BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks a killer.

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

3 The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $12.95) Teen lovers, interrupted by World War II, get another chance.

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

5 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

6 Bleachers by John Grisham (Dell: $6.99) A high school reunion centers on a dying football coach and broken dreams.

7 The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Amistad: $13.95) Love and betrayal on a black slave owner’s plantation.

8 The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Harvest: $14) A time traveler falls in love with a teen heiress.

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

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

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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

2 Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (Anchor: $14.95) Murder within a radical religious sect.

3 Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (Broadway: $12.95) Learning life’s lessons from a dying former teacher.

4 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

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

6 Dude, Where’s My Country? by Michael Moore (Warner: $14.95) How to wrest control from conservatives.

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

8 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Quirky reflections on life in Paris and elsewhere.

9 Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels (Vintage: $13) How early Christians embraced the gospel of John over that of Thomas.

10 Stupid White Men by Michael Moore (Regan Books: $13.95) Lampooning the Bush administration and more.

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