Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 VALHALLA RISING by Clive Cussler (Putnam: $27.95) A luxury cruise ship sinks, and National Underwater Maritime Administration Director Dirk Pitt must investigate. Last Week -- ; Weeks on List 2

2 HOSTAGE by Robert Crais (Doubleday: $24.95) When a family is taken hostage, former LAPD SWAT negotiator Jeff Talley steps in and finds that things are not what they seem. Last Week 2; Weeks on List 4

3 THE FORGOTTEN by Faye Kellerman (William Morrow: $26) Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus return to solve a double murder and help a troubled teen. Last Week 8; Weeks on List 2

4 SUZANNE’S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $22.95) A woman gains insights into the boyfriend who left her from the diary of another who knew him. Last Week 5 ; Weeks on List 5

5 THE SMOKE JUMPER by Nicholas Evans (Delacorte: $26.95) A love triangle among best friends is played out in the world of firefighting in the Montana wilderness. Last Week -- ; Weeks on List 1

6 WHAT YOU OWE ME by Bebe Moore Campbell (Putnam: $25.95) Friendship and betrayal between a hotel maid and a Holocaust survivor in 1940s California. Last Week -- ; Weeks on List 2

7 HOW TO BE GOOD by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $24.95) An altruistic doctor wages a carnal and philosophical war between her desires for adultery and being a faithful wife. Last Week 9; Weeks on List 6

8 CANE RIVER by Lalita Tademy (Warner: $24.95) A family chronicle about the experiences of four generations of women born into slavery on the Cane River in Louisiana. Last Week 14; Weeks on List 9

9 ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS by E. Lynn Harris (Doubleday: $19.95) A retired bisexual NFL tight end is reunited with the actress-recording star he left at the altar. Last Week 13; Weeks on List 6

10 EDGEWATER ANGELS by Sandro Meallet (Doubleday: $22.95) A young boy’s coming of age is imperiled by the dangerous appeal of gangs and the crazy life in San Pedro. Last Week --; Weeks on List 1

11 BACK WHEN WE WERE GROWNUPS by Anne Tyler (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) A 50-something widow and loving mom, coping with midlife, begins to question the decisions she has made. Last Week --; Weeks on List 15

12 STORMY WEATHER by Paula Woods (W.W. Norton: $24.95) The LAPD’s Charlotte Justice investigates a black filmmaker’s death and finds plenty of racial tension in the City of Angels. Last Week --; Weeks on List 2

13 THE FOURTH HAND by John Irving (Random House: $26.95) A television reporter loses his hand to a hungry lion in a freak accident that is broadcast on TV. Last Week 6; Weeks on List 8

14 HEMLOCK BAY by Catherine Coulter (Putnam: $24.95) Husband-and-wife FBI agents pursue myriad killers, including a collector whose art forgeries are part of an intricate conspiracy. Last Week 3; Weeks on List 3

15 THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR by Barbara Delinsky (Simon & Schuster: $25) A reclusive widow becomes pregnant, and her female neighbors wonder which of their husbands is to blame. Last Week 7; Weeks on List 4

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NONFICTION

Southern California

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 1; Weeks on List 15

2 THE WILD BLUE by Stephen Ambrose (Simon & Schuster: $26) The story of the men and boys who flew the B-24s over Nazi Germany in World War II. Last Week 2; Weeks on List 2

3 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 5; Weeks on List 76

4 THE ROAD TO WEALTH by Suze Orman (Riverhead: $29.95) An encyclopedic reference for managing your financial situation from the “Nine Steps to Financial Freedom” money guru. Last Week 10; Weeks on List 3

5 THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD by Simon Winchester (HarperCollins: $26) The story of William Smith, who founded modern geology despite being snubbed by the scientific elite. Last Week 9; Weeks on List 3

6 JUSTICE by Dominick Dunne (Crown: $24) The bespectacled writer describes the high-profile crimes he’s covered as well as a painfully private one: his daughter’s murder. Last Week 6; Weeks on List 8

7 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House: $24.95) How three men transformed a thoroughbred horse from a neurotic also-ran into an American sports icon. Last Week 3; Weeks on List 26

8 A SHORT GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE by Anna Quindlen (Random House: $12.95) The columnist reflects on what it takes to “get a life” by living deeply rather than merely existing. Last Week 14; Weeks on List 40

9 HEAVIER THAN HEAVEN by Charles R. Cross (Hyperion: $24.95) A biography of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain examines the circumstances of his life and the events that led to his suicide. Last Week 11; Weeks on List 2

10 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s story of the life lessons he received during weekly visits to an older, dying friend. Last Week 12; Weeks on List 176

11 GHOST SOLDIERS by Hampton Sides (Doubleday: $24.95) How a small group of elite American soldiers made a daring rescue of British and American war prisoners in 1945. Last Week 4; Weeks on List 15

12 THE BOTANY OF DESIRE by Michael Pollan (Random House: $24.95) How four plants and their products--apple, potato, tulip and cannabis--have influenced human destiny. Last Week --; Weeks on List 4

13 FOUNDING BROTHERS by Joseph J. Ellis (Alfred A. Knopf: $26 ) The intertwined lives of America’s founders, their squabbles and collaborations, long before they were deified in history books. Last Week 8; Weeks on List 19

14 NICKEL AND DIMED by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt: $23) Concealing her identity, the author worked a series of low-paying jobs to see if the American dream is available to everyone. Last Week 13; Weeks on List 11

15 DIANA’S BOYS by Christopher Andersen (William Morrow: $26) William and Harry--”the heir and the spare”--in the years since Princess Diana’s 1997 death in a Parisian car crash. Last Week --; Weeks on List 1