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Washington Area Bestsellers

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Paperback
Fiction
1

THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14)

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

128
2

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS(Algonquin, $13.95)

By Sara Gruen. An orphan discovers love when he joins a traveling circus amid the Great Depression.

16
3

DEAR JOHN(Grand Central, $13.99)

By Nicholas Sparks. 9/11 upends a budding romance between a soldier and a college student.

2
4

MIDDLESEX(Picador USA, $15)

By Jeffrey Eugenides. A genetic anomaly causes a teen to become a hermaphrodite.

19
5

RICOCHET(Pocket, $9.99). By Sandra Brown

A homicide detective determined to take down a drug lord is thwarted by an influential judge.

4
6

ECHO PARK(Grand Central, $7.99)

By Michael Connelly. Det. Bosch suspects political meddling in a killer's guilty plea in a 1993 case.

4
7

THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN(Vintage, $14.95)

By Claire Messud. A social satire revolving around a vainglorious clique of young Manhattanites.

6
8

THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER

(Penguin, $14). By Kim Edwards. A doctor regrets deceiving his wife about their twins' birth.

58
9

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM(Bantam, $7.99)

By Robert Ludlum. A master assassin renews his struggle against an international terrorist.

8
10

THE RUINS(Vintage, $7.99). By Scott Smith

A Mexican holiday turns terrifying for four Americans who encounter a carnivorous plant.

2
Nonfiction/General
1

EAT PRAY LOVE: ONE WOMAN'S SEARCH FOR

EVERYTHING ACROSS ITALY, INDIA AND

INDONESIA(Penguin, $15). By Elizabeth Gilbert

28
2

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(Picador USA, $16)

By Thomas L. Friedman. A further revised edition.

5
3

BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT

THINKING(Back Bay, $15.99)

By Malcolm Gladwell. Behind our snap decisions.

20
4

THE GLASS CASTLE(Scribner, $14)

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

77
5

90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN: A TRUE STORY OF DEATH

AND LIFE(Revell, $12.99). By Don Piper. A Baptist minister declared dead returns to life.

8
6

FIASCO: THE AMERICAN MILITARY ADVENTURE

IN IRAQ(Penguin, $16). By Thomas E. Ricks

The choices of U.S. military commanders.

3
7

THE TIPPING POINT: HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE(Back Bay, $14.95 )

By Malcolm Gladwell. Fads and their origins.

85
8

THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN'S MISSION

TO PROMOTE PEACE(Penguin, $15)

By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

19
9

GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL(Norton, $16.95)

By Jared Diamond. The impact of geography and the environment on the course of civilization.

81
10

STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS(Vintage, $14.95)

By Daniel Gilbert. A psychology professor examines why we err in anticipating the future.

18
Hardcover
Fiction
1

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

(Riverhead, $25.95). By Khaled Hosseini

Two Afghani women cope with a brutish husband.

13
2

PLAY DIRTY(Simon & Schuster, $26.95)

By Sandra Brown. Fresh from prison, a former NFL star is pitched an unusual request from a wealthy Texas couple.

1
3

THE QUICKIE(Little, Brown, $27.99)

By James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

A scorned wife finds revenge isn't so sweet.

7
4

FORCE OF NATURE(Ballantine, $21.95)

By Suzanne Brockmann. This 11th "Troubleshooters" romantic thriller finds the mob and terrorists in cahoots.

1
5

SPOOK COUNTRY(Putnam, $25.95)

By William Gibson. The linchpin of this expansive, post-9/11 thriller is a covert cargo container.

2
6

SANDWORMS OF DUNE(Tor, $27.95)

By Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. The denouement of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series.

2
7

THE SECRET SERVANT(Putnam, $25.95)

By Daniel Silva. When an Israeli agent's murder exposes a terrorist plot, in steps Gabriel Allon.

4
8

LOVING FRANK(Ballantine, $23.95)

By Nancy Horan. A fanciful look at the bond between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney.

1
9

HIGH NOON(Putnam, $26.95). By Nora Roberts

Heady emotions from past trauma surface when a top hostage negotiator finds herself a target.

6
10

THE BURNT HOUSE(Morrow, $25.95)

By Faye Kellerman. A commuter plane's crash reveals startling errors in its passenger manifest.

2
Nonfiction/General
1

THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS

(Collins, $24.95). By Conn and Hal Iggulden

For boys at heart, a paean to simple pastimes.

16
2

LONE SURVIVOR: THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF

OPERATION REDWING ...(Little, Brown, $24.99)

By Marcus Luttrell. The Navy SEALs' greatest loss.

10
3

LEGACY OF ASHES: THE HISTORY OF THE CIA

(Doubleday, $27.95). By Tim Weiner. Exposing the good, the bad and the ugly in covert ops.

7
4

A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER

(FSG, $22). By Ishmael Beah. Recalling the horrors of the civil war in Sierra Leone.

24
5

YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CANT HIDE

(Hyperion, $25.95). By Duane "Dog" Chapman. A memoir by the bounty hunter and reality TV star.

1
6

QUIET STRENGTH: THE PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, & PRIORITIES OF A WINNING LIFE(Tyndale, $26.99).

By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

6
7

GOD IS NOT GREAT: HOW RELIGION POISONS

EVERYTHING(Twelve, $24.99)

By Christopher Hitchens. Faith and its ill effects

16
8

IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM: FINDING THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

(Thomas Nelson, $24.99). By Denise Jackson

with Ellen Vaughn. The lives of Alan and Denise Jackson.

1
9

THE WORLD WITHOUT US

(Thomas Dunne, $24.95). By Alan Weisman

The fate of the planet if humans ceased to exist.

3
10

HARD CALL: GREAT DECISIONS AND THE

EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE WHO MADE THEM

(Twelve, $25.99). By John McCain with Mark Salter

1

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Aug. 19, 2007. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright � 2007 by Nielsen BookScan. (The right-hand column of numbers represents 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.)

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