BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 White Oleander by Janet Fitch (Back Bay Books: $13.95) Her mother in jail, a teenager survives in L.A. foster homes

2 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) Opera mingles with mayhem in South America

3 The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (Picador: $15) A Midwestern family unravels at the 20th century’s end

4 Empire Falls by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class folk in Maine

5 The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (Warner: $7.99) Two brothers plan a computer theft from their ungrateful employer

6 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz

7 Table for Two by Nora Roberts (Silhouette: $7.50) Love is stirring in the culinary world in this pair of romances

8 Violets Are Blue by James Patterson (Warner: $7.99) A series of brutal deaths has links to a vampire underground

9 One Door Away From Heaven by Dean Koontz (Bantam: $7.99) Abusive parents and a young girl’s belief in UFOs

10 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (Anchor Books: $10) Literary light in a communist village

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon

2 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Fiscal parenting

3 Lucky by Alice Sebold (Back Bay Books: $11.95) The writer recounts her rape when she was a college freshman

4 John Adams by David McCullough (Touchstone: $18.95) The greatness of America’s second president

5 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom

6 Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt: $13) A writer works in low-wage America to see how the poor live

7 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry

8 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (Vintage: $14) A 22-year-old raises his kid brother

9 Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Avon: $7.99) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds

10 Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (Broadway: $11.95) Learning life lessons from a dying former teacher

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