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Los Angeles Times bestsellers for August 2, 2009.

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Fiction Weeks on list
1.Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles.8
2.The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 8
3.Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown: $27.99)A supermodel disappears from a photo shoot in Hawaii.4
4.Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster: $25.99) The sheriff of a tiny Texas town investigates the mass murder of illegal immigrants on the Mexican border.1
5.The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Doubleday: $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment.5
6.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death.54
7.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. 51
8.Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26.99) Two childhood friends on the outs since high school reconnect when one is in trouble.1
9.The Defector by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $26.95) When a Russian defector disappears, Gabriel Allon is forced to track down a deadly arms dealer.1
10.Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: $27.95) A witness enters a barbecue competition to uncover the killer of a contestant.5
11.Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $24) Stories, witty and soulful, explore men’s roles in society.1
12.Sunnyside by Glen David Gold (Knopf: $26.95) Intertwined tales of a young soldier, Charlie Chaplin and an aspiring actor recall life in early 20th century America. 2
13. Black Hills by Nora Roberts (Putnam: $26.95) Two childhood friends return to South Dakota to find love and revisit an unsolved murder.3
14.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in sports to toughen him up.23
15.The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells (Harper: $25.99) An aspiring beautician sets off to New Orleans and finds love and tragedy along the way. 1
Nonfiction
1.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers.34
2.A Bright and Guilty Place by Richard Rayner (Doubleday: $25) The sagas of an ambitious young lawyer, a prime suspect in a mob murder, and a police photographer paint a picture of early 20th century L.A.3
3.Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America.17
4.Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey ( Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. 25
5.Unmasked by Ian Halperin (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $25) A look into the final years and days of Michael Jackson.2
6.Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (Harper: $26.99) A call to prevent President Obama from transforming America into a socialist state.5
7.The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments.64
8.Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad (Ecco: $25.99) The son of a daredevil tells of his life on the edge and how he survived a deadly plane crash.6
9.The Waxman Report by Henry Waxman with Joshua Green (Twelve: $24.99) The congressman from L.A. gives insight on his 35 years in the House.3
10.The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich (Doubleday: $25) The story and phenomenon behind the founders of Facebook. 1
11.The Evolution of God by Robert Wright (Little, Brown: $25.99) The origins of various religions and the gods they worship.1
12.A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (Scribner: $25) A restored edition of the classic including never-before-seen sketches of Paris.1
13.Promises I Made My Mother by Sam Haskell (Ballantine: $24) A Hollywood agent reveals how he kept his pledge to his mother to live a decent life. 5
14.The Beckham Experiment by Grant Wahl (Crown: $24.99) How the international soccer star tried to conquer America.1
15.Home Game by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton: $23.95) A father’s record of ordinary life occurrences with his three children. 3
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