BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 The King of Torts by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) The 1 3 case of a young man charged in a street killing turns out to be tied to a conspiracy involving a pharmaceutical giant

2 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Little, Brown: $21.95) 2 35 A murdered girl tells the story of her grieving family still learning to cope, the killer and the detective who hunts him

3 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harcourt: $25) After a ship 4 14 disaster, a lone Indian boy shares a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger during a harrowing and hallucinatory trip

4 Pattern Recognition by William Gibson (Putnam: $25.95) A 3 2 market research consultant is on the trail of whoever’s behind some guerrilla computer video clips roaming the Internet

5 Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin’s: $27.95) 5 6 Separated twins grow up in very different circumstances and run against each other in the race for Connecticut governor

6 Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan (Tor Books: 11 7 $29.95) The monumental “Wheel of Time” story continues, as armies on distant worlds rattle their swords

7 The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson 6 2 Braun (Putnam: $23.95) A glamorous retiree returns to Moose County and puts on a show in the old opera house

8 Final Justice by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam: $26.95) A police 13 3 detective takes on homicide cases involving high-fliers of Philadelphia society as well as the city’s working stiffs

9 Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan -- 1 (Viking: $24.95) A successful London editor faces a midlife coming of age when she loses her husband to a conniving assistant

10 Prey by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins: $26.95) A foray 7 13 into the chilling world of nanotechnology as a programmer tries to stop a destructive swarm of tiny machines

11 You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: 8 19 $22) Two friends take an around-the-world trip, handing out money to strangers

12 Flash House by Aimee Liu (Warner: $24.95) A woman -- 1 searches in 1949 Kashmir for her journalist husband, whose plane went down and who was never found

13 The Last Detective by Robert Crais (Doubleday: $24.95) -- 1 P.I. Elvis Cole faces his toughest case when kidnappers, seeking revenge for Cole’s actions in Vietnam, snatch his girlfriend’s son

14 Three Junes by Julia Glass (Pantheon: $25) In the 12 4 aftermath of the matriarch’s death, a Scottish family comes together on three vital summers to mark how family members have changed

15 Clara by Janice Galloway (Simon & Schuster: $25) The -- 1 indefatigable Clara, who weathered a tumultuous life to serve as muse to her husband, composer Robert Schumann

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

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*--* 1 What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson (Random 1 4 House: $24.95) A look at 50 professionals, some successful, some not, and their thoughts on pursuing dreams through their careers

2 Atkins for Life by Robert C. Atkins (St. Martin’s: 2 4 $24.95) The physician continues his mission against low-fat diets, arguing that carbohydrates are the true culprits in weight gain

3 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: 5 28 $21.95) How to improve relationships and encourage happiness and contentment by living in the present

4 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Crown: -- 1 $25.95) A chronicle of how a serial killer, posing as a charming doctor, haunted the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

5 Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington (Crown: $22) 4 4 Pundit-columnist Huffington takes aim at the effect of corporate and political greed on the nation

6 The Savage Nation by Michael Savage (WND Books: $24.99) 8 6 The confrontational radio show host is on a mission to save the nation from itself, railing against feminism and the lack of school prayer

7 Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of 6 50 the Nation by Michael Moore (ReganBooks: $24.95) Lampooning the Bush administration and more

8 Journals by Kurt Cobain (Riverhead: $29.95) Reproductions -- 8 of the Nirvana lead singer’s journals, filled with drawings, plans for the band and his feelings on fame and music

9 Vivir Para Contarla by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Alfred A. 13 5 Knopf: $25) The first installment of the laureate’s memoir (“Living to Tell the Tale”), in Spanish, describes his early life in Colombia

10 The Mailroom by David Rensin (Ballantine: $24.95) 9 2 Hollywood agents past and present describe what it’s like to start at the bottom in a talent agency and dream of the top

11 Good to Great by Jim Collins (HarperCollins: $27.50) How 10 25 a great product, a healthy corporate culture and a disciplined work force can propel a company to success

12 Kingdom of Fear by Hunter S. Thompson (Simon & Schuster: 3 5 $25) An unorthodox memoir from the gonzo journalist, who opines on matters personal and political

13 Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy (HarperCollins: $23.95) A look 12 18 at the career of the Dodger pitcher, arguably the game’s greatest southpaw, and the social mores he confronted

14 On the Natural History of Destruction by W.G. Sebald -- 1 (Random House: $23.95) Essays by the late author of “Austerlitz” that meditate on memory and survival in a century filled with much cruelty

15 This Just In by Bob Schieffer (Putnam: $26.95) Read all -- 1 about it: Headlines from the life and career of a veteran journalist and host of CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

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