Washington Area Bestsellers

Sunday, December 3, 2006; Page BW13

Paperback
Fiction
1

THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER(Penguin, $14)

By Kim Edwards.A doctor comes to regret telling his wife that one of their twins, a girl, died during delivery.

23
2

THE CELL(Pocket Star, $9.99). By Stephen King

A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously to all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into zombies.

1
3

VALLEY OF SILENCE(Jove, $7.99). By Nora Roberts

The conclusion of the "Circle Trilogy" finds six warriors battling the minions of the vampire Lilith.

4
4

THE AMBLER WARNING(St. Martin's, $9.99)

By Robert Ludlum.A covert U.S. operative is detained in a government hospital for reasons unknown.

4
5

THE TENTH CIRCLE(Washington Square, $15)

By Jodi Picoult.Graphic art illustrates this "Purgatorio" tale of a family coping with a daughter's rape.

5
6

THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS(Grove, $14)

By Kiran Desai.A retired judge, his granddaughter and cook cope with political unrest in a Himalayan village.

3
7

THE LIGHTHOUSE(Vintage, $13.95). By P.D. James

Commander Dalgliesh is dispatched to Combe Island, an isolated retreat for the well-to-do, where murder is afoot.

4
8

FOREVER ODD(Bantam, $7.99). By Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas, who can see the dead, is "asked" for help by the ghost of his father's best friend, recently murdered.

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.

105
10

REBELLION(Silhouette, $7.99). By Nora Roberts

The Scottish-English conflict of the 18th century finds a parallel in the romance between Serena and Brigham.

1
Nonfiction/General
1

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS(Picador USA, $14)

(St. Martin's, $7.99). By Augusten Burroughs

A memoir chock-full of hilarious and unsettling moments.

36
2

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS(Bantam, $14; $7.99)

By James Bradley with Ron Powers.The life of Bradley's father, John, who served in the Pacific in WWII.

8
3

THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14)

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

40
4

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS(Amistad, $14.95)

By Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe.Gardner's erratic rise from impoverished youth to prosperous broker.

1
5

DREAMS FROM MY FATHER(Three Rivers, $14.95)

By Barack Obama.A memoir of a challenging, often lonely youth by the freshman senator from Illinois.

54
6

TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS

OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN(Simon & Schuster, $19.95)

By Doris Kearns Goodwin.Presidential finesse.

9
7

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.

53
8

TEACHER MAN: A MEMOIR(Scribner, $15)

By Frank McCourt.The author of "Angela's Ashes" recounts his tenure in the NYC public school system.

7
9

1776(Simon & Schuster, $18). By David McCullough

Military campaigns and personal narratives tell the story of the first full year of the American Revolution.

21
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.

126
Hardcover
Fiction
1

CROSS(Little Brown, $27.99). By James Patterson

Hunting for a serial killer/rapist, forensic psychologist Alex Cross inadvertently finds clues to his wife's murder.

2
2

FOR ONE MORE DAY(Hyperion, $21.95)

By Mitch Albom.Charley Benetto is granted one final day with his mother, whose recent death left him devastated.

9
3

DEAR JOHN(Warner, $24.99). By Nicholas Sparks

The budding romance between an aimless soldier and a conscientious college student is altered by 9/11.

4
4

NATURE GIRL(Knopf, $25.95). By Carl Hiaasen

Offended by a real estate sales call, a woman takes the telemarketer on a wild Everglades adventure.

2
5

WILD FIRE(Warner, $26.99). By Nelson DeMille

Terrorists plot to force a U.S. nuclear strike in the Middle East by detonating nuclear bombs on U.S. soil.

3
6

THE SHAPE SHIFTER(HarperCollins, $26.95)

By Tony Hillerman.Startling new clues in an unsolved case lure Lt. Joe Leaphorn out of retirement.

1
7

THE COLLECTORS(Warner, $26.99). By David Baldacci

The Camel Club reunites to solve a murder at the Library of Congress, which reveals a rogue CIA agent's treachery.

6
8

LISEY'S STORY(Scribner, $28). By Stephen King

The widow of a celebrated horror writer finds sorting through her husband's papers cathartic and revelatory.

5
9

SANTA CRUISE(Scribner, $22). By Mary Higgins Clark

and Carol Higgins Clark.A yuletide charity cruise is thwarted by dangerous criminals.

2
10

AGAINST THE DAY(Penguin Press, $35)

By Thomas Pynchon.An eclectic cast become snared in the mad rush of events preceding the cataclysm of WWI.

1
Nonfiction/General
1

THE AUDACITY OF HOPE: THOUGHTS ON RECLAIMING

THE AMERICAN DREAM(Crown, $25)

By Barack Obama.The Illinois senator's social contract.

6
2

THE INNOCENT MAN: MURDER AND INJUSTICE

IN A SMALL TOWN(Doubleday, $28.95)

By John Grisham.A1982 case of rape and murder.

7
3

STATE OF DENIAL: BUSH AT WAR, PART III

(Simon & Schuster, $30). By Bob Woodward

New details on the administration's war plans in Iraq.

9
4

CULTURE WARRIOR(Broadway, $26)

By Bill O'Reilly.Hot-button cultural issues pepper this take on the struggle between the left and the right.

9
5

MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE

WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95)

By John Grogan. For the love of an unruly Labrador.

47
6

I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK: AND OTHER

THOUGHTS ON BEING A WOMAN

(Knopf, $19.95). By Nora Ephron.Aging angst.

17
7

THE GOD DELUSION(Houghton Mifflin, $27)

By Richard Dawkins.A critical rejection of religious faith, its perceived intolerance and the idea of intelligent design.

4
8

THUNDERSTRUCK(Crown, $25.95). By Erik Larson

How wireless communication burst onto the public stage with the 1910 manhunt for murderer H.H. Crippen.

4
9

PALESTINE: PEACE NOT APARTHEID

(Simon & Schuster, $27). By Jimmy Carter.The former president, broker of the Camp David Accords, weighs in.

1
10

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID:

A MEMOIR(Broadway, $25). By Bill Bryson

A trip down memory lane by a child of the 1950s.

4

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Nov. 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 10/30 to 11/26.)


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