BESTSELLERS

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 S Is for Silence by Sue 14 2 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.

2 The Lighthouse by P.D. 1 4 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.

3 Christ the Lord by Anne 3 6 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 4 4 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 Memories of My Melancholy 9 7 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.

6 Saving Fish From Drowning 10 7 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.

7 The March by E.L. Doctorow -- 9 (Random House: $25.95) On the trail as Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman makes his historic sweep of Georgia, routs Confederate troops and destroys the countryside.

8 The Sea by John Banville 2 6 (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.

9 Forever Odd by Dean Koontz 11 2 (Bantam: $27) Odd Thomas is back, still seeing ghosts as he tries to solve the murder of his friend’s stepfather and foil a wealthy porn entrepreneur.

10 Snow Flower and the Secret 8 20 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.

11 On Beauty by Zadie Smith 7 12 (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.”

12 Ordinary Heroes by Scott 13 5 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.

13 The Constant Princess by -- 1 Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $24.95) Catherine of Aragon endures the loss of a husband, treachery and poverty in her quest to become queen of England.

14 Veronica by Mary Gaitskill -- 2 (Pantheon: $23) A former fashion model confronts the ugly realities of life and recalls a friendship with an older woman on the eve of the AIDS epidemic.

15 The Da Vinci Code by Dan -- 135 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.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Year of Magical 1 11 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 4 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 3 6 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 4 7 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 5 5 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 The Elements of Style 12 6 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.

7 The World Is Flat by 7 35 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

8 Wilshire Boulevard by -- 1 Kevin Roderick with J. Eric Lynxwiler (Angel City Press: $40) An illustrated history of the storied Los Angeles thoroughfare.

9 The City of Falling Angels 8 10 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.

10 Amazing Peace by Maya -- 1 Angelou (Random House: $9.95) The poet writes of the promise of the Christmas season and the hope that the holiday’s spirit can help bring peace to the world.

11 My Friend Leonard by James -- 9 Frey (Penguin: $24.95) The former cocaine addict’s sequel to “A Million Little Pieces” celebrates the mobster who helped him turn his life around.

12 The Truth (With Jokes) by 9 8 Al Franken (Dutton: $25.95) The liberal comedian points out flip-flops made by the Bush administration and conservative pundits.

13 Marley & Me by John Grogan 10 4 (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.

14 1776 by David McCullough -- 20 (Simon & Schuster: $32) The historian examines how Colonial forces took on the world’s greatest military power in the first battles of the American Revolution.

15 Love Smart by Phil McGraw -- 1 (Free Press: $26) How to take control of your love life, whether it’s finding a mate or holding on to the one you already have.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.