BESTSELLERS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

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*--* -- Fiction weeks on list 1. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf: $25) 6 Stories of U.S.-born children and their Bengali parents straddling cultures. 2. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall 3 Smith (Pantheon: $22.95) Mma Ramotswe helps a woman find her identity. 3. The Whole Truth by David Baldacci (Grand Central: 2 $26.99) A defense contractor tries to get business by planting tales of atrocities. 4. Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and 1 Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown: $24.99) A woman’s invisible friend from childhood returns. 5. Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh (Little, 6 Brown: $26.99) Two cops are ensnared in a divorce. 6. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich (Harper: 1 $25.95) A North Dakota family’s murder reverberates through four generations. 7. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot 15 Diaz (Riverhead: $24.95) A sci-fi-loving nerd and his immigrant family are haunted by the past. 8. Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Dutton: $26.95) A 3 teen’s suicide and sadistic killings engulf a family. 9. Our Story Begins by Tobias Wolff (Knopf: $26.95) 6 Tales of modern American life by a master storyteller. 10. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central: $24.99) 1 A hero seeks a serial killer in Stalin’s Soviet Union. *--*

*--* -- Nonfiction weeks on list 1. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey 4 Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor with terminal cancer urges us to seize life’s moments. 2. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs (St. 2 Martin’s: $24.95) An exploration of a terrifying relationship between father and son. 3. Just Who Will You Be? by Maria Shriver (Hyperion: 3 $14.95) Ask who, not what, you want to be. 4. Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts (William 4 Morrow: $26.95) Portraits of the women who helped shape the young American nation. 5. Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea 2 Handler (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $24.95) The talk-show host skewers dating life, family and work. 6. What Now? by Ann Patchett (Harper: $14.95) 3 Reflections on life’s journey, on finding joy and meeting new challenges. 7. The Soloist by Steve Lopez (Putnam: $25.95) The 3 L.A. Times columnist befriends a mentally ill homeless musician. 8. Brotherhood of Warriors by Aaron Cohen with 1 Douglas Century (Ecco: $25.95) A member of an elite U.S. counterterrorism unit tells his story. 9. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) 71 Life’s secrets distilled from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy. 10. Home by Julie Andrews (Hyperion: $26.95) The star 5 of stage and screen tells of life before “Mary Poppins.” *--*

PAPERBACKS

Fiction

1. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon ($15.95)

2. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson ($14)

3. Peony in Love by Lisa See ($14)

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ($16)

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

Nonfiction

1. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle ($14)

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

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

4. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle ($14)

5. ¡Ask a Mexican! by Gustavo Arellano ($13)