BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Anchor: $7.99) A Louvre curator’s killing leads to a secret society.

2 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $13.95) Two women in 19th century China.

3 Saturday by Ian McEwan (Anchor: $14.95) A neurosurgeon’s day of struggle in post-Sept. 11 London.

4 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

5 The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin: $14) A woman confronts her long-dormant desires.

6 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Vintage: $14) Reunited boarding-school graduates explore their shared past.

7 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church.

8 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy searches for treasure in Egypt.

9 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

10 The Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer (Downtown Press: $14) A studio executive’s wife loses out to a pop princess.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $16.95) Fiscal parenting.

2 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Vintage: $14) The writer’s masterful account of a Kansas family’s brutal murder.

3 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

4 Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill & Wang: $9) A teenager’s harrowing year spent in four concentration camps.

5 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins (Plume: $15) How the U.S. pressures poor countries.

6 Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead: $14) A novelist examines her Christian faith.

7 Collapse by Jared Diamond (Penguin: $17) Why the Maya, the Anasazi and other societies died out.

8 Su Doku for Dummies by Andrew Heron and Edmund James (Wiley: $9.99) Puzzle-solving hints and 240 puzzles.

9 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom.

10 Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Warner: $19.95) How the rich invest.

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