BESTSELLERS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Watchman by Robert 1 4 Crais (Simon & Schuster: $25.95) A party-girl heiress in need of protection after seeing something she shouldn’t have comes under the watchful private eye of Joe Pike.

2 Nineteen Minutes by Jodi 2 2 Picoult (Atria: $26.95) A small New England town copes with the aftermath of a rampage in which a troubled teen killed 10 at the local high school.

3 What Is the What by Dave 4 12 Eggers (McSweeney’s: $26) A Sudanese refugee fights to survive and create a new life in America but finds safety and a sense of belonging elusive.

4 Whitethorn Woods by Maeve 5 2 Binchy (Knopf: $25.95) A town in the Irish countryside is caught up in a fracas over whether to build a new highway to help manage the crowds who come to visit a local shrine.

5 Ten Days in the Hills by 6 5 Jane Smiley (Knopf: $26) Hollywood denizens spend 10 days together talking about movies, making love and arguing about the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

6 You Don’t Love Me Yet by -- 1 Jonathan Lethem (Little, Brown: $24.95) A femme-fatale bass guitarist trying to make it in Los Angeles borrows her band’s best lyrics from a professional copywriter.

7 Shopaholic & Baby by 7 3 Sophie Kinsella (Dial: $24) Shopaholic Becky, now pregnant, learns that her obstetrician is her dashing husband’s former flame, a woman who still carries a torch for him.

8 Storm Runners by T. 3 3 Jefferson Parker (William Morrow: $25.95) Matt Stromsoe is hired to protect a TV personality from a stalker, but the trail leads back to a man who murdered his family.

9 Heyday by Kurt Andersen 9 2 (Random House: $26.95) A 19th century Englishman makes his way to America, where he meets up with a trio of misfits and embarks on a cross-country odyssey.

10 Christine Falls by 8 2 Benjamin Black (Henry Holt: $25) John Banville, writing under a nom de plume, takes on the thriller in this tale of death and conspiracy in 1950s Dublin.

11 Daddy’s Girl by Lisa -- 1 Scottoline (HarperCollins: $25.95) A naive law professor caught up in a prison riot is charged with murdering a prison guard she tried to save.

12 Scavenger by David Morrell 10 2 (Vanguard Press: $24.95) An ex-policeman goes on a high-tech scavenger hunt to uncover the secrets held in a century-old time capsule.

13 For One More Day by Mitch -- 24 Albom (Hyperion: $21.95) An alcoholic tries suicide and encounters his mother’s ghost, who tells him about her life and sacrifices as a single parent.

14 Innocent in Death by J.D. -- 3 Robb (Putnam: $25.95) Lt. Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a beloved teacher poisoned by a brown-bag lunch, and the prime suspect turns up dead.

15 Then We Came to the End by -- 1 Joshua Ferris (Little, Brown: $23.99) Copywriters and designers at a Chicago ad agency implode as they face layoffs when the go-go 1990s economy goes bust.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Secret by Rhonda Byrne 1 14 (Beyond Words: $23.95) The book promises the distillation of a life-transforming “secret” gathered from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy.

2 Women & Money by Suze 4 3 Orman (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) A five-month plan to help women take control of their finances, fix their credit rating and save for retirement.

3 I Feel Bad About My Neck 2 34 by Nora Ephron (Knopf: $19.95) The screenwriter ruminates on the effects of gravity and menopause, and reconciling herself to life among the post-bikini set.

4 Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali 7 3 (Free Press: $26) The Somali-born former member of the Dutch Parliament tells of her life and the death threats she received for criticizing how her Muslim faith treats women.

5 The Audacity of Hope by 6 22 Barack Obama (Crown: $25) The U.S. senator from Illinois argues that his Democratic Party and the GOP must forgo partisanship to reclaim the American dream.

6 Catching the Big Fish by -- 10 David Lynch (Tarcher: $19.95) The filmmaker details how Transcendental Meditation has allowed him to dive within, “catch” ideas and develop his creativity.

7 The Intellectual 8 10 Devotional by David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim (Rodale: $22.50) How to complete your education and roam confidently through the cultured classes in 365 short lessons.

8 How Doctors Think by -- 1 Jerome Groopman (Houghton Mifflin: $26) A physician shows how doctors work with patients to find a diagnosis and resist economic pressures that detract from care.

9 A Long Way Gone by Ishmael 5 4 Beah (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $22) A boy soldier from Sierra Leone tells of civil war, participating in mass slaughter and starting over at a refugee camp.

10 In an Instant by Lee and 3 3 Bob Woodruff (Random House: $25.95) ABC News co-anchor Bob Woodruff and his wife tell of his recovery from a roadside bomb that tore off part of his skull in Iraq.

11 Bambi vs. Godzilla by 9 6 David Mamet (Pantheon: $22) The director-screenwriter explains how the film and television industry should work and details how greed and stupidity get in the way.

12 The Proper Care and -- 10 Feeding of Marriage by Laura Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $25.95) How women should fulfill their role as homemaker, helpmate and sex partner.

13 The Hardcore Diaries by 15 2 Mick Foley (World Wrestling Entertainment: $24) A behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional wrestling from the perspective of one of its stars.

14 Grayson by Lynne Cox 13 5 (Knopf: $16.95) The long-distance swimmer recalls how at 17 she discovered a baby gray whale following her and kept it at sea until its mother arrived.

15 Oil on the Brain by Lisa -- 1 Margonelli (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) The story of gasoline, from the oil rig to the refinery to the tanker truck and local station pump, and the people who get it there.

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