BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe (Farrar, Straus & 1 4 Giroux: $28.95) A North Carolina ingenue tries to fit in with the beautiful- people-in-training at an elite university.

2 Night Fall by Nelson DeMille (Warner Books: $26.95) Two -- 1 federal agents try to find a videotape to prove that the crash of a jet off Long Island was not caused by mechanical failure.

3 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton 4 10 Mifflin: $26) Charles Lindbergh becomes president in 1940, setting the country on a course of isolationism and nationwide pogroms.

4 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 5 62 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

5 Runaway by Alice Munro (Knopf: $25) A collection of 3 5 stories examining the surprises, betrayals and limits of love among couples, friends, parents and children.

6 Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins: $25.95) A -- 1 diamond pawned by a Hopi boy enmeshes retired detective Joe Leaphorn in the mystery of a 50-year-old plane crash.

7 London Bridges by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.95) 7 4 Alex Cross battles villains old and new as terrorists threaten to destroy the world’s largest cities.

8 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 6 89 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

9 The Final Solution by Michael Chabon (Fourth Estate: 10 2 $16.95) An elderly man befriends a young mute refugee from the Nazis and his parrot, which spews mysterious strings of numbers.

10 The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (Bloomsbury: -- 4 $24.95) An Oxford student is caught up in the go-go 1980s London of Margaret Thatcher, where opulence, class envy and ruthlessness reign.

11 The Da Vinci Code Special Illustrated Edition by Dan 8 4 Brown (Doubleday: $35) The blockbuster thriller, complete with images of all the artwork, symbols and locales mentioned in the text.

12 Whiteout by Ken Follett (Dutton: $26.95) A Scottish -- 1 medical lab’s security director tries to find a missing canister of a deadly virus during a Christmas Eve blizzard.

13 Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer -- 1 (Viking: $24.95) The barrister recounts his first case, defending a man accused of killing his bomber pilot father.

14 The Godfather Returns by Mark Winegardner (Random House: 2 2 $26.95) The “missing years” of the Corleone clan, filling the gap between Mario Puzo’s novel and the films.

15 How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $22) 11 3 Stories, some comic and some haunting, on mortality and the troubled times in which we live.

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

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*--* 1 America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy 1 11 Inaction by Jon Stewart et al. (Warner: $24.95) Comedy writers poke fun at U.S. politics and our institutions of democracy.

2 He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz 3 11 Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $19.95) The no-excuses guide to help women understand guys and get on with their lives.

3 The Last Season by Phil Jackson (Penguin: $24.95) The 4 6 former Lakers coach recounts last year’s turbulent season, in which egos ruled the court and a star-studded team stumbled.

4 Chronicles, Volume One by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: 5 9 $24) The songwriter reflects on the influences that helped shape him and his struggle to rediscover his creativity.

5 When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin 2 6 (Hyperion: $23.95) The veteran comedian takes on Diane Sawyer, big oil and mass marketing in a stinging social commentary.

6 The Perricone Promise by Nicholas Perricone (Warner: 6 3 $27.95) A physician advises how to look and feel younger in 28 days through diet, supplements and skin products.

7 The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker (Black Dog & 13 2 Leventhal: $60) The best of the journal’s scribblings, plus a pair of CDs containing every cartoon it has ever published.

8 His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis 7 5 (Knopf: $26.95) A portrait of the most imposing Founding Father, who held a young nation together through its rocky beginnings.

9 Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith: $19.99) 8 4 Seven steps to improving your life by using faith to develop self-esteem and help let go of the past.

10 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris -- 18 (Little, Brown: $24.95) Popular humorist recounts childhood experiences with his delightfully dysfunctional family.

11 Scene of the Crime: Photographs From the LAPD Archive -- 2 (Harry N. Abrams: $35) The Black Dahlia and other images of midcentury mayhem, with essays by James Ellroy and others.

12 What’s the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank -- 1 (Metropolitan Books: $24) How the populist Midwest came to be aligned with conservatives and the Republican Party.

13 Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (Gotham: $17.50) A -- 27 British novelist and journalist offers her zero-tolerance approach to bad punctuation, drawn from her pioneering BBC series.

14 How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) by Ann Coulter 9 8 (Crown Forum: $26.95) The conservative pundit explains why she thinks liberals have it all wrong.

15 The Little Stuff Matters Most by Bernie Brillstein et al. -- 1 (Gotham: $20) The veteran talent manager gives his top 50 rules for surviving 50 years in Hollywood.

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