BOOK REVIEW

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. The Defector by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $26.95) When a 2 Russian defector disappears, Gabriel Allon is forced to track down a deadly arms dealer. 2. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26.99) 2 Two childhood friends on the outs since high school reconnect when one is in trouble. 3. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two 9 sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles. 4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) 52 The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. 5. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: 1 $25.95) A heroine hacker, implicated in two murders, must revisit her past to prove her innocence. 6. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday: 6 $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment. 7. The Shimmer by David Morrell (Vanguard: $25.95) A police 1 officer searching for his missing wife encounters unexplained nighttime phenomena. 8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives 9 of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 9. Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, 5 Brown: $27.99) A supermodel disappears from a photo shoot in Hawaii. 10. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press: $26) A 1 woman is visited by the spirit of her great aunt requesting she locate a long-lost necklace. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) 35 An exploration of the background of high achievers. 2. Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad (Ecco: $25.99) 7 The son of a daredevil tells of his life on the edge and how he survived a deadly plane crash. 3. A Bright and Guilty Place by Richard Rayner 4 (Doubleday: $25) The sagas of an ambitious young lawyer, a prime suspect in a mob murder, and a police photographer paint a picture of early 20th century L.A. 4. The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich 2 (Doubleday: $25) The story and phenomenon behind the founders of Facebook. 5. Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold 18 Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. 6. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey 26 (Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. 7. Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (Harper: 6 $26.99) A call to prevent President Obama from transforming America into a socialist state. 8. Unmasked by Ian Halperin (Simon Spotlight 3 Entertainment: $25) A look into the final years and days of Michael Jackson. 9. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The 1 disappearance of a Syrian American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 10. Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin (Regnery 1 Publishing: $27.95) An investigation into corruption in the Obama administration. *--*