BESTSELLERS

PAPERBACKS

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy ($14.95)

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. The Senator’s Wife by Sue Miller (Knopf: $24.95) A bride 2 learns from a politician’s long-suffering wife. 2. Blasphemy by Douglas Preston (Forge: $25.95) Scientists 2 at the world’s largest supercollider uncover secrets to the world’s future and past. 3. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Viking: $25.95) 3 A rare-books expert traces the history of a priceless Jewish tome to 15th century Spain. 4. Beverly Hills Dead by Stuart Woods (Putnam: $25.95) A 1 Hollywood screenwriter is summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee. 5. Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: $17.95) 2 Stephanie Plum’s latest caper involves a big bag of money, plus-size modeling and a case of hives. 6. Three Shirt Deal by Stephen J. Cannell (St. Martin’s: 1 $24.95) Shane Scully tries to save a convict whose murder confession was coerced. 7. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: 36 $25.95) Two Afghan women struggle to survive jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny. 8. T Is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (Putnam: $26.95) Kinsey 6 Millhone suspects elder abuse and becomes ensnared in a case of identity theft. 9. The Shooters by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam: $26.95) A Delta 3 Force officer seeks a missing U.S. agent kidnapped by South American drug dealers. 10. A Version of the Truth by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen 4 Mack (Delacorte: $24) A Topanga Canyon woman falls in love with her boss. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Penguin: 3 $21.95) A clear-eyed look at dietary sacred cows. 2. Tom Cruise by Andrew Morton (St. Martin’s: $25.95) An 1 unauthorized biography aims to tell the unvarnished life story of the Hollywood megastar. 3. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (Scribner: $25) The 9 comedian reflects on the evolution of his art. 4. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) 56 Life’s secrets distilled from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy. 5. Become a Better You by Joel Osteen (Free Press: $25) 9 Change through prayer and good habits. 6. Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus 1 with Karl Weber (PublicAffairs: $26) The Nobelist on his micro-loan business. 7. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden 36 (HarperCollins: $24.95) Learn how to tie knots, find true north and other skills. 8. Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman (Penguin: 1 $29.95) Wry musings on life from the New Yorker illustrator and children’s book author. 9. Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (Knopf: $26) The medical 10 storyteller explores the link between music and its myriad effects on the human brain. 10. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and 12 Miriam Peskowitz (HarperCollins: $24.95) A girls’ handbook of skills and must-have knowledge. *--*

Fiction

2. Atonement by Ian McEwan ($14.95)

3. The Gathering by Anne Enright ($14)

4. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett ($24.95)

5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen ($13.95)

-- Nonfiction

1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15)

2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15)

3. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan ($16)

4. Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch ($12.95)

5. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer ($13.95)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.