Paperbacks

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

2 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Picador: $14) An ailing minister explains his life and beliefs to his young son.

3 Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (Scribner: $9.95) Two cowboys in love face a harsh world.

4 The Closers by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) DNA evidence forces the reopening of a 17-year-old murder case.

5 Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (Vintage: $14.95) A Tokyo teen runs from his Oedipal fears.

6 Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman (HarperTorch: $7.99) A pawned diamond revives the mystery of a 50-year-old plane crash.

7 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Vintage: $14.95) The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer.

8 Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Warner Books: $13.95) An FBI agent tracks a female serial killer.

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

10 The Black Angel by John Connolly (Pocket Star: $7.99) The search for a missing prostitute and a Czech statue.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill & Wang: $9) A teenager’s harrowing year spent in four concentration camps.

2 A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (Anchor: $14.95) A tarnished memoir of addiction and 12-step treatment.

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

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

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

6 A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn (Harper: $18.95) From 1492 to the present.

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

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

9 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $16.95) Fiscal parenting.

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

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