BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The March by E.L. Doctorow 1 2 (Random House: $25.95) On the trail with Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman making his historic sweep to Atlanta, routing Confederate troops and destroying the countryside.

2 On Beauty by Zadie Smith 2 3 (Penguin: $25.95) Identity crises, adultery, racial conflict and religious zealotry afflict two families whose lives are a 21st century parallel to E.M. Forster’s “Howards End.”

3 Son of a Witch by Gregory -- 1 Maguire (ReganBooks: $26.95) An orphan armed with the wicked witch’s magic broom and black cape searches the Emerald City for a girl who may be his half sister.

4 Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman 8 2 (William Morrow: $26.95) A London agent discovers that his deceased father had been the human embodiment of Anansi, the African trickster god.

5 Cinnamon Kiss by Walter 4 3 Mosley (Little, Brown: $24.95) To raise cash for his daughter’s operation, Easy Rawlins threads his way through post-Watts riots L.A. and flower-power San Francisco.

6 A Breath of Snow and Ashes -- 1 by Diana Gabaldon (Delacorte Press: $28) Jamie Fraser and his time-traveling wife, Clare, face new challenges in pre-Revolutionary War America.

7 School Days by Robert B. -- 1 Parker (Putnam: $24.95) A wealthy woman hires Spenser to prove the innocence of her grandson who has confessed to a deadly high school shooting.

8 Eldest (Inheritance, Book 10 6 2) by Christopher Paolini (Alfred A. Knopf: $21) Eragon hones his battle skills as his cousin finds himself the target of evil forces.

9 Harry Potter and the 7 12 Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic: $29.99) A teenage Harry faces a new darkness in his latest adventures.

10 Goodnight Nobody by 5 2 Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26) The wife of a suburban Connecticut police chief uncovers secrets as she investigates a murder in the postcard-perfect town.

11 Lipstick Jungle by Candace 11 4 Bushnell (Hyperion: $24.95) Three high-powered New York women stop at nothing to make it big in business, even if it means leaving their men in the dust.

12 The Historian by Elizabeth 6 17 Kostova (Little, Brown: $25.95) A teenager discovers a medieval book and a stash of letters and sets out on a hunt for the real story of Dracula, a quest close to home.

13 Slow Man by J.M. Coetzee -- 1 (Viking: $24.95) A gravely injured cyclist falls for his private nurse, proposing to support her and her family, even be a co-husband, in this meditation on love and caring.

14 The Da Vinci Code by Dan 9 133 Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

15 Shalimar the Clown by 3 4 Salman Rushdie (Random House: $25.95) A diplomat’s murder in Los Angeles uncovers a saga with roots in Kashmir, Nazi Europe and modern terrorism.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The City of Falling Angels -- 1 by John Berendt (Penguin: $25.95) A fire that guts an opera house is the mystery the author of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” uses to explore Venice, Italy.

2 What Remains by Carole 14 2 Radziwill (Scribner: $25.95) A TV reporter’s story of love and death after marrying into the extended Kennedy clan and losing her husband to cancer.

3 Natural Cures “They” Don’t 4 15 Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau (Alliance Publishing: $29.95) The infomercial mogul touts alternative therapies and supplements.

4 The World Is Flat by 2 25 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

5 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell 5 38 (Little, Brown: $25.95) Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

6 Freakonomics by Steven D. 1 24 Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

7 Never Have Your Dog 3 2 Stuffed by Alan Alda (Random House: $24.95) The “MASH” star talks about his life and success, his famous actor father and his mother’s mental illness.

8 The Year of Magical -- 1 Thinking by Joan Didion (Knopf: $23.95) The acclaimed author and essayist explores the nature of grief and survival in the year following her writer husband’s sudden death.

9 A Man Without a Country by 6 6 Kurt Vonnegut (Seven Stories Press: $23.95) A collection of recent articles focuses on personal foibles and skewers those in power.

10 A Family of Poems edited -- 1 by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion: $19.95) The former first daughter presents the Kennedy family’s favorite poems for children, illustrated by Jon J. Muth.

11 Symptoms of Withdrawal by -- 1 Christopher Kennedy Lawford (William Morrow: $25.95) President Kennedy’s nephew writes a tell-all, full of famous names, debauchery and finding sobriety.

12 The Bob Dylan Scrapbook, -- 1 1956-1966 (Simon & Schuster: $45) Reproductions of song lyrics and other memorabilia pack this book and CD companion to PBS’ Dylan documentary.

13 Don’t Get Too Comfortable -- 1 by David Rakoff (Doubleday: $22.95) The well-heeled are well skewered for pompous preoccupations with status symbols and decadent displays of wealth.

14 The Purpose-Driven Life by -- 118 Rick Warren (Zondervan: $19.99) A 40-day plan for devoting one’s life to the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, ministry and evangelism.

15 It’s Called a Breakup -- 1 Because It’s Broken by Greg Behrendt and Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt (Broadway: $19.95) Survival tips from the author of “He’s Just Not That Into You.”

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