BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 Saturday by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A 10 2 day in the life of a neurosurgeon brings both quotidian and earth-shattering struggles in post-9/11 London.

2 With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George 1 2 (HarperCollins: $26.95) New Scotland Yard is all over the trail of a serial killer once the latest victim turns out to be white.

3 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran 2 3 Foer (Houghton Mifflin: $24.95) A 9-year-old wunderkind seeks the lock that fits a key belonging to his dead father.

4 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 5 106 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

5 Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Little, 3 6 Brown: $27.95) FBI agent John O’Hara hunts for the killer of a young investment broker who was about to go on his honeymoon.

6 Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House: $21.95) An 8 8 Indiana teen on a scholarship tries to overcome her outsider status at a prestigious Boston prep school.

7 The Broker by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A 4 12 high-rolling attorney wins a pardon by agreeing to lead the CIA to a satellite surveillance system and the agents who want to buy it.

8 State of Fear by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins: -- 13 $27.95) A globe-trotting thriller involving nefarious environmentalists and manufactured threats of global warming.

9 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 7 79 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement-park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

10 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: -- 10 $23) An aging minister facing death explains his life and religious beliefs in a letter to his young son.

11 Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $25.95) An 13 6 explosion in Rome and a dossier in the hands of terrorists draw art restoration expert Gabriel Allon back into his former life as a spy.

12 Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein (HarperCollins: $17.99) -- 1 The English language gets turned upside down in this posthumous book from the children’s poet.

13 Cold Service by Robert B. Parker (Putnam: $24.95) 6 3 Spenser nurses his wounded friend Hawk and tries to destroy the gang of Ukrainian thugs that controls his suburban Boston town.

14 Drama City by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown: $24.95) -- 1 An ex-con bent on the straight-and-narrow gets caught up in the violent world he tried so hard to leave behind.

15 Yiddish With Dick and Jane by Ellis Weiner and Barbara -- 2 Davilman (Little, Brown: $14.95) All grown up, Dick and Jane make their way in a world of tsuris (troubles), complete with Yiddish glossary.

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

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*--* 1 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $25.95) 1 11 Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

2 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 2 104 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

3 DisneyWar by James B. Stewart (Simon & Schuster: $29.95) 8 7 A look inside the personality conflicts that raged inside the media giant, making it anything but the happiest place on Earth.

4 The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze 9 3 Orman (Riverhead: $24.95) How to get out from under student loans and credit card debt and manage money.

5 French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf: 3 12 $22) The chief executive of the French wine conglomerate Clicquot Inc. reveals the French secret of eating for pleasure without the bulge.

6 Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald (Broadway Books: 5 2 $26) The saga of the corporate dealings and financial trickery behind Enron’s meteoric rise and disastrous fall.

7 Collapse by Jared Diamond (Viking: $29.95) Diamond 12 13 examines why great societies such as the Anasazi and the Maya collapsed and what modern society can do to prevent future die-offs.

8 Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott 4 3 (Riverhead: $24.95) The novelist and essayist offers a new compilation of columns that examines her country and her Christian faith.

9 Blood Brother by Anne Bird (Regan Books: $25.95) Scott 10 3 Peterson’s sister, given up by their mother at birth, explains why she believes he is guilty of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.

10 On Bull... by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University -- 2 Press: $9.95) A leading philosopher takes on society’s view of the fine line between truth and lying.

11 He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz -- 27 Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $19.95) A no-excuses guide to help women understand guys and get on with their lives.

12 A Deadly Game by Catherine Crier (ReganBooks: $27.95) A 6 3 legal analyst tells the inside story of the Scott Peterson investigation and includes photos, documents and evidence files.

13 Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith: $19.99) 11 21 Seven steps to improving your life by using faith to develop self-esteem, let go of the past and fulfill your potential.

14 Chronicles, Volume One by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: 7 25 $24) The songwriter reflects on the influences that helped shape him and his struggle to rediscover his creativity.

15 The Orientalist by Tom Reiss (Random House: $25.95) The -- 3 compelling story of how Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew from the Caucasus, reinvented himself as a Muslim prince and man of letters.

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