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 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church.
5 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy seeks treasure in Egypt.
6 The Narrows by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) Harry Bosch struggles against man and nature to capture a serial killer.
7 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston (Perennial: $13.95) A black woman’s quest for identity.
8 The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (Random House: $13.95) A love story amid the artistic ferment of 14th century Italy.
9 The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $14) A Bengali couple and their son try to find their way in America.
10 Southern Belles of Honeysuckle Way by Linda Bruckheimer (Plume: $14) Sisters reunite in a Kentucky town.
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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction
*--*
*--* 1 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.
2 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House: $13.95) A professor keeps literature alive for her students.
3 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) How a serial killer haunted the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
4 Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff (Chelsea Green: $10) A guide for political progressives.
5 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: $14) How to attain enlightenment by living in the now.
6 Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (W.W. Norton: $16.95) A scientist’s take on Europe’s rise to dominance.
7 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $15.95) Fiscal parenting.
8 Bushworld by Maureen Dowd (Berkley: $15) The New York Times columnist’s collected works on Bush pere and fils.
9 The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene (Vintage: $15.95) The nature of the universe made simple.
10 Lost in the Grooves by Kim Cooper et al. (Routledge: $19.95) An encyclopedic guide to popular music.
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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.
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