BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton 4 2 Mifflin: $26) Charles Lindbergh becomes president in 1940, setting the country on a course of isolationism and nationwide pogroms.

2 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 1 81 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

3 California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (William Morrow: 9 2 $24.95) Three brothers try to find a killer who left a young girl’s body behind an Orange County fruit-packing plant.

4 Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella (Dial: $23) A -- 1 London newlywed depressed over a lack of closet space for her new trinkets discovers she has a sibling who hates to shop.

5 Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton (Berkley: $23.95) A -- 1 vampire hunter investigating a series of slain strippers is torn between her obligations to the worldly and the undead.

6 The Dark Tower VII by Stephen King (Donald M. Grant: $35) 5 2 Roland and his ka-tet near their goal, the Dark Tower, but the gunslingers face mutants, vampires and the fearsome Crimson King.

7 The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle (Viking: $25.95) An 10 4 assistant to zoology professor Alfred Kinsey becomes immersed in an inner circle of researchers participating in sexual experiments.

8 Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke 2 6 (Bloomsbury: $27.95) A reclusive magician teams with a risk-taking younger man to delve into England’s magical past.

9 Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Sidney Sheldon (William 6 3 Morrow: $25.95) Two widows try to find out who killed their husbands and wants them dead too.

10 Trace by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $26.95) Medical 3 5 examiner Kay Scarpetta is called back to Richmond, Va., to help her former colleagues determine what killed a 14-year-old girl.

11 Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (Dutton: $25.95) 7 2 Tragedy strikes a small village on a Greek island, forever changing the world of the travelers and local residents who call it home.

12 All That Matters by Jan Goldstein (Hyperion: $17.95) A -- 1 distraught young woman on the verge of ending her life is helped by her grandmother determined to help her rediscover joy.

13 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 8 54 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

14 Tijuana Straits by Kem Nunn (Scribner: $25) A washed-up 13 6 surfer gets the chance to help a fellow soul on the run from danger in the no-man’s-land along the Mexican border.

15 The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith -- 1 (Pantheon: $19.95) A woman investigates the case of a young man who falls to his death in an Edinburgh concert hall.

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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 3 Inaction by Jon Stewart et al (Warner: $24.95) Comedy writers poke fun at U.S. politics and our institutions of democracy.

2 Family First by Phil McGraw (Free Press: $26) A 4 3 day-by-day guide to raising cooperative, caring and competent children through effective parenting and putting family first.

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

4 Unfit for Command by John E. O’Neill and Jerome R. Corsi 6 8 (Regnery: $27.95) Vietnam vets accuse presidential nominee John F. Kerry of misdeeds regarding his wartime service.

5 Crimes Against Nature by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- 1 (HarperCollins: $21.95) The environmental attorney argues that the government’s cozying up to corporations threatens our health, national security and even democracy.

6 The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 8 83 $19.99) How the “God ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

7 Chronicles, Volume One by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: -- 1 $24) The songwriter’s reflections on the influences that helped shape him.

8 In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon: 10 4 $19.95) In cartoon format, a chain-smoking Manhattan pessimist is convinced that the world ended with the Sept. 11 attacks.

9 Another... Night... by Nick Flynn (W.W. Norton: $23.95) -- 1 Poet Flynn recounts the years he spent working in a Boston homeless shelter, where he crosses paths with his troubled father.

10 The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty by Kitty 2 3 Kelley (Doubleday: $29.95) A critical look at an insular, powerful dynasty that has spawned two presidents, two governors and a senator.

11 Confessions of an Heiress by Paris Hilton (Fireside: $22) 5 5 The do’s and don’ts of beauty, fashion, etiquette -- and life in general -- from the hotel-chain heiress, model and current it-girl.

12 Chain of Command by Seymour M. Hersh (HarperCollins: 9 3 $25.95) The investigative reporter traces the nation’s path from Sept. 11 to abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison.

13 Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (Gotham: $17.50) A 15 25 British novelist and journalist offers her zero-tolerance approach to bad punctuation, drawn from her pioneering BBC series.

14 Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton: -- 1 $26.95) How a lad with no university education from humble origins in the English countryside became Shakespeare.

15 How to Remodel a Man by W. Bruce Cameron (St. Martin’s 12 2 Press: $19.95) For anyone determined to change male behavior, a man offers step-by-step advice on how men think.

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