Washington Area Bestsellers

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Sunday, June 4, 2006

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.

9
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.

97
3

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.

4
4

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.

4
5

THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14)

By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal.

84
6

MARCH(Penguin, $14). By Geraldine Brooks

The imagined Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women."

4
7

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.

5
8

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.

7
9

THE HISTORY OF LOVE(Norton, $13.95)

By Nicole Krauss.Alost manuscript brings together a lonely WWII refugee living in NYC and a young woman.

1
10

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.

5
Nonfiction/General
1

NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel

The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his experience in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

27
2

THE COVENANT WITH BLACK AMERICA

(Third World, $12). Ed. by Tavis Smiley.Prominent African Americans propose a proactive plan for change.

12
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.

31
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.

74
5

THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14)

By Jeannette Walls.A daughter's memoir of her eccentric parents and the unorthodox upbringing she survived.

14
6

CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN

(Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations.

20
7

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DA VINCI CODE:

A CHALLENGING RESPONSE TO THE BESTSELLING

NOVEL(Harvest House, $7.99). By Richard Abanes

1
8

COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL

OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond

The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement.

22
9

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.

109
10

HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL(Dell, $7.99)

By Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln

A controversial exploration of the life of Jesus.

1
Hardcover
Fiction
1

AT RISK(Putnam, $21.95). By Patricia Cornwell

A tenacious DA employs new DNA technology to solve a 20-year-old murder and bolster her run for governor.

1
2

BEACH ROAD(Little, Brown, $27.95)

By James Patterson and Peter de Jonge.Asensational murder case jump-starts a struggling attorney's career.

4
3

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.

4
4

DEAD WATCH(Putnam, $26.95). By John Sandford

An Army Intelligence veteran is called in when an ex-U.S. senator vanishes, casting suspicion on his political rival.

2
5

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.

4
6

THE HARD WAY(Delacorte, $25). By Lee Child

Former army MP Jack Reacher agrees to help a mercenary (also ex-Army) find his kidnapped wife and daughter.

2
7

THE MAN OF MY DREAMS(Random House, $22.95)

By Curtis Sittenfeld.At age 14, with the dissolution of her parents' marriage, Hannah begins her quest for true love.

2
8

THE POE SHADOW(Random House, $24.95)

By Matthew Pearl.Edgar Allan Poe's baffling death and summary burial spur a young attorney to seek the truth.

1
9

BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS(Pantheon, $21.95)

By Alexander McCall Smith.Precious Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" faces more challenges.

6
10

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.

8
Nonfiction/General
1

WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS: LESSONS AND LETTERS

FROM DAUGHTERS AND SONS

(Random House, $22.95). By Tim Russert

1
2

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE: A MEMOIR OF WAR,

DISASTERS, AND SURVIVAL(HarperCollins, $24.95)

By Anderson Cooper.Musings from theCNN reporter.

1
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.

24
4

MAYFLOWER: A STORY OF COURAGE, COMMUNITY,

AND WAR(Viking, $29.95). By Nathaniel Philbrick

The saga of Plymouth Colony, stripped of mythology.

3
5

AMERICA: THE LAST BEST HOPE: VOLUME I:

FROM THE AGE OF DISCOVERY TO A WORLD AT WAR

(Nelson Current, $29.99). By William J. Bennett

1
6

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $30)

By Thomas L. Friedman.Arevised and expanded edition.

6
7

FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES

THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95)

By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

58
8

DON'T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER

EARRINGS: MADEA'S UNINHIBITED COMMENTARIES

ON LOVE AND LIFE(Riverhead, $23.95). By Tyler Perry

7
9

THE MIGHTY & THE ALMIGHTY: REFLECTIONS

ON AMERICA, GOD, AND WORLD AFFAIRS

(HarperCollins, $25.95). By Madeleine Albright

4
10

MYTHS, LIES, AND DOWNRIGHT STUPIDITY: GET OUT

THE SHOVEL -- WHY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG

(Hyperion, $24.95). By John Stossel.Libertarian views.

2

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended May 28, 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 5/1 to 5/28.)



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