BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Harry Potter and the 1 6 Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine/ Scholastic: $29.99) A teenage Harry faces a new darkness in his latest adventures.

2 The Historian by Elizabeth 3 11 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.

3 Lunar Park by Bret Easton 13 2 Ellis (Alfred A. Knopf: $24.95) The author-turned-protagonist tries to dry out and remake his life in a suburbia possessed by strange spirits.

4 No Country for Old Men by 2 5 Cormac McCarthy (Knopf: $24.95) An aging Texas sheriff investigates murder, drug trafficking and the disappearance of a local hunter.

5 Lifeguard by James 9 7 Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown: $26.95) An art heist gone bad vaults a part-time lifeguard onto the FBI’s most-wanted list.

6 Until I Find You by John 5 6 Irving (Random House: $27.95) Actor Jack Burns retraces the journeys of his childhood and his tattoo-artist mother’s search for his runaway father.

7 The Da Vinci Code by Dan 7 127 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.

8 Chill Factor by Sandra -- 1 Brown (Simon & Schuster: $25.95) A woman waits out a storm in a cabin with an injured hiker as her estranged cop husband tries to find five women feared dead.

9 Cold Hit by Stephen J. -- 1 Cannell (St. Martin’s Press: $24.95) Detective Shane Scully, under pressure to solve a homicide, has doubts that his latest case is connected to a string of serial killings.

10 Snow Flower and the Secret 4 8 Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $21.95) Two women in the cloistered society of 19th century China forge a close friendship that is threatened by misunderstanding.

11 The Starter Wife by Gigi 11 11 Levangie Grazer (Simon & Schuster: $24) The pampered wife of a studio executive finds her world turned upside down after her husband dumps her for a pop princess.

12 Willful Creatures by Aimee -- 1 Bender (Doubleday: $22.95) Fifteen short stories paint a world that is fantastic and bleak, populated by misfits, outcasts and survivors.

13 Double Tap by Steve 15 2 Martini (Putnam: $26.95) A crack military marksman goes on trial in the death of the wealthy businesswoman he was hired to protect.

14 The Undomestic Goddess by 8 5 Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press: $23) A London lawyer veers from the fast track to work as a housekeeper in a country manor until her past catches up with her.

15 The Mermaid Chair by Sue 6 21 Monk Kidd (Viking: $24.95) A woman who is called home to cope with her troubled mother finds herself drawn to a Benedictine monk on an island off South Carolina.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell 5 32 (Little, Brown: $25.95) Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

2 Freakonomics by Steven D. 2 18 Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

3 1776 by David McCullough 1 12 (Simon & Schuster: $32) The historian looks at how the American forces took on the world’s greatest military power in the Revolution’s first battles.

4 Natural Cures “They” Don’t 6 9 Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau (Alliance Publishing: $29.95) The infomercial mogul touts alternative therapies and supplements.

5 New Rules: Polite Musings 3 5 From a Timid Observer by Bill Maher (Rodale Books: $24.95) The political satirist and TV host brings his acerbic humor to the written page.

6 The World Is Flat by 4 19 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

7 100 People Who Are 8 7 Screwing Up America by Bernard Goldberg (HarperCollins: $25.95) The author of “Arrogance” indicts celebrity activists and liberal politicians.

8 Confessions of a Video 11 8 Vixen by Karrine Steffans (HarperCollins: $24.95) The troubled background behind the glamorous image of a celebrated music video dancer.

9 On Bull... by Harry G. 7 19 Frankfurt (Princeton University Press: $9.95) A leading philosopher takes on society’s view of what sometimes seems to be the fine line between truth and lying.

10 The Perricone Promise by 9 9 Nicholas Perricone (Warner: $27.95) A physician advises how to look and feel younger in 28 days through diet, supplements and skin products.

11 Wrecking Crew: The Really -- 1 Bad News Griffith Park Pirates by John Albert (Scribner: $23) Out-of-work musicians and a screenwriter find happiness on the baseball field.

12 Encyclopedia Prehistorica: 12 3 Dinosaurs by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart (Candlewick: $26) An intricate pop-up book on those all-time favorite prehistoric critters.

13 Living Dangerously by Mark -- 1 Cotta Vaz (Villard: $26.95) A look at the life of legendary movie maker Merian C. Cooper, creator of the original film “King Kong.”

14 Crystal Cove Cottages by -- 2 Karen E. Steen et al (Chronicle Books: $35) A look at a group of historic beach cottages along the Orange County coastline that mixes bohemia and Americana.

15 Death and the Sun: A -- 1 Matador’s Season in the Heart of Spain by Edward Lewine (Houghton Mifflin: $24) A year on Spain’s bullfighting circuit with a fourth-generation toreador.

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