BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Paint It Black by Janet 5 2 Fitch (Little, Brown: $24.99) An art model in the ‘80s L.A. punk scene tries to make sense of her boyfriend’s death and his relationship with his narcissistic mother.

2 The Mission Song by John -- 1 le Carre (Little, Brown: $26.99) An interpreter becomes enmeshed with scheming warlords and international financiers in the civil war-ravaged Congo.

3 The Emperor’s Children by 1 4 Claire Messud (Knopf: $25) Three college friends stumble on their paths to becoming shining lights in the East Coast constellation of cultural elites.

4 Special Topics in Calamity 15 7 Physics by Marisha Pessl (Viking: $25.95) Brilliant, eccentric high school students and their film studies teacher are drawn into a murder mystery.

5 Imperium: A Novel of -- 1 Ancient Rome by Robert Harris (Simon & Schuster: $26) The orator Cicero rises from the provinces to become a consul and power in the early Roman Republic.

6 The Thirteenth Tale by 7 2 Diane Setterfield (Atria: $26) A bookseller’s daughter travels to Yorkshire to interview a dying author who tells a tale of a governess, a ghost and an abandoned baby.

7 Rise and Shine by Anna 2 4 Quindlen (Random House: $24.95) A TV morning host finds her life turned upside down after her husband announces he’s leaving her and she makes a faux pas on camera.

8 World War Z by Max Brooks 8 2 (Crown: $24.95) Survivors give detailed historical accounts of “the crisis,” a worldwide battle against insatiable predatory zombies.

9 The Afghan by Frederick 9 5 Forsyth (Putnam: $26.95) A British soldier goes undercover with the Taliban in Afghanistan to foil a terrorist plot uncovered on an Al Qaeda computer.

10 A Spot of Bother by Mark -- 2 Haddon (Doubleday: $24.95) A retiree, convinced that a spot on his hip is cancerous, sinks into a funk while watching his proper British family spin out of control.

11 Suite Francaise by Irene 12 23 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) Two novellas from a writer killed at Auschwitz on the exodus from Paris ahead of the Germans’ arrival and on life in a farming village under occupation.

12 The Right Attitude to Rain -- 1 by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon: $21.95) Edinburgh philosopher Isabel Dalhousie ponders a woman’s motives in romancing a wealthy Texas bachelor.

13 Water for Elephants by -- 10 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.

14 The Guy Not Taken by -- 1 Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $24.95) Smart women tackle relationships, childhood baggage and love in this collection of short stories from the author of “Goodnight Nobody.”

15 The Book of Fate by Brad 4 3 Meltzer (Warner: $25.99) A White House aide, disfigured in a presidential assassination attempt, must decipher Masonic secrets to find a killer stalking his boss.

*--*

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 I Feel Bad About My Neck: 1 9 And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (Knopf: $19.95) The screenwriter considers the effects of gravity and aging.

2 The Greatest Story Ever 13 2 Sold by Frank Rich (Penguin: $25.95) The New York Times writer dissects the Bush administration’s “truthiness” on the Iraq war, its response to Katrina and the 9/11 attacks.

3 Letter to a Christian -- 1 Nation by Sam Harris (Knopf: $16.95) “The End of Faith” author chides religious dogmatists who rationalize violence and help foster human suffering.

4 Inside My Heart by Robin 5 2 McGraw (Nelson Books: $24.99) “Dr. Phil’s” wife tells women how to choose the life you want and live it with passion, purpose and faith.

5 The Looming Tower by 2 7 Lawrence Wright (Knopf: $27.95) A penetrating explanation of the ideological roots of Al Qaeda and how Osama bin Laden came to hate America.

6 Marley & Me by John Grogan 3 45 (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.

7 The Devil’s Guide to -- 1 Hollywood by Joe Eszterhas (St. Martin’s: $24.95) Disguised as a handbook for screenwriters, this memoir from the creator of “Basic Instinct” dishes on Hollywood.

8 The Confession by James E. -- 1 McGreevey (Regan Books: $26.95) The former governor of New Jersey’s memoir on ambition, his double life and how he came to admit that he is a “gay American.”

9 You: The Owner’s Manual by -- 24 Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (HarperCollins: $24.95) An anti-aging guru and a heart surgeon offer a wry and witty guide to staying healthy.

10 The Female Brain by Louann -- 1 Brizendine (Morgan Road: $24.95) A physician explains the female brain and its neurological development, from birth to motherhood, menopause and beyond.

11 Laurel Canyon by Michael 6 17 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.

12 Grayson by Lynne Cox -- 2 (Knopf: $16.95) The long-distance swimmer recalls her encounter at age 17 with a baby gray whale and how she kept it at sea until its mother arrived.

13 I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing -- 1 This! by Bob Newhart (Hyperion: $23.95) The comic recounts his showbiz career, his personal life and foibles and how he came up with his best sketches.

14 A History of the End of -- 1 the World by Jonathan Kirsch (HarperSanFrancisco: $25.95) How the Bible’s book of Revelation has changed the course of Western civilization.

15 Queen of Fashion by -- 1 Caroline Weber (Henry Holt: $27.50) A study of Marie Antoinette, her dress and demeanor, and its effect on France at a time of social discontent and revolution.

*--*