BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

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

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 Deception Point by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A president’s reelection rests on an object buried in the Arctic.

6 The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander M. Smith (Anchor: $11.95) A Botswana detective has a rival.

7 Birthright by Nora Roberts (Berkley: $7.99) An archeologist investigates ancient bones unearthed at a development site.

8 Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (Griffin: $14.95) A new technology threatens the balance of international power.

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

10 The Last Detective by Robert Crais (Ballantine: $7.99) Kidnappers avenge P.I. Elvis Cole’s actions in Vietnam.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) How a serial killer haunted the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

2 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House: $13.95) A professor keeps literature alive for her students.

3 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

4 Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas (Random House: $12.95) An Iranian girl grows up in Newport Beach.

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

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

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

8 The Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $14) A practical guide to finding inner peace.

9 Moneyball by Michael Lewis (Norton: $13.95) How Billy Beane transformed the Oakland A’s into a winning franchise.

10 Positively Fifth Street by James McManus (Picador: $15) An insider’s view of the World Series of poker.

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