Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

February 6, 2000

Fiction

Southern California Ranking: 1

FALSE MEMORY by Dean Koontz (Bantam: $26.95) Like a puppet master, a villainous mastermind commits crimes with the help of his brainwashed victims.

Last Week: 1

Weeks on List: 5

*

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: 17

*

Southern California Ranking: 3

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: 8

Weeks on List: 17

*

Southern California Ranking: 4

THE LION’S GAME by Nelson DeMille (Warner: $26.95) A gruff tough New York cop and an FBI agent join forces to find a Libyan terrorist on a killing spree in the U.S.

Last Week: 3

Weeks on List: 4

*

Southern California Ranking: 5

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $16.95) Unhappy at home, a young boy discovers that he is a magician with great powers.

Last Week: 10

Weeks on List: 15

*

Southern California Ranking: 6

SICK PUPPY by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) The adventures of an eco-terrorist and a Labrador retriever among the thugs and sleazy businessmen of South Florida.

Last Week: 5

Weeks on List: 4

*

Southern California Ranking: 7

TIMELINE by Michael Crichton (Random House: $26.95) Investigators battle mad lords, crazed giants and peasant bandits after time-traveling to 14th century France.

Last Week: 13

Weeks on List: 10

*

Southern California Ranking: 8

THE ATTORNEY by Steve Martini (Putnam: $25.95) A courtroom thriller featuring a kindhearted lottery winner and his blackmailing daughter, who’s connected with a Mexican drug lord.

Last Week: 9

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 9

LIMITED TIME by Robert Greer (Mysterious Press: $23.95) The search for a fountain of youth proves deadly, and Dr. Henry Bales must figure out who’s to blame.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

*

Southern California Ranking: 10

WHITE OLEANDER by Janet Fitch (Little, Brown: $24) When a woman murders her lover, her daughter must learn to grow to womanhood in a foster home.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 27

*

Southern California Ranking: 11

ATLANTIS FOUND by Clive Cussler (Putnam: $26.95) Adventurer Dirk Pitt unravels the mystery of an ancient civilization while fanatics hatch a plot to dominate the world.

Last Week: 6

Weeks on List: 7

*

Southern California Ranking: 12

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: --

Weeks on List: 10

*

Southern California Ranking: 13

FORTUNE’S ROCKS by Anita Shreve (Little, Brown: $24.95) A May-December affair in high-society 19th century Boston has far-reaching consequences.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

*

Southern California Ranking: 14

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: 15

Weeks on List: 6

*

Southern California Ranking: 15

ROUGH DRAFT by James W. Hall (St. Martin’s: $24.95) A former Miami policewoman and successful crime writer helps the FBI flush out the person who killed her parents.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 1

Nonfiction

Southern California Ranking: 1

THE ROCK SAYS by “The Rock” with Joe Layden (ReganBooks: $26) The memoir of a World Wrestling Federation bad guy, describing his struggles in and out of the ring.

Last Week: 10

Weeks on List: 4

*

Southern California Ranking: 2

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: 3

Weeks on List: 107

*

Southern California Ranking: 3

A VAST CONSPIRACY by Jeffrey Toobin (Random House: $25) A comprehensive look at the 1998 presidential sex scandal, detailing the legal maneuvers behind the scenes.

Last Week: 5

Weeks on List: 4

*

Southern California Ranking: 4

‘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: 8

Weeks on List: 19

*

Southern California Ranking: 5

WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) This co-author of “The One Minute Manager” advises managers on how to get employees Y2K ready.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 6

*

Southern California Ranking: 6

GALILEO’S DAUGHTER by Dava Sobel (Walker & Co.: $25) The story of the famous astronomer and scientist and his daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun.

Last Week: 4

Weeks on List: 12

*

Southern California Ranking: 7

HURRICANE by James S. Hirsch (Houghton Mifflin: $25) Middleweight boxer Rubin Carter’s 22-year effort to free himself from jail after being wrongly accused of murder.

