BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

2 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks a killer.

3 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

4 The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (Random House: $13.95) A love story amid the artistic ferment of 14th century Italy.

5 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church.

6 The Last Juror by John Grisham (Dell: $7.99) A killer on parole is bent on retribution as he returns to his small town.

7 Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (Picador: $14) Two sisters grow up under the care of a motley group of relatives.

8 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy seeks treasure in Egypt.

9 The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Harvest: $14) A time traveler meets the child he later marries.

10 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Picador: $15) A Greek family embraces the American dream.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House: $13.95) A professor keeps literature alive for her students.

2 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) How a serial killer haunted the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

3 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

4 Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff (Chelsea Green: $10) A guide for political progressives.

5 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $15.95) Fiscal parenting.

6 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

7 Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Three Rivers: $13.95) The senator traces his mixed-raced heritage.

8 The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene (Vintage: $15.95) The nature of the universe made simple.

9 Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman (Warner: $12.95) A ‘70s Manhattan childhood.

10 The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad (Back Bay: $12.95) A journalist lives with an Afghan bookseller and his family.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.