BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Da Vinci Code by Dan 1 51 Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

2 The Five People You Meet 4 25 in Heaven by Mitch Albom (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

3 The Last Juror by John 2 7 Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A convicted killer on parole for a brutal rape and murder is bent on retribution as he returns to his small town.

4 3rd Degree by James 3 2 Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown: $26.95) A quartet of women investigate a spate of violent incidents with the markings of political terror.

5 Bad Business by Robert B. -- 1 Parker (Penguin: $24.95) A Boston private eye hired to investigate adultery is drawn into a world of corporate corruption and profiteering.

6 Old School by Tobias Wolff 11 16 (Knopf: $22) A New England prep school scholarship student with literary ambitions tries to win an audience with Ernest Hemingway.

7 Aloft by Chang-rae Lee -- 1 (Riverhead: $24.95) A semi-retired pilot from Long Island considers his well-heeled life and his disengagement from the people he loves.

8 The Best Awful by Carrie 15 9 Fisher (Simon & Schuster: $24) Suzanne Vale battles drugs and bipolar disorder in this black-comic sequel to “Postcards From the Edge.”

9 Absolute Friends by John 14 10 le Carre (Little, Brown: $26.95) Two former Cold War spies are drawn into the rising political opposition to the United States’ invasion of Iraq.

10 The Birth of Venus by -- 1 Sarah Dunant (Random House: $21.95) A love story amid the political, religious and artistic ferment in 14th century Florence as the Renaissance shapes Europe.

11 A Death in Vienna by 6 3 Daniel Silva (Putnam: $25.95) An art restorer-spy probes the death of a Holocaust survivor who could have linked the next chancellor’s father to Nazi atrocities.

12 The Princes of Ireland by 10 2 Edward Rutherfurd (Doubleday: $27.95) A sweeping historical tale of the Emerald Isle featuring druids, chieftains, noblewomen and farmwives.

13 Angels & Demons by Dan 12 12 Brown (Atria: $17.95) A Harvard scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Catholic Church by a secret society known as the Illuminati.

14 The Curious Incident of -- 19 the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Doubleday: $22.95) Falsely accused, an autistic teen seeks the real murderer of a neighbor’s poodle.

15 The Game by Laurie R. King -- 1 (Bantam: $23.95) Sleuth Mary Russell and her husband and partner Sherlock Holmes search in India for a British spy they fear is being held hostage or dead.

*--*

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

*--*

*--* 1 The Sexy Years by Suzanne Somers (Crown: $25) Somers 11 2 advocates the use of natural hormone replacement therapy to ease the symptoms of menopause.

2 The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Laura 1 11 Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $24.95) Talk show host tells how to manage the “very simple creature” that is man.

3 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 2 53 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

4 The Power of Intention by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: 8 2 $24.95) How to spark creativity by drawing upon a field of energy that exists all around us.

5 An Enduring Love by Farah Pahlavi (Simon & Schuster: -- 1 $26.95) The former empress of Iran recalls her life with the shah and their days in exile after the revolution.

6 Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken -- 29 (Dutton: $24.95) A heaping dose of subversive wit aimed at politicos and pundits on the right.

7 American Dynasty by Kevin Phillips (Viking: $25.95) An 6 10 account of the Bush family’s use of its Ivy League network, political maneuvering and vast wealth to win the White House.

8 The World According to Mr. Rogers by Fred Rogers -- 12 (Hyperion: $16.95) Some of the collected wisdom (and a few songs) from the late, beloved television personality.

9 Howling at the Moon by Walter Yetnikoff (Broadway Books: -- 1 $24.95) Former CBS Records mogul recalls his days of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll during the industry’s golden age. (Reviewed by Robert Hilburn on Page 2.)

10 Deliver Us From Evil by Sean Hannity (Regan Books: 4 4 $26.95) The author argues against appeasement and multilateralism and for a proactive stance in fighting our enemies.

11 The Price of Loyalty by Ron Suskind (Simon & Schuster: 7 10 $26) A scathing portrayal of the George W. Bush White House by former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill.

12 Down and Dirty Pictures by Peter Biskind (Simon & 5 11 Schuster: $26.95) A look at the rise of indie films and the influence wielded by the Sundance Film Festival and Harvey and Bob Weinstein’s Miramax.

13 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: 12 73 $21.95) How to improve one’s relationships and find contentment and even happiness by living in the now.

14 The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong (Knopf: $24) -- 1 British writer reexamines her quest for spirituality after leaving a Roman Catholic convent for a secular life and being diagnosed with epilepsy.

15 Rise of the Vulcans by James Mann (Viking: $25.95) A -- 1 detailed account of the Bush foreign policy team and the evolution of the neoconservatives who dominate it.

*--*