BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Picador: $15) A Greek family embraces the American dream.

2 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Catholic Church.

3 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harvest Books: $14) A boy shares a lifeboat with a tiger on a harrowing trip.

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

5 Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (HarperTorch: $7.99) A girl’s murder causes three friends to confront their pasts.

6 Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (Simon & Schuster: $14) A Zulu pastor in the South Africa of the 1940s.

7 East of Eden by John Steinbeck (Penguin: $16) A retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel set in California’s Salinas Valley.

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

9 Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Berkley: $7.99) Kinsey Millhone reopens an unsolved 18-year-old murder case.

10 Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Warner: $7.99) Alex Cross helps to clear a Vietnam vet framed for murder.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (Broadway: $15) Restoring a cozy home in glorious Italy.

2 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Quill: $13.95) Shed pounds with a low-carb diet.

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

4 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15.95) How an also-ran became America’s favorite racehorse.

5 Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Picador: $14) A boy goes to live with his mother’s psychiatrist.

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

7 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) Expose of the fast-food industry.

8 A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer (Health Communications: $9.95) A memoir of horrific child abuse.

9 The Best American Essays 2003 edited by Anne Fadiman (Mariner Books: $13).

10 Day Hikes Around Los Angeles by Robert Stone (Day Hike Books: $14.95) Guide to the city’s varied wildernesses.

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