BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Lighthouse by P.D. 1 3 James (Knopf: $25.95) Det. Adam Dalgliesh is called to the Cornish coast to solve the murder of an acclaimed novelist who had upset his very prominent neighbors.

2 The Sea by John Banville 4 5 (Alfred A. Knopf: $23) A widower struggles to rid himself of the yoke of memory by visiting the coastal town where he spent time as a boy.

3 Christ the Lord by Anne 6 5 Rice (Alfred A. Knopf: $25.95) A 7-year-old Jesus returns to Nazareth after the death of King Herod and gradually discovers his power to heal and raise the dead.

4 Mary, Mary by James 2 3 Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.95) FBI detective Alex Cross seeks the killer of an A-list actress, her chauffeur and a female movie producer as fear sweeps through Hollywood.

5 The Lincoln Lawyer by 15 9 Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.95) An L.A. attorney hired to defend a rich woman’s son fears for his own safety after the murder of his private investigator.

6 The Camel Club by David 5 6 Baldacci (Warner Books: $26.95) Conspiracy theorists who witness the murder of a Secret Service agent are plunged into a real conspiracy.

7 On Beauty by Zadie Smith 7 11 (Penguin: $25.95) Identity crises, adultery, racial conflict and religious zealotry afflict two families whose lives are a 21st century parallel to E.M. Forster’s “Howards End.”

8 Snow Flower and the Secret -- 19 Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $21.95) Two women in the cloistered society of 19th century China forge a close friendship that is threatened by misunderstanding.

9 Memories of My Melancholy 3 6 Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Alfred A. Knopf: $20) A nonagenarian journalist who falls for a 14-year-old virgin prostitute reflects on his life and loves.

10 Saving Fish From Drowning -- 6 by Amy Tan (Putnam: $26.95) A group’s ill-fated art expedition to Burma is recounted by a woman on the tour who has just been murdered by a military junta.

11 Forever Odd by Dean Koontz -- 1 (Bantam: $27) Odd Thomas is back, still seeing ghosts, and trying to solve the murder of his friend’s stepfather and foil a wealthy porn entrepreneur.

12 Light From Heaven by Jan 10 4 Karon (Viking: $26.95) Father Tim, asked by his bishop to revive a long-closed mountain church, finds an angel to help him in this final installment in the Mitford series.

13 Ordinary Heroes by Scott -- 4 Turow (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $25) A reporter looking into his late father’s military service uncovers evidence of illicit love and an undisclosed court-martial.

14 S Is for Silence by Sue -- 1 Grafton (Putnam: $26.95) Kinsey Millhone is hired to find out what happened to a woman who disappeared 34 years earlier from a Central California agricultural town.

15 Harry Potter and the 9 18 Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic: $29.99) A teenage Harry faces a new darkness in his latest adventures.

*--*

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Year of Magical 1 10 Thinking by Joan Didion (Alfred A. Knopf: $23.95) The author explores the nature of grief and survival in the months after her writer-husband’s sudden death.

2 Teacher Man by Frank 2 3 McCourt (Scribner: $26) In his third memoir in a series that began with “Angela’s Ashes,” the Irish immigrant plumbs 30 years of teaching high school English in New York City.

3 Our Endangered Values by 4 5 Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster: $25) The former president writes of his concern about the rise in Christian fundamentalism and its influence in politics.

4 Team of Rivals by Doris 3 6 Kearns Goodwin (Simon & Schuster: $35) How country lawyer and one-term congressman Abraham Lincoln used his savvy to bring political rivals into his Cabinet.

5 Are Men Necessary? by 6 4 Maureen Dowd (Putnam: $25.95) The columnist ponders relations between the sexes, the value of trapping a man and career women as artful minxes.

6 A Man Without a Country by -- 11 Kurt Vonnegut (Seven Stories Press: $23.95) A collection of recent articles focuses on personal foibles and skewers those in power.

7 The World Is Flat by 8 34 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

8 The City of Falling Angels 14 9 by John Berendt (Penguin: $25.95) The author of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” uses a fire that guts a Venice opera house to find the heart of the Italian city.

9 The Truth (With Jokes) by 10 7 Al Franken (Dutton: $25.95) The liberal comedian points out flip-flops made by the Bush administration and conservative pundits.

10 Marley & Me by John Grogan 13 3 (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.

11 Healthy Aging by Andrew 7 6 Weil (Alfred A. Knopf: $27.95) A physician’s guide to welcoming the process of getting older through proper nutrition, exercise and meditation.

12 The Elements of Style 9 5 Illustrated by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (The Penguin Press: $24.95) The classic manual of good writing, updated with fanciful illustrations by Maira Kalman.

13 California: A History by -- 5 Kevin Starr (Modern Library: $24.95) The former state librarian shows the Golden State’s evolution from pre-Columbian times to the present.

14 A New Earth: Awakening to -- 4 Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle (Dutton: $24.95) The author of “The Power of Now” argues that our ego-driven society must become more loving.

15 700 Sundays by Billy 5 5 Crystal (Warner: $21.95) The actor and comedian tells the story of life with his father, a well-known jazz promoter, who died when Crystal was a teen.

*--*