 | EVERYMAN(Houghton Mifflin, $24). By Philip Roth This parable on life's meaning follows the uneventful life of a brother/ex-husband/father coping with his mortality. | 1 |
| 10 | SUITE FRANÇAISE(Knopf, $25). By Irène Némirovsky A recently discovered, unfinished novel exploring French collaboration with the Germans in WWII. | 2 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | MAYFLOWER: A STORY OF COURAGE, COMMUNITY, AND WAR(Viking, $29.95). By Nathaniel Philbrick The saga of Plymouth Colony, stripped of mythology. | 1 |
| 2 | DON'T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS: MADEA'S UNINHIBITED COMMENTARIES ON LOVE AND LIFE(Riverhead, $23.95). By Tyler Perry | 5 |
| 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. | 22 |
| 4 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $30) By Thomas L. Friedman.Arevised and expanded edition. | 4 |
| 5 | MOTHER: A CRADLE TO HOLD ME (Random House, $9.95). By Maya Angelou The beloved poet and writer's celebration of motherhood. | 1 |
| 6 | THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY: REFLECTIONS ON AMERICA, GOD, AND WORLD AFFAIRS (HarperCollins, $25.95). By Madeleine Albright | 2 |
| 7 | YOU'RE WEARING THAT? UNDERSTANDING MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN CONVERSATION (Random House, $25.95). By Deborah Tannen | 10 |
| 8 | FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 56 |
| 9 | BURNT TOAST: AND OTHER PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE (Hyperion, $24.95). By Teri Hatcher.Life lessons from a star of the television hit"Desperate Housewives." | 1 |
| 10 | MY LIFE IN FRANCE(Knopf, $25.95). By Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme.With joie de vivre, the beloved chef relates her initial encounters with French cuisine. | 3 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended May 14, 2006. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright © 2006 by Nielsen BookScan. (The 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.)
