Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

September 23, 2001

FICTION

Southern California Rating

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

2 THE SURGEON by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine: $24.95) A creepy serial killer, adept at using a scalpel on his victims, stalks a Boston doctor as homicide detectives hunt for clues. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

3 ENVY by Sandra Brown (Warner: $25.95) A reclusive writer sets out to destroy a double-dealing publisher, regardless of the innocent victims involved. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

4 FURY by Salman Rushdie (Random House: $24.95) A restless professor wanders the Western world in a story that is part family romance and part biting satire of millennial Manhattan. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

5 PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger (Atlantic Monthly: $24) In 1960s Minnesota, a father struggles to raise three children, one of whom is on the lam. Last Week 9 Weeks on List 2

6 LONG TIME NO SEE by Susan Isaacs (HarperCollins: $26) Sleuth Judith Singer follows the trail left by the murderer of her Long Island neighbor, a banker and perfect mom. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

7 LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956 by Garrison Keillor (Viking: $24.95) The sorrows of adolescence and the not-so-virtuous beginnings of a young writer in a sleepy Midwestern burg. Last Week 8 Weeks on List 2

8 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 4 Weeks on List 4

9 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 1 Weeks on List 3

10 SUZANNE’S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $22.95) A woman gains insights into the boyfriend who left her from a diary written by another woman who knew him. Last Week 7 Weeks on List 7

11 MONEY, MONEY, MONEY by Ed McBain (Simon & Schuster: $25) A grisly discovery at the city zoo and a stash of dirty money cause trouble for detectives at the 87th and 88th precincts. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

12 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 5 Weeks on List 11

13 TOTAL RECALL by Sara Paretsky (Delacorte: $25.95) V.I. Warshawski confronts the insurance industry as tempers flare around passage of a bill to compensate Holocaust survivors. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

14 BLUE DIARY by Alice Hoffman (Putnam: $24.95) A happy marriage and idyllic family life are rocked by a dark revelation about the husband, a seemingly all-around good guy. Last Week 12 Weeks on List 6

15 A MURDER, A MYSTERY AND A MARRIAGE by Mark Twain (W.W. Norton: $16.95) An 1876 “lost story” by Twain depicts a humble Missouri farmer’s plans to marry off his daughter. 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 1 Weeks on List 17

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 3 Weeks on List 4

3 SAVAGE BEAUTY by Nancy Milford (Random House: $29.95) The life of Edna St. Vincent Millay and her reckless pursuit of poetry and seduction in the early years of the 20th century. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

4 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 8 Weeks on List 4

5 CALL ME CRAZY by Anne Heche (Scribner: $25) Heartache and childhood tragedy preceded Heche’s rise to stardom and much-publicized romance with comedian Ellen DeGeneres. Last week -- Weeks on List 1

6 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 78

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 4 Weeks on List 28

8 RO L.A. by Patt Morrison (Angel City Press: $30) Tales past and present about Angelenos’ struggles with the Los Angeles River, with photographs by Mark Lamonica. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

9 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 14 Weeks on List 178

10 AVA’S MAN by Rick Bragg (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) The life of Bragg’s sturdy maternal grandfather who, with wife Ava, raised seven children in poverty in rural Alabama and Georgia. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

11 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 2 Weeks on List 5

12 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 13 Weeks on List 10

13 CROSSING OVER by John Edward (Jodere Group: $23.95) A memoir of the psychic’s upbringing and first hints of his abilities, and his struggles with fame after starting a hit TV program. Last Week -- Weeks on List 1

14 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 7 Weeks on List 21

15 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 9 Weeks on List 17