BESTSELLERS - Paperbacks

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $13.95) Two women in 19th century China.

2 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Anchor: $7.99) A Louvre curator’s killing leads to a secret society.

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

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

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

6 The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton: $13.95) A writer escapes the Nazis but loses his beloved.

7 The Innocent by Harlan Coben (Signet: $9.99) A man with a criminal record tries to clear his name while he’s on the run.

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

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

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

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

5 My Life So Far by Jane Fonda (Random House: $16.95) The actress, antiwar activist and fitness guru tells her story.

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

7 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: $14) How to attain enlightenment by living in the now.

8 The Covenant With Black America (Third World Press: $12) Essays on improving life for African Americans.

9 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) A serial killer haunts the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

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

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