BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais (Doubleday: $24.95) A 4 2 homeless man’s dying words send private eye Elvis Cole in search of the man’s killer and the father Cole never knew.

2 Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House: $21.95) An 5 4 Indiana teen on a scholarship tries to overcome her outsider status at a prestigious Boston prep school.

3 Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Little, 2 2 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.

4 Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $25.95) An 14 2 explosion in Rome and a dossier in the hands of terrorists draws art restoration expert Gabriel Allon back into his former life as a spy.

5 The Broker by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A 3 8 high-roller attorney is pardoned to lead the CIA to a powerful satellite surveillance system and the shadowy agents who want to buy it.

6 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 9 75 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement-park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

7 Snobs by Julian Fellowes (St. Martin’s Press: $23.95) 6 4 The “Gosford Park” screenwriter weaves a comedy of manners in the 1990s London of social climbers and aristocratic snobs.

8 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 7 102 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

9 State of Fear by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins: 15 12 $27.95) A globe-trotting thriller involving nefarious environmentalists and manufactured threats of global warming.

10 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 8 8 $23) An aging minister facing death explains his life and religious beliefs in a letter to his young son.

11 Strange Affair by Peter Robinson (William Morrow: -- 1 $24.95) Inspector Alan Banks investigates his brother’s disappearance, while Banks’ ex-lover finds a connection in a murdered woman’s pocket.

12 The Chrysanthemum Palace by Bruce Wagner (Simon & 1 4 Schuster: $23) A trio of privileged Hollywood progeny deal with their scarred lives in this star-crossed tale of friendship.

13 Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (Knopf: $25.95) A 13 6 Tokyo teen who calls himself Kafka runs away because of Oedipal fears, and an elderly man embarks on a metaphysical quest.

14 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton 10 23 Mifflin: $26) Charles Lindbergh becomes president in 1940, setting the country on a course of isolationism and nationwide pogroms.

15 Runaway by Alice Munro (Knopf: $25) A collection of 12 15 stories examining the surprises, betrayals and limits of love among couples, friends, parents and children.

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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 7 Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

2 DisneyWar by James B. Stewart (Simon & Schuster: $29.95) 2 3 A look inside the personality conflicts that raged inside the media giant, making it anything but the happiest place on Earth.

3 French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf: 3 8 $22) The chief executive of the French wine conglomerate Clicquot Inc. reveals the French secret of eating for pleasure without the bulge.

4 Collapse by Jared Diamond (Viking: $29.95) Diamond 4 9 examines why great societies such as the Anasazi and the Maya collapsed and what modern society can do to prevent future die-offs.

5 Chronicles, Volume One by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: 9 22 $24) The songwriter reflects on the influences that helped shape him and his struggle to rediscover his creativity.

6 He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz 10 24 Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $19.95) A no-excuses guide to help women understand guys and get on with their lives.

7 In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs by Christopher de -- 1 Bellaigue (HarperCollins: $26.95) Iran’s erstwhile revolutionaries look back at their legacy.

8 Juiced by Jose Canseco (ReganBooks: $25.95) The former 5 3 major league star details why he used steroids and names others who he alleges took them as well.

9 America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy 6 23 Inaction by Jon Stewart et al. (Warner: $24.95) Comedy writers poke fun at U.S. politics and our institutions of democracy.

10 Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith: $19.99) 12 17 Seven steps to improving your life by using faith to develop self-esteem, let go of the past and fulfill your potential.

11 On Bull... by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University -- 1 Press: $9.95) A leading philosopher takes on society’s view of the fine line between truth and lying.

12 God’s Politics by Jim Wallis (HarperSan Francisco: -- 2 $24.95) How conservatives have hijacked the language of faith and liberals have ignored religion, personal ethics and moral values.

13 Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton: -- 12 $26.95) How an uneducated lad from the English countryside became William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and a favorite of the queen.

14 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 8 101 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

15 Front Row by Jerry Oppenheimer (St. Martin’s: $24.95) A -- 1 look at the sunglassed one, Anna Wintour, Vogue’s driven editor-in-chief and fashionista tastemaker for a quarter-century.

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