Best of 2009

Best Novel: The Lost Symbol

The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's fifth book sold more than 2 million copies in its first week on sale, "the biggest one-week sale in Random House history for a single title," according to the publisher. In the latest Robert Langdon thriller, the Harvard symbologist is back cracking codes but this time in Washington, D.C. And, of course, there is a new love interest, setting the wheels in motion for another Tom Hanks–led blockbuster.