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Fiction

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: 2 $25.95) A hacker, implicated in two murders, must revisit her past to prove her innocence. 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives 10 of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 3. The Defector by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $26.95) When a 3 Russian defector disappears, Gabriel Allon is forced to track down a deadly arms dealer. 4. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday: 7 $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment. 5. Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon (Penguin Press: $27.95) 1 Noir meets ‘60s Southern California groovy in a private eye’s psychedelic quest. 6. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: 8 $27.99) A recently downsized reporter investigates a serial killer who uses his computer job to find his victims. 7. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26.99) 3 Two childhood friends on the outs since high school reconnect when one is in trouble. 8. The Shimmer by David Morrell (Vanguard: $25.95) A police 2 officer searching for his missing wife encounters unexplained nighttime phenomena. 9. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press: $26) A 2 woman is visited by the spirit of her great aunt requesting she locate a long-lost necklace. 10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella 56 must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) 36 An exploration of the background of high achievers. 2. Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin (Regnery 2 Publishing: $27.95) An investigation into corruption in the Obama administration. 3. Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold 19 Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. 4. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey 27 (Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. 5. Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (Harper: 7 $26.99) A call to prevent President Obama from transforming America into a socialist state. 6. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The 2 disappearance of a Syrian-American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 7. Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad (Ecco: $25.99) 8 The son of a daredevil tells of his life on the edge and how he survived a deadly plane crash. 8. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow 66 (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. 9. Excuses Begone by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: $24.95) 6 Advice on achieving success and happiness by changing self-defeating habits. 10. Imperial by William T. Vollmann (Viking: $55) A 1 massive look at the cultures and subcultures of the California-Mexico border. *--*

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95)

2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14)

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ($14)

4. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger ($14.95)

5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ($15)

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Nonfiction

1. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell ($14.99)

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

3. Glenn Beck’s Common Sense by Glenn Beck ($11.99)

4. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris ($15.99)

5. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme ($15)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores. --

latimes.com/books

Apocalypse then

Paperback Writers: Nathanael West’s Los Angeles. Off the Shelf: Allison Hoover Bartlett judges books by their covers. Jacket Copy: What Bill Clinton is reading (besides our blog).