BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST

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*--* 1 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Little, Brown: $21.95) 1 23 A murdered girl tells the story of her grieving family still learning to cope, the killer and the detective who hunts him

2 Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Little, Brown: -- 1 $27.95) Alex Cross helps a friend save the life of an old Army buddy, whose been framed by a quartet of murderers for a killing spree

3 I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson (Alfred 11 7 A. Knopf: $23) A darkly humorous tale of a woman juggling her high-powered career and family life

4 The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (Alfred A. Knopf: $26) A 2 5 12-year-old whose family was torn apart by the murder of her brother sees revenge as her only hope

5 Reversible Errors by Scott Turow (Farrar, Straus & 3 4 Giroux: $28) Defense attorney Arthur Raven uncovers new twists in a 10-year-old murder case, as his defendant awaits execution

6 The Christmas Train by David Baldacci (Warner: $19.95) A -- 2 washed-up journalist tries to reignite sparks with his lost love as they ride the rails in this cross-country holiday tale

7 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harcourt: $25) After a ship 14 3 disaster, a lone Indian man shares a raft with a Bengal tiger during a harrowing and hallucinatory trip

8 Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: -- 2 $19.95) Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is in a pudding trying to track down an evasive toy maker

9 You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: 8 8 $22) A pair of friends takes an around-the-world trip, handing out money to strangers

10 Seek My Face by John Updike (Alfred A. Knopf: $23) -- 1 Reveries of painter Hope Chafetz, who looks back on the births of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art and the men who loved her

11 Prey by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins: $26.95) A foray -- 1 into the chilling world of nanotechnology as a programmer frantically tries to stop a destructive swarm of tiny machines

12 Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: 5 6 $25.95) A series of phone calls prompts a brilliant chemist to embark on a search for a missing young prostitute

13 Quentins by Maeve Binchy (Dutton: $25.95) When a romance 10 4 sours, Ella Brady throws herself into a film documentary about a successful Dublin restaurant and the people who have dined there

14 Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts (Putnam: $25.95) The -- 2 Quinn clan is complete as Seth returns home, but he has a secret that threatens his budding romance with the town florist

15 Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Putnam: $26.95) At the 4 7 end of their police careers, two men enlist the help of Kinsey Millhone to help solve an old murder

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST

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*--* 1 Bush at War by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster: $28) -- 1 Inside the White House since the 2001 attacks, as the Bush administration runs the war on terrorism and puts Iraq in its gunsights

2 Journals by Kurt Cobain (Riverhead: $29.95) 10 4 Reproductions of the Nirvana lead singer’s journals, filled with drawings, plans for the band and his feelings on fame and music

3 Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State 2 38 of the Nation by Michael Moore (ReganBooks: $24.95) Lampooning the Bush administration and more

4 My Losing Season by Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: 5 6 $27.95) The sorrows of life with a bullying father and the consolations of playing basketball at a South Carolina military college

5 Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy (HarperCollins: $23.95) A 1 10 look at the career of the Dodger pitcher, arguably the game’s greatest southpaw, and the social mores he confronted

6 Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: -- 1 $27.95) The bestselling thriller writer spent millions on new forensic technology to unmask the man she believes was Jack the Ripper

7 A Long Way From Home by Tom Brokaw (Random House: -- 2 $24.95) Relying on other people’s stories for his books on the “Greatest Generation,” the NBC newsman turns to his South Dakota upbringing

8 Live From New York by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller 13 7 (Little, Brown: $25.95) A backstage recounting of the comic genius and egos of “Saturday Night Live.”

9 When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden by Bill 11 3 Maher (New Millennium: $27.95) A guide to the ineptitude of Americans and their government in the war on terrorism

10 Joined at the Heart by Al and Tipper Gore (Henry Holt: -- 1 $26) The former vice president and his wife look at the problems facing families today, drawing on their own experiences and those of others

11 The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost (Hyperion: -- 2 $30) The story of the 1913 U.S. Open, when a 20-year-old amateur stunned the golf world by defeating British champion Harry Vardon

12 Leadership by Rudolph W. Giuliani (Miramax: $25.95) The 3 8 former New York City mayor recalls how life’s lessons helped him deal with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

13 Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) 12 139 The coauthor of “The One-Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to discuss managing change

14 Good to Great by Jim Collins (HarperCollins: $27.50) How 14 19 a great product, a healthy corporate culture and a disciplined work force can propel a company to success

15 A Third Face by Samuel Fuller (Alfred A. Knopf: $35) -- 1 Posthumous memoir of the rowdy filmmaker who made “Shock Corridor” and “The Big Red One” and was lionized by Scorsese and Godard

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