Fiction

1. “The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $24.95). The murder of a curator at the Louvre leads to a trail of clues found in the work of Leonardo and to the discovery of a centuries-old secret society.

2. “Lifeguard,” by James Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown, $26.95). Things go terribly awry when a lifeguard at a Florida resort agrees to take part in a $5 million heist.

3. “The Historian,” by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown, $25.95). A young woman’s quest to learn the truth about her father’s life and her mother’s death involves research into Vlad the Impaler and Dracula.

4. “The Mermaid Chair,” by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking, $24.95). On Egret Island, off the coast of South Carolina, a married woman is strongly attracted to a monk who is just months away from taking his final vows.

5. “The Interruption of Everything,” by Terry McMillan (Viking, $25.95). At the age of 44, an unhappily married California woman discovers she’s pregnant.

Nonfiction

1. “The FairTax Book,” by Neal Boortz and John Linder (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, $24.95). A radio talk show host and a United States congressman call for the abolishment of the federal income tax and the I.R.S.

2. “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America,” by Bernard Goldberg (HarperCollins, $25.95). The author of “Bias” takes aim at “Hollywood blowhards,” “America bashers,” rappers and others.

3. “The World is Flat,” by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27.50). A columnist for The New York Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy.

4. “1776,” by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster, $32). An account of America’s founding year by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, focusing on the inexperienced George Washington and heroic citizen soldiers.

5. “Freakonomics,” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Morrow, $25.95). A maverick scholar applies economic thinking to everything from sumo wrestlers who cheat to legalized abortion.

Advice

1. “Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About,” by Kevin Trudeau (Alliance Publishing Group, $29.95). Remedies that do not include drugs or surgery.

2. “Your Best Life Now,” by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith, $19.99). A faith-based approach to living with enthusiasm.

3. “The Purpose-Driven Life,” by Rick Warren (Zondervan, $19.99). Finding the meaning of life through God.

4. “You: The Owner’s Manual,” by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (HarperResource, $24.95). A guide to how the body works, and advice on maintaining health and youth.

5. “The Perricone Promise,” by Nicholas Perricone (Warner, $27.95). A guide to looking younger and living longer.

– The New York Times