FictionPRIMARY COLORS by Anonymous. (Random House: $24.)...

Fiction

PRIMARY COLORS by Anonymous. (Random House: $24.) A thinly veiled story of the 1992 Democratic primaries by a political insider a la Deep Throat.(1)*. Southern California ranking: 1; Last Weeks: 1; Week on List: 7

THE HORSE WHISPERER by Nicholas Evans. (Delacorte Press: $23.95.)A beautiful journalist escapes New York to find love on the range in Montana.(2)*. Southern California ranking: 2; Last Weeks: 4; Week on List: 25

ABSOLUTE POWER by David Baldacci. (Warner: $22.95.) Murder among the elite in the nation’s capital.(3)*. Southern California ranking: 3; Last Weeks: 3; Week on List: 4

MCNALLY’S PUZZLE by Lawrence Sanders. (Putnam: $24.95.) Exotic birds and eccentric characters mix in this tale of murder on Florida’s Gold Coast.(8)*. Southern California ranking: 4; Last Weeks: 5; Week on List: 2

THE POET by Michael Connelly. (Little, Brown and Company: $22.95.) A crime reporter tracks a murderer who has outwitted law enforcement’s best investigators.*. Southern California ranking: 5; Last Weeks: 6; Week on List: 7

ATTICUS by Ron Hansen. (Harper Collins: $22.) A father travels to Mexico to retrieve the body of his prodigal son.*. Southern California ranking: 6; Last Weeks: 7; Week on List: 4

INFINITE JEST by David Foster Wallace. (Little, Brown & Co.: $29.95.) Obsessed consumers populate this satire of the near future.. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Weeks: 2; Week on List: 5

IN THE BEAUTY OF THE LILIES by John Updike. (Knopf: $25.95.) The life choices of a 20th century American family as it wrestles with religious faith.(10). Southern California ranking: 8; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 8

THE CAT WHO SAID CHEESE by Lilian Jackson Braun. (Putnam: $22.95.) Prize-winning reporter Qwill and his pair of Siamese investigate a bombing.(4). Southern California ranking: 9; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

WHITE RABBIT by Kate Phillips. (Houghton Mifflin: $19.95.) A feisty octogenarian’s last day on earth.. Southern California ranking: 10; Last Weeks: 8; Week on List: 4

Nonfiction

THE ZONE by Barry Sears with Bill Lawren. (HarperCollins/ReganBooks: $22.) An energy-building plan that focuses on burning body fat and avoiding “bad carbohydrates.”(9). Southern California ranking: 1; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT And Other Observations by Al Franken. (Delacorte: $21.95.) Wise-guy solutions to government complexities.(1)*. Southern California ranking: 2; Last Weeks: 2; Week on List: 8

THE SEVEN SPIRITUAL LAWS OF SUCCESS by Deepak Chopra. (Amber-Allen Publishing: $12.95.)(5)*. Southern California ranking: 3; Last Weeks: 3; Week on List: 48

THE WAY OF THE WIZARD: 20 Lessons for Living a Magical Life by Deepak Chopra. (Crown/Harmony: $15.)(7)*. Southern California ranking: 4; Last Weeks: 5; Week on List: 10

MEN ARE FROM MARS: Women Are From Venus by John Gray, PhD. (HarperCollins: $23.)(2)*. Southern California ranking: 5; Last Weeks: 6; Week on List: 105

HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?! by Laura Schlessinger. (HarperCollins: $22.) The syndicated radio host looks at the perils of pleasure-seeking.(3)*. Southern California ranking: 6; Last Weeks: 8; Week on List: 7

IT TAKES A VILLAGE: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster: $20.) Observations on the needs of children by the first lady.(4)*. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Weeks: 7; Week on List: 9

CITY OF ANGLES by Al Martinez. (St. Martin’s: $19.95.) Observations and anecdotes about life in L.A.. Southern California ranking: 8; Last Weeks: 4; Week on List: 2

YOU’LL NEVER MAKE LOVE IN THIS TOWN AGAIN by Robin, Liza, Linda and Tiffany. (Dove Books: $22.95.) The used, and their users, in Tinsel Town.(12). Southern California ranking: 9; Last Weeks: 1; Week on List: 7

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE by Daniel Goleman. (Bantam Doubleday Dell: $23.95.)(6)*. Southern California ranking: 10; Last Weeks: 9; Week on List: 21

Rankings are based on The Times’ poll of local bookstores. National rankings (parentheses) are those of Publishers Weekly.

Paperbacks: FICTION

1. SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson. (Vintage: $12.)*

2. THE RAINMAKER by John Grisham. (Bantam: $7.99.)*

3. THE GLASS LAKE by Maeve Binchy. (Dell: $7.50.)*

4. THE CAT WHO BLEW THE WHISTLE by Lilian Jackson Braun. (Jove: $5.99.)

5. TARNISHED GOLD by V.C. Andrews. (Pocket: $6.99.)

Paperbacks: NONFICTION

1. WE’RE RIGHT, THEY’RE NOT: A Progressive Program by James Carville. (Random: $10.)

2. ZAGAT SURVEY 1996 L.A./SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT GUIDE edited by Merrill Shindler and Karen Berk. (Zagat Survey: $10.95.)

3. THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE by Stephen R. Covey. (Fireside/Simon & Schuster: $12.)*

4. THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron. (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam: $13.95.)*

5. ZAGAT SURVEY LOS ANGELES MARKETPLACE edited by Merrill Shindler and Karen Berk. (Zagat Survey: $10.95.)

* denotes books available in audio.