BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Terrorist by John Updike 1 3 (Alfred A. Knopf: $24.95) An Irish-Egyptian-American teen living in a dying New Jersey town becomes enthralled with a local radical cleric.

2 Twelve Sharp by Janet -- 1 Evanovich (St. Martin’s: $26.95) Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum tries to find a crazed killer with the help of a mysterious man accused of kidnapping his own child.

3 Everyman by Philip Roth 5 10 (Houghton Mifflin: $24) A self-centered New Jersey adman with a lifelong obsession that his death is imminent reflects on what he’s missed.

4 The Husband by Dean Koontz 8 4 (Bantam: $27) A gardener has 60 hours to raise $2 million to free his wife and in the process finds himself dealing with killers and a child pornographer.

5 Suite Francaise by Irene 3 9 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) A posthumous novel about the Jewish exodus from Paris to a German-occupied village, penned by a celebrated writer killed at Auschwitz.

6 Literacy and Longing in 9 5 L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack (Delacorte: $22) A book-obsessed divorcee stalks her movie-mogul ex-husband until she meets a literature major.

7 The Cold Moon by Jeffery 14 4 Deaver (Simon & Schuster: $26) Quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and his partner, Amelia Sachs, hunt for the Watchmaker, a sadistic serial killer.

8 Beach Road by James 6 8 Patterson and Peter de Jonge (Little, Brown: $27.95) Three young men are shot to death on a billionaire’s basketball court, and suspicion falls on a star high school player.

9 There Will Never Be 4 5 Another You by Carolyn See (Random House: $24.95) A UCLA dermatologist suspects biological terrorism or an experiment gone awry when cats turn up dead.

10 The Book of the Dead by 15 4 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Warner: $25.95) A psychotic killer who has ground a museum’s gem exhibit to dust then interferes with an Egyptian tomb restoration.

11 Water for Elephants by 13 3 Sara Gruen (Algonquin: $23.95) A nursing-home patient recalls his life and loves as a penniless college student who dropped out to join the circus in the 1930s.

12 Telegraph Days by Larry 12 2 McMurtry (Simon & Schuster: $25) A Virginia woman heads west, becomes a telegraph operator, a writer, manager to Buffalo Bill and a witness to the OK Corral shootout.

13 Elements of Style by Wendy -- 5 Wasserstein (Knopf: $23.95) The late playwright’s only novel skewers Manhattan’s post-9/11 in-crowd and those who want to join it.

14 Blue Screen by Robert B. 7 2 Parker (Putnam: $24.95) Boston P.I. Sunny Randall teams with pal Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Mass., to investigate the killing of an action movie star’s sister.

15 The Foreign Correspondent 2 4 by Alan Furst (Random House: $24.95) A journalist in Paris finds himself drawn into the activities of the Italian resistance on the eve of World War II.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The One Percent Doctrine -- 1 by Ron Suskind (Simon & Schuster: $27) How the analyses of U.S. counterterrorism experts were exaggerated or dismissed to justify going to war with Iraq.

2 Dispatches From the Edge 2 5 by Anderson Cooper (HarperCollins: $24.95) The telegenic son of heiress Gloria Vanderbilt recounts personal tragedies and covering wars and disasters for CNN.

3 Marley & Me by John Grogan 3 32 (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.

4 Godless by Ann Coulter 4 3 (Crown Forum: $27.95) The conservative commentator argues that liberalism has taken on many of the attributes of a religion and also argues against the certainty of evolution.

5 Wisdom of Our Fathers by 1 5 Tim Russert (Random House: $22.95) The “Meet the Press” host shares stories from sons and daughters who responded to his filial memoir, “Big Russ and Me.”

6 Cesar’s Way by Cesar 6 12 Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier (Harmony: $24.95) The TV show host gives tips on understanding and correcting common canine behavior problems.

7 Heat by Bill Buford 8 4 (Knopf: $25.95) The journalist chronicles his time as a “kitchen slave” to TV chef Mario Batali and reveals the secrets of a three-star restaurant.

8 Laurel Canyon by Michael 10 5 Walker (Faber & Faber: $25) A look at the ‘60s rock bands and artists whose creativity flowered in Laurel Canyon, then a sylvan enclave above Sunset Boulevard.

9 Eat, Pray, Love by 9 10 Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $24.95) After deciding that marriage and motherhood aren’t for her, the author embarks on a journey of self-discovery in Italy, India and Indonesia.

10 The World Is Flat by 7 61 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) How technology and globalization are changing the world and the training that is needed to compete.

11 Mayflower by Nathaniel 5 7 Philbrick (Viking: $29.95) The story of devout English Christians landing in the New World and the natives they meet as they found Plymouth Colony.

12 My Life in France by Julia -- 3 Child with Alex Prud’homme (Knopf: $25.95) The late chef’s memoir of her formative years in France, studies at the Cordon Bleu and the best Parisian restaurants.

13 Secrets of the Savanna by 13 2 Mark and Delia Owens (Houghton Mifflin: $26.95) The wildlife conservationists examine the social and political pressures in 1990s Africa.

14 Stumbling on Happiness by -- 1 Daniel Gilbert (Knopf: $24.95) A psychologist explains how the need to feel in control overwhelms our ability to imagine what the future may hold.

15 Hotel California by Barney -- 1 Hoskyns (Wiley: $25.95) How music by the early ‘70s came to be dominated by mellow rock, drug use and hyper-managers eager to find the next big act.

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