BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking: $24.95) A 2 3 woman called home to cope with her troubled mother finds herself drawn to a Benedictine monk on an island in South Carolina.

2 Saturday by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A 1 5 day in the life of a neurosurgeon brings both quotidian and earth-shattering struggles in post-Sept. 11 London.

3 True Believer by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $24.95) A -- 1 science writer who exposes fraud is called to a North Carolina town to investigate mysterious lights in a local cemetery.

4 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 7 13 $23) An aging minister facing death explains his life and religious beliefs in a letter to his young son.

5 Ya-Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells (HarperCollins: $24.95) 8 3 How the unconditional bonds of the sisterhood of Ya-Ya were forged through marriages, child-rearing, bigotry and crises of faith.

6 Two Dollar Bill by Stuart Woods (Putnam: $25.95) A -- 1 cop-turned-lawyer is hired by a clever con man who is in the sights of a beautiful Manhattan prosecutor.

7 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring 10 3 Stover (Del Rey: $25.95) Yoda and fellow masters try to protect the Jedi Council amid civil war and the arrival of a dark new Sith lord.

8 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran 4 6 Foer (Houghton Mifflin: $24.95) A 9-year-old wunderkind seeks the lock that fits a key belonging to his dead father.

9 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) 5 6 Inside the walls of a seemingly charming school in the English countryside is a place where destiny is anything but idyllic.

10 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 6 109 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

11 A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K. Hamilton (Ballantine: -- 1 $23.95) A private eye in Los Angeles who is really a princess from a magical world fights for the survival of herself and her faerie kin.

12 No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & 9 2 Schuster: $25.95) A young woman is confronted with a past she spent years trying to escape.

13 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom -- 80 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement-park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

14 Long Spoon Lane by Anne Perry (Ballantine: $25.95) In -- 1 19th century London, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt investigate an anarchists’ bombing and the murder of a nobleman’s son.

15 With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George 3 5 (HarperCollins: $26.95) New Scotland Yard is all over the trail of a serial killer once the latest victim turns out to be white.

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

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*--* 1 My Life So Far by Jane Fonda (Random House: $26.95) The 1 2 actress, antiwar activist, fitness guru and feminist icon tells the story of her life, with a heavy emphasis on the men along the way.

2 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $25.95) 2 14 Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

3 And One More Thing Before You Go ... by Maria Shriver 10 2 (Free Press: $13.95) Ten rules for teenagers and adults alike on how to find abundance and love by knowing what is important in life.

4 The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus 3 1 & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

5 Winning by Jack Welch with Suzy Welch (HarperBusiness: 4 2 $27.95) How to succeed in business (and life) by staying optimistic, making no excuses and getting things done.

6 On Bull... by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University 6 5 Press: $9.95) A leading philosopher takes on society’s view of what sometimes seems to be the fine line between truth and lying.

7 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 5 107 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

8 French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf: 7 15 $22) The chief executive of the French wine conglomerate Clicquot Inc. reveals the French secret of eating for pleasure without the bulge.

9 Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (Penguin: $24.95) 8 2 The former L.A. Times food editor writes about her years trying to dine unrecognized as the New York Times’ restaurant critic.

10 The Greedy Bastard Diary by Eric Idle -- 1 (HarperEntertainment: $23.95) The Monty Python alum ruminates on life and humor while on a comic tour of North America.

11 Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott 9 6 (Riverhead: $24.95) The novelist and essayist offers a new compilation of columns that examines her country and her Christian faith.

12 Collapse by Jared Diamond (Viking: $29.95) A -- 15 prize-winning author examines why societies such as the Anasazi and the Maya collapsed and what can be done to prevent future die-offs.

13 Breaking Into Baseball by Jean Hastings Ardell (Southern -- 1 Illinois University Press: $50) How women have enjoyed and participated in the national pastime.

14 Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker -- 3 (HarperCollins: $19.95) A physical fitness entrepreneur reveals the secrets of how millionaires acquire wealth.

15 Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith: $19.99) 15 24 Seven steps to improving your life by using faith to develop self-esteem, let go of the past and fulfill your potential.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.