Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

March 17, 2002

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 THE SUMMONS by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A man discovers $3 million in his dead father’s house and hides it from his prodigal brother and a mysterious extortioner. Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 4

2 TISHOMINGO BLUES by Elmore Leonard (William Morrow: $25.95) A high diver plunges into the Delta drug trade and the Dixie Mafia after witnessing a murder from atop his rig. 4 Last Week: Weeks on List: 5

3 THE GOOD MEN by Charmaine Craig (Riverhead: $24.95) A village rector and the women he loves cope with their desires as inquisitors hunt for heretics in 14th century France. 6 Last Week: Weeks on List: 4

4 UP COUNTRY by Nelson Demille (Warner: $26.95) A U.S. Army investigator travels to Vietnam to probe a 30-year-old murder in which the only living eyewitness is an enemy soldier. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 5

5 THE COTTAGE by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press: $26.95) An aging movie star encounters a whole new world when money troubles force him to rent out part of his Bel-Air estate. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

6 THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $25.95) An art restorer and spy finds himself framed for the murder of a client and untangles a web of betrayals to find the killer. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

7 THE NANNY DIARIES by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (St. Martin’s: $24.95) The travails of an overworked and underappreciated Park Avenue caregiver. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

8 THE CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $26) The saga of a dysfunctional Midwestern family living at the end of the 20th century. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 27

9 BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS by Daj Sijie (Alfred A. Knopf: $18) Two Chinese youths use classic Western literature to free their minds in the face of communist re-education. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 10

10 2nd CHANCE by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $26.95) The Women’s Murder Club is back on the case, looking to stop a racist killer who doesn’t like cops. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

11 THREE WEEKS IN PARIS by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Doubleday: $24.95) Alumni of a Parisian art school return to honor a beloved teacher and confront their stormy pasts. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 2

12 THE MILLIONAIRES by Brad Meltzer (Warner: $25.95) Two brothers who loot the account of a deceased client at a private bank get more than they bargained for. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 8

13 THE JOHN FANTE READER Edited by Stephen Cooper (William Morrow: $25.95) Excerpts from the novels, stories and letters of the celebrated chronicler of Southern California life. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

14 HUNTING SEASON by Nevada Barr (Putnam: $24.95) When a body turns up in Mississippi’s Natchez Trace National Park, a ranger finds her investigation sabotaged at every turn. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 2

15 HATESHIP, FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, LOVESHIP, MARRIAGE by Alice Munro (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) Stories tracing the nuanced lives of women and their relationships. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 11

NON-FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 SELF MATTERS by Phillip C. McGraw (Simon & Schuster: $25) A self-improvement guru and “Oprah” regular teaches readers how to “create your life from the inside out.” Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 7

2 STUPID WHITE MEN ... AND OTHER SORRY EXCUSES FOR THE STATE OF THE NATION by Michael Moore (Regan Books: $24.95) Lampooning the Bush administration and more. Last Week: 3 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 discuss managing change. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 102

4 SACRED CONTRACTS by Caroline Myss (Harmony: $25) Lessons in decoding symbols, myths, intuition and coincidences to understand your purpose in life. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 5

5 YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR NEXT ONE by Mike Medavoy with Josh Young (Pocket Books: $27) Memoir of a studio exec’s rise from the Universal mailroom to movie mogul-dom. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 4

6 WHAT WENT WRONG by Bernard Lewis (Oxford University: $23) An esteemed historian describes the Islamic Middle East’s fall from enlightenment into repression and tyranny. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 5

7 BIAS by Bernard Goldberg (Regnery: $27.95) A veteran CBS reporter argues that the mainstream media have been seriously damaged by a liberal, closed-minded worldview. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 11

8 THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE by Christiane Northrup (Bantam: $27.95) A physician sees menopause, its symptoms and treatments as an opportunity for personal growth. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 3

9 10 STUPID THINGS COUPLES DO TO MESS UP THEIR RELATIONSHIPS by Laura Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $24.95) Blunt talk from the radio personality. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

10 SHADOW WARRIORS by Tom Clancy with Gen. Carl Stiner (Putnam: $29.95) The recent history of the U.S. military’s Special Forces and their usefulness when conventional tactics fail. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 4

11 THE BUREAU AND THE MOLE by David A. Vise (Atlantic Monthly: $25) The story behind Robert Hanssen, the veteran FBI agent who doubled as a Russian spy. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

12 THE SISTERS by Mary S. Lovell (W.W. Norton: $29.95) The story of England’s Mitford siblings, who blazed their way through international social, political and literary circles. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 2

13 SHAKEDOWN by Kenneth R. Timmerman (Regnery: $29.95) An investigative reporter contends that Jesse Jackson has used the race issue for personal gain. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

14 SATISFACTION by Kim Cattrall and Mark Levinson (Warner: $24.95) A star of HBO’s “Sex and the City” and her husband draw on viewer feedback for this guide to pleasing women. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 5

15 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: 4 Weeks on List: 42

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz.

2 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Theia: $10.95) Department store clerk Mirabelle meets an older man too good to be true.

3 FALL ON YOUR KNEES by Ann-Marie MacDonald (Scribner: $14) The travails of a family in coal-mining Nova Scotia.

4 THE LAST TIME THEY MET by Anita Shreve (Little, Brown: $13.95) Two poets share a lifelong passion.

5 A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) An ace detective is a prime murder suspect.

6 THE BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER by Amy Tan (Ballantine: $7.99) A ghostwriter uncovers her family’s anguished past.

7 SCARLET FEATHER by Maeve Binchy (Signet: $7.99) The swirling, hectic world of a Dublin catering company.

8 TELL NO ONE by Harlan Coben (Dell: $6.99) A long-dead love affair is revived when a man receives a strange message.

9 1st TO DIE by James Patterson (Warner Vision: $7.99) Four

women track a killer with a penchant for newlyweds.

10 A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $6.99) A man recalls the bittersweet love story of his youth.

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry.

2 A BEAUTIFUL MIND by Sylvia Nasar (Touchstone: $16) A brilliant mathematics professor’s battle with schizophrenia.

3 9-11 by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $8.95) An alternative view of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

4 THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) Life lessons based on ancient Toltec wisdom.

5 THE BLESSING OF A SKINNED KNEE by Wendy Mogel (Penguin: $14) Applying Jewish thought to raising children.

6 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting.

7 WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE ... AND YOUNG by Harold G. Moore and Joseph Galloway (Harper: $7.99) Against all odds.

8 PERSONAL HISTORY by Katharine Graham (Vintage:

$15) A memoir by the late publisher of the Washington Post.

9 THE TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

10 BLACK HAWK DOWN by Mark Bowden (Signet: $7.99) A gritty account of a disastrous 1993 military operation in Somalia.