Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

November 14, 1999

FICTION

Southern California Ranking: 1

WALKIN’ THE DOG; by Walter Mosley (Little, Brown: $24.95)

The continuing adventures of Socrates Fortlow, an ex-con struggling to make a life in Watts.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 2

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS; by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine Books: $17.95)

Harry risks his life to solve a mystery at the Hogwarts School.

Last Week: 2

Weeks on List:5

*

Southern California Ranking: 3

PERSONAL INJURIES; by Scott Turow; (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27)

Dirty lawyers, dirty judges and one equally soiled informant face off in fictional Kindle County.

Last Week:5

Weeks on List:6

*

Southern California Ranking: 4

A WALK TO REMEMBER; by Nicholas Sparks; (Warner: $19.95)

An old man looks back at his own bittersweet love story from the vantage point that 40 years can offer.

Last Week: 9

Weeks on List: 5

*

Southern California Ranking: 5

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN; by J.K. Rowling; (Scholastic: $19.95)

Sirius Black--an escaped convict--is on the loose, and he’s after Harry.

Last Week: 1

Weeks on List: 5

*

Southern California Ranking: 6

O IS FOR OUTLAW; by Sue Grafton; (Henry Holt: $26)

New information on an old crime forces Kinsey Millhone to look back at her ill-fated marriage.

Last Week: 3

Weeks on List: 4

*

Southern California Ranking: 7

AIN’T NOBODY’S BUSINESS IF I DO; by Valerie Wilson Wesley; (Avon: $24)

Love and rage in an African American family struggling to come to terms with the world and one another.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 8

ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES; by William Gibson; (Putnam: $24.95)

A motley group of heroes thwarts a billionaire’s sinister plans in the shadow of a world-changing cyber event.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List:1

*

Southern California Ranking: 9

THE PRICE OF HONOR; by Col. David H. Hackworth; (Doubleday: $25.95)

An Army team investigates power-hungry politicians and money-hungry defense contractors.

Last Week: 8

Weeks on List:2

*

Southern California Ranking: 10

DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE; by Isabel Allende; (HarperCollins: $26)

A young woman escapes from the bonds of her youthful passion to Gold Rush California.

Last Week: 13

Weeks on List: 5

*

Southern California Ranking: 11

THE HOURS; by Michael Cunningham; (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $22)

A haunting triptych of stories structured around Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 28

*

Southern California Ranking: 12

POP GOES THE WEASEL; by James Patterson; (Little, Brown: $26.95)

Detectives probe the link between a “Jane Doe killer” in the ghettos of Washington, D.C., and a rich man’s death.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 13

BAGOMBO SNUFF BOX; by Kurt Vonnegut; (Putnam: $24.95)

Twenty-four magazine stories, from the 1950s to the present, are collected here for the first time.

Last Week: 11

Weeks on List:8

*

Southern California Ranking: 14

SECOND WIND; by Dick Francis; (Putnam: $24.95)

When a meteorologist and a pilot decide to fly through the eye of a hurricane, intrigue is not far behind.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 3

*

Southern California Ranking: 15

PLAINSONG; by Kent Haruf; (Alfred A. Knopf: $24)

As lives intersect in a small Colorado cattle town, concepts of family are challenged and transformed.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 2

NONFICTION

Southern California Ranking: 1

‘TIS; by Frank McCourt ;(Scribner: $26)

A young McCourt arrives from Ireland in New York, with all its peril and promise, in this sequel to “Angela’s Ashes.”

Last Week: 1

Weeks on List:7

*

Southern California Ranking:2

WONDERS OF THE AFRICAN WORLD; by Henry Louis Gates Jr.; (Alfred A. Knopf: $40)

A travelogue of Gates’ 10-month sojourn through the African motherland.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

*

Southern California Ranking: 3

CINEMA OF OUTSIDERS; by Emanuel Levy; (New York University Press: $34.95)

Filmmaker profiles and discussions of some 300 indie films made without the help of Hollywood.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

*

Southern California Ranking: 4

TRUMPET BLUES; by Peter Levinson; (Oxford University Press: $30)

The life of bandleader Harry James and his rivalry with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List:1

*

Southern California Ranking: 5

WHERE DID I GO RIGHT?; by Bernie Brillstein with David Rensin; (Little, Brown: $24.95)

A star manager dishes dirt and describes his rise from the William Morris mail room.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

*

Southern California Ranking: 6

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE; by Mitch Albom; (Doubleday: $19.95)

A sportswriter’s empowering story about his weekly visits to see an older dying friend.

Last Week: 7

Weeks on List: 95

*

Southern California Ranking: 7

FORTUNATE SON; by J.H. Hatfield; (St. Martin’s)

A suspect biography of George W. Bush, recalled from stores by its publisher pending investigation of the author’s background.

