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 1 6 woman called home to cope with her troubled mother finds herself drawn to a Benedictine monk on an island off South Carolina.

2 4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro -- 1 (Little, Brown: $27.95) Facing a police brutality lawsuit, Lt. Lindsay Boxer retreats to Half Moon Bay, where she stumbles upon a killing spree.

3 Saturday by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A 2 8 day in the life of a neurosurgeon brings both quotidian and earth-shattering struggles in post-Sept. 11 London.

4 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 3 112 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

5 Zorro by Isabel Allende (HarperCollins: $25.95) The back -- 1 story of how Diego de la Vega transformed himself into the dashing and legendary figure of colonial California.

6 In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall 4 3 Smith (Pantheon: $19.95) The newly married proprietor of Botswana’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has a new crop of colorful cases.

7 True Believer by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $24.95) A 8 4 science writer who exposes fraud is called to a North Carolina town to investigate mysterious lights in a local cemetery.

8 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) 10 9 Inside the walls of a seemingly charming school in the English countryside is a place where destiny is anything but idyllic.

9 The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W. W. Norton: -- 2 $23.95) A writer escapes the Nazis but loses his life’s love and will to create, and a teenager attempts to heal her widowed mother’s broken heart.

10 Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday: $24.95) A group -- 1 of writers eager for fame lock themselves in an abandoned theater for their own grotesque version of “Survivor.”

11 The Innocent by Harlan Coben (Dutton: $26.95) A New 5 2 Jersey naif with a criminal record is on the run from cops as tries to clear himself and prove that his wife isn’t cheating on him.

12 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 7 16 $23) An aging minister facing death explains his life and religious beliefs in a letter to his young son.

13 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring 9 6 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.

14 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 13 82 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement-park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

15 No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & 11 5 Schuster: $25.95) A young woman is confronted with a past she spent years trying to escape when she returns to her hometown.

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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 2 5 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 The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus 1 4 & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

3 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $25.95) 3 17 Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

4 And One More Thing Before You Go ... by Maria Shriver 4 5 (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.

5 Winning by Jack Welch with Suzy Welch (HarperBusiness: 6 5 $27.95) How to succeed in business (and life) by staying optimistic, making no excuses and getting things done.

6 Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner 8 3 (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

7 You: The Owner’s Manual by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet -- 1 C. Oz (HarperResource: $24.95) A wry and witty guide to the inner workings of the human body.

8 Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields (Hyperion: $23.95) -- 1 The actress describes her journey through a severe bout of postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter.

9 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 10 110 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

10 Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (Simon & -- 1 Schuster: $21) Vowell takes an irreverently macabre road trip to the sites central to the murders of three American presidents.

11 On Bull... by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University 7 8 Press: $9.95) A leading philosopher takes on society’s view of what sometimes seems to be the fine line between truth and lying.

12 A Lotus Grows in the Mud by Goldie Hawn and Wendy Holden -- 1 (Putnam: $25.95) The actress looks back at her journey from suburban “ugly duckling” to Hollywood stardom.

13 He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz 5 30 Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $21.95) A no-excuses guide to help women understand guys and get on with their lives.

14 French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf: 12 18 $22) The chief executive of the French wine conglomerate Clicquot Inc. reveals the French secret of eating for pleasure without the bulge.

15 Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (Penguin: $24.95) -- 3 The former L.A. Times food editor writes about her years trying to dine unrecognized as the New York Times’ restaurant critic.

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