BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

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

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

4 The Summons by John Grisham (Dell: $7.99) A dead judge leaves his sons an old house that contains a $3-million secret

5 Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen (Warner: $7.99) An obituary writer unravels the bizarre causes of a rock star’s death

6 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Harcourt: $18) A vivid picture of a single day in a woman’s life

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

8 Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King (Pocket: $7.99) “Riding the Bullet,” “Autopsy Room Four” and other dark tales

9 The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun (Jove: $6.99) Felines help solve mysteries in Moose County

10 Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro (Vintage: $14) Women’s lives

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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 Catch Me if You Can by Frank W. Abagnale (Broadway: $14.95) The world-class cons of a high school dropout

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

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

5 The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury (Thunder’s Mouth Press: $14.95) A history of Gotham’s underworld

6 The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup (Bantam: $18.95) Symptoms and treatments

7 What Went Wrong by Bernard Lewis (HarperPerennial: $12.95) The Islamic Middle East’s fall into repression

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

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

10 The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean (Ballantine: $14) Centuries of theft, hatred and greed over a delicate flower

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