Last Week: 13

Weeks on List:2

*

Southern California Ranking: 8

STIFFED; by Susan Faludi; (William Morrow: $27.50)

From Sylvester Stallone to the Spur Posse, a look at the plight of the American male.

Last Week: 4

Weeks on List:5

*

Southern California Ranking: 9

THE WAY WE LIVED THEN; by Dominick Dunne; (Crown: $27.50)

A personal photo album and memoir of Hollywood by a self-proclaimed name-dropper.

Last Week: 2

Weeks on List: 6

*

Southern California Ranking: 10

THE CENTURY; by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster; (Doubleday: $60)

The story of our last 100 years as told through the experiences of ordinary people.

Last Week: 15

Weeks on List: 25

*

Southern California Ranking: 11

GALILEO’S DAUGHTER; by Dava Sobel; (Walker & Co.: $25)

The story of the famous scientist and his daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun.

Last Week: 5

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 12

MAKING LOSS MATTER; by Rabbi David Wolpe; (Riverhead Books: $23.95)

The search for meaning and purpose when loved ones die and after other losses.

Last Week: 10

Weeks on List: 4

*

Southern California Ranking: 13

RIVER HORSE; by William Least Heat-Moon; (Houghton Mifflin: $26)

The author of “Blue Highways” makes a 5,000-mile journey across America’s waterways.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

*

Southern California Ranking: 14

FAITH OF MY FATHERS; by John McCain; (Random House: $25)

A self-described hell-raiser, the Arizona senator rebelled in the U.S. Naval Academy but found maturity in Vietnam.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 8

*

Southern California Ranking:15

DUTCH; by Edmund Morris; (Random House: $35)

This long-anticipated official biography of President Reagan features a fictionalized narrator.

Last Week: 14

Weeks on List: 6

PAPERBACKS

Southern California Ranking: 1

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE; by J.K. Rowling; (Arthur A. Levine: $5.99)

A young wizard-in-training.

Southern California Ranking: 2

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE; by Barbara Kingsolver; (HarperPerennial: $14)

A missionary family’s ordeals.

Southern California Ranking: 3

FIGHT CLUB; by Chuck Palahniuk; (Henry Holt: $13)

Unwind from a day at the office with blood sport and anarchy.

Southern California Ranking: 4

A MAN IN FULL; by Tom Wolfe; (Bantam: $8.50)

The story of a real estate tycoon’s crash and burn.

Southern California Ranking: 5

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA; by Arthur Golden;(Vintage: $14)

The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer in Kyoto.

Southern California Ranking: 6

THE STARGAZEY; by Martha Grimes; (Onyx Books: $6.99)

The mystery of a missing Chagall and a beautiful corpse.

Southern California Ranking: 7

THE SIMPLE TRUTH; by David Balducci; (Warner: $7.99)

A convict finds out he’s not guilty of murder.

Southern California Ranking: 8

A VEILED JOURNEY; by Nell Brien; (Mira Books: $5.99)

A woman’s return to Saudi Arabia to look for her family.

Southern California Ranking: 9

BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 1999; edited by Amy Tan ;(Houghton Mifflin: $13)

Alice Munro and 20 others.10BILLY STRAIGHT by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine: $7.99) A detective races to find a young murder witness.

NONFICTION

Southern California Ranking: 1

ONE LAST TIME; by John Edward; (Berkley: $12.95)

Autobiography of a medium, plus psychic tips.

Southern California Ranking: 2

ANGELA’S ASHES; by Frank McCourt; (Touchstone: $14)

Overcoming an Irish childhood during the Depression.

Southern California Ranking: 3

THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN; by Simon Winchester; (HarperPerennial: $13)

A madman with a flair for words.

Southern California Ranking: 4

THE ECOLOGY OF FEAR; by Mike Davis; (Vintage: $14)

How poor urban planning has put L.A. in harm’s way.

Southern California Ranking: 5

GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL; by Jared Diamond; (W.W. Norton: $14.95)

The part played by this triad in history.

Southern California Ranking: 6

OUR DUMB CENTURY; by the Onion staff; (Three Rivers: $15)

Satiric headlines from a popular humor publication.

Southern California Ranking: 7

IRISH HUNGER; edited by Tom Hayden; (Roberts Rinehart: $15.95)

Writers’ reflections on the Irish famine.

Southern California Ranking: 8

THE PERFECT STORM; by Sebastian Junger; (HarperPaperback: $13)

Fishermen trapped in a storm.

Southern California Ranking: 9

EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS; by Peter Biskind; (Simon and Schuster: $15)

How ‘70s filmmakers saved Hollywood.

Southern California Ranking: 10

SINS OF THE CITY; by Jim Heimann; (Chronicle Books: $18.95)

L.A. noir photographs from the ‘20s to the ‘50s.