Last Week: 1

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 8

THE DEBT by Randall Robinson (Dutton: $23.95) An influential lobbyist argues that African Americans should be compensated by the government for institutionalized racism.

Last Week: 2

Weeks on List: 2

*

Southern California Ranking: 9

THE GREATEST GENERATION SPEAKS by Tom Brokaw (Random House: $19.95) More stories of American heroism during the ‘30s and ‘40s in this sequel to “The Greatest Generation.”

Last Week: 15

Weeks on List: 7

*

Southern California Ranking: 10

THE GREATEST GENERATION by Tom Brokaw (Random House: $24.95) TV anchor tells the stories of the generation that came of age during the Depression and World War II.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 51

*

Southern California Ranking: 11

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: 12

Weeks on List: 9

*

Southern California Ranking: 12

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, BOOK ONE by Neale Donald Walsch (Putnam: $19.95) Divinely channeled messages about good, evil and the meaning of life.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 95

*

Southern California Ranking: 13

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: 12

*

Southern California Ranking: 14

CONVERSATIONS WITH WILDER by Cameron Crowe (Alfred A. Knopf: $35) The “Jerry Maguire” director coaxes Billy Wilder to reveal the secrets behind his movie hits and flops.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 8

*

Southern California Ranking: 15

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: --

Weeks on List: 12

Paperbacks

Southern California Ranking: 1

THE TESTAMENT by John Grisham (Dell Island: $7.99) A billionaire’s changes to his will shock his greedy heirs.

Southern California Ranking: 2

THE HOURS by Michael Cunningham (Picador USA: $13) Three stories built around Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.”

*

Southern California Ranking: 3

A MAP OF THE WORLD by Jane Hamilton (Anchor: $12.95) A woman’s harrowing journey from farm wife to felon.

*

Southern California Ranking: 4

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperPerennial: $14) A missionary family’s ordeals.

*

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

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine: $5.99) A young wizard-in-training.

*

Southern California Ranking: 7

THE GREEN MILE by Stephen King (Pocket: $7.99) A supernatural tale about death row inmates in the South.

*

Southern California Ranking: 8

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson (Vintage: $14) Turmoil on Puget Sound during a fisherman’s trial.

*

Southern California Ranking: 9

THE PILOT’S WIFE by Anita Shreve (Little, Brown: $13.95) A woman’s disturbing discoveries after a fatal plane crash.

*

Southern California Ranking: 10

DREAMING SOUTHERN by Linda Bruckheimer (Plume: $12.95) A mother and children on a restless road trip to California.

Nonfiction

Southern California Ranking: 1

ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt (Touchstone: $14) Overcoming an Irish childhood during the Depression.

Southern California Ranking: 2

GIRL, INTERRUPTED by Susanna Kaysen (Vintage: $12) A memoir of life in a psychiatric institute in 1967.

*

Southern California Ranking: 3

GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL by Jared Diamond (W.W. Norton: $14.95) The part played by this triad in history.

Southern California Ranking: 4

ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt (Touchstone: $7.99) Same book, different cover.

*

Southern California Ranking: 5

WORLD ALMANAC & BOOK OF FACTS 2000 (World Almanac: $10.95) Includes “Countdown to the Millennium.”

*

Southern California Ranking: 6

RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Fiscal parenting.

*

Southern California Ranking: 7

THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester (HarperPerennial: $13) A madman with a flair for words.

*

Southern California Ranking: 8

THE PERFECT STORM by Sebastian Junger (HarperPaperback: $13) Fishermen trapped in a storm.

*

Southern California Ranking: 9

BLIND MAN’S BLUFF by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew (HarperPerennial: $7.99) American submarine espionage.

*

Southern California Ranking: 10

MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL by John Berendt (Vintage: $12) Portrait of Savannah’s colorful eccentrics.