Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

December 16, 2001

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by John Grisham (Doubleday: $19.95) Grisham takes a holiday from the legal thriller to poke some fun at the suburban yuletide ritual. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 4

2 THE CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $26) The saga of a dysfunctional Midwestern family living at the end of the 20th century. Last Week: 1 14

3 VIOLETS ARE BLUE by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.95) Police detective Alex Cross investigates a series of brutal deaths with links to a vampire underground. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 2

4 LAST MAN STANDING by David Baldacci (Warner: $26.95) A G-man needs the help of a psychiatrist to uncover who mysteriously ambushed six of his men. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 4

5 FLESH AND BLOOD by Jonathan Kellerman (Random House: $26.95) Psychologist Alex Delaware investigates the deaths of a call girl he once treated and a beautiful coed. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 2

6 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $25.95) Harry competes in the great Triwizard Tournament and is pursued by the sinister Lord Voldemort. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 6

7 HATESHIP, FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, LOVESHIP, MARRIAGE by Alice Munro (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) Stories tracing the nuanced lives of women and their relationships. Last Week: 15 Weeks on List: 3

8 THE FEAST OF THE GOAT by Mario Vargas Llosa (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $25) The manias of a Latin American dictator, and the lives that he has ruined, on his last day on Earth. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

9 HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster: $20) A would-be angel tries to reunite a girl with her family. Last Week: 13 Weeks on List: 2

10 HALF A LIFE by V.S. Naipaul (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) A writer drifts from bohemian London to colonial Africa in this tale of the collision of identity, class and politics. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 5

11 THE MITFORD SNOWMEN by Jan Karon (Viking: $10.95) The eccentric denizens of Mitford gather on Main Street to share some old-fashioned Christmas cheer. Last Week: 12 Weeks on List: 5

12 BLOOD AND GOLD by Anne Rice (Alfred A. Knopf: $26.95) The autobiography of Marius, the mentor of Lestat, and his moral struggles during his 2,000 years as a vampire. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 6

13 THE FIERY CROSS by Diana Gabaldon (Delacorte Press: $27.95) The Fraser clan finds love and adversity in pre-Revolutionary North Carolina in the latest in the “Outlander” series. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 4

14 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J. K. Rowling (Scholastic: $19.95) Unhappy at home, a young boy discovers that he is a wizard with great powers. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 25

15 THE PILLARS OF CREATION by Terry Goodkind (Tor: $29.95) As “The Sword of Truth” series continues, Richard and Kahlan are being hunted and an evil army prepares for battle. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster: $35) The story of our second president, a man Thomas Jefferson called “the colossus of independence.” Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 29

2 BEST-LOVED POEMS OF JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS Edited by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion: $21.95) A selection of Jackie’s favorite verse and some of her own, introduced by her daughter. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 6

3 THE NO-SPIN ZONE by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $24.95) The Fox News commentator presents interviews with famous figures in his tough, no-holds-barred style. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 7

4 THEODORE REX by Edmund Morris (Random House: $35) Teddy Roosevelt’s journey from patrician to progressive, in this sequel to Morris’ Pulitzer winner on our 26th president. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 2

5 THE FINAL DAYS by Barbara Olson (Regnery: $27.95) The Clintons’ last actions in the White House, from pardons to executive orders, with commentary from the late Olson. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 6

6 SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 by the editors of New York magazine (Harry N. Abrams: $19.95) The attacks, the mayhem, the grief and the rescues, in accounts and images. Last Week: 15 Weeks on List: 2

7 THE UNIVERSE IN A NUTSHELL by Stephen Hawking (Bantam: $35) The celebrated physicist offers up a simplified look at space, time and the origin of the cosmos. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 4

8 HOW I PLAY GOLF by Tiger Woods (Warner: $34.95) The links master explains his game in words and pictures, offering tips on the best ways to get from the tee to the cup. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 8

9 JACK by Jack Welch with John A. Byrne (Warner: $29.95) The life and times of a respected chief executive, from a Massachusetts childhood to his successful reinvention of General Electric. Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 12

10 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2002 (Guinness World Records: $27.95) New records from the world of human possibilities, from “extreme” bodies and stunts to sports and music. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

11 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ by Bruce H. Wilkinson (Multnomah: $9.99) Remaking your life according to a little-known biblical figure’s 32-word prayer. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 2

12 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) The co-author of “The One Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to show people how to manage change. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 90

13 ONE NATION by the editors of Life magazine (Little, Brown: $29.95) A portrait in photographs and words of the tragedy and triumph in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Last Week: 14 Weeks on List: 2

14 WHEN CHARACTER WAS KING by Peggy Noonan (Viking: $24.95) Former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan draws on her and others’ experience to distill the former president’s “greatness.” Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

15 HUGHES by Richard Hack (New Millennium: $28) How private memos, diaries and declassified FBI papers throw light onto the ambitions and manias of Howard Hughes. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 7