BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

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

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

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

5 The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Picador: $13) Three women linked across time by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.”

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

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

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

9 Portrait in Sepia by Isabelle Allende (HarperPerennial: $13.95) Saga of a late 19th century Chilean family

10 Sisters Found by Joan Johnston (Harlequin: $7.50) Love and heartbreak with the sisters Faith, Hope and Charity

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Quill: $13.95) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds

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

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

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

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

6 The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner (Basic Books: $15) Hype and paranoia spread by the mass media

7 World Almanac and Book of Facts 2003 (World Almanac Books: $11.95) World events, war on terror and more

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

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

10 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Wisecracking essays about Parisian life

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