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. “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” by Mitch Albom (Hyperion, $19.95). An old man who died while trying to rescue a little girl from danger discovers that all will be explained to him in the afterlife.

3. “Chainfire,” by Terry Goodkind (Tor/Tom Doherty, $29.95). The 10th volume of the “Sword of Truth” fantasy series.

4. “State of Fear,” by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins, $27.95). Reverse eco-terrorists create natural disasters to convince the public that global warming is real.

5. “By Order of the President,” by W. E. B. Griffin (Putnam, $26.95). An Army officer tries to thwart a terrorist plot to crash a stolen 727 into the Liberty Bell.

Nonfiction

1. “Witness,” by Amber Frey (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, $25.95). A memoir by the California massage therapist who testified for the prosecution in the murder trial of Scott Peterson.

2. “America (The Book),” by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin and David Javerbaum (Warner, $24.95). “The Daily Show” offers a lavishly illustrated parody of a civics textbook.

3. “Collapse,” by Jared Diamond (Viking, $29.95). A historical investigation, by the author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” into why some societies succeed while others fail.

4. “His Excellency,” by Joseph J. Ellis (Knopf, $26.95). A biography of George Washington, by the author of “Founding Brothers.”

5. “Eats, Shoots & Leaves,” by Lynne Truss (Gotham, $17.50). An Englishwoman expounds on the use and misuse of punctuation marks.

Advice and how-to

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

2. “He’s Just Not That Into You,” by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $19.95). How a woman can tell if a relationship is going nowhere.

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

4. “The South Beach Diet,” by Arthur Agatston (Rodale, $24.95). A weight-loss plan designed by a Miami cardiologist.

5. “Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age,” by David Bach (Broadway, $25). Strategies for becoming rich even in middle age.

— The New York Times