BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 Atonement by Ian McEwan (Anchor: $14) A haunting novel of guilt and redemption in World War II England

2 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Harvest Books: $12) A day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway and her London coterie

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

4 The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (Griffin: $13.95) The travails of an overworked caregiver

5 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin: $14) A teenage girl is haunted by her mother’s death

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

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

8 Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella (Delta: $10.95) A bride-to-be faces the wedding wishes of two mothers

9 The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor: $11.95) Botswana’s female private eye

10 Dreamcatcher by Stephen King (Pocket Books: $7.99) In the Maine woods, four old friends battle a sinister alien foe

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

3 Dreaming War by Gore Vidal (Thunder’s Mouth: $11.95) Arguing that greed, not justice, underlies Bush’s focus on Iraq

4 Power and Terror by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $11.95) Alternatives to militarism and violence

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

6 Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (Random House: $12.95) A girl’s African childhood

7 What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff et al. (Workman: $13.95) Pregnancy explained

8 Trading Spaces: Behind the Scenes edited by Brian Kramer (Meredith Books: $19.95) Quick room makeovers

9 The Hard Questions by Susan Piver (Jeremy P. Tarcher: $10) Queries for couples to get to know each other better

10 Addicted to War by Joel Andreas (AK Press: $8) How war is an inevitable byproduct of the military industrial complex

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