BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

2 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks a killer.

3 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

4 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church.

5 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy seeks treasure in Egypt.

6 The Narrows by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) Harry Bosch struggles against man and nature to capture a serial killer.

7 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston (Perennial: $13.95) A black woman’s quest for identity.

8 The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (Random House: $13.95) A love story amid the artistic ferment of 14th century Italy.

9 The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $14) A Bengali couple and their son try to find their way in America.

10 Southern Belles of Honeysuckle Way by Linda Bruckheimer (Plume: $14) Sisters reunite in a Kentucky town.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

2 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House: $13.95) A professor keeps literature alive for her students.

3 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) How a serial killer haunted the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

4 Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff (Chelsea Green: $10) A guide for political progressives.

5 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: $14) How to attain enlightenment by living in the now.

6 Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (W.W. Norton: $16.95) A scientist’s take on Europe’s rise to dominance.

7 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $15.95) Fiscal parenting.

8 Bushworld by Maureen Dowd (Berkley: $15) The New York Times columnist’s collected works on Bush pere and fils.

9 The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene (Vintage: $15.95) The nature of the universe made simple.

10 Lost in the Grooves by Kim Cooper et al. (Routledge: $19.95) An encyclopedic guide to popular music.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.