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Fiction

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard 5 professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C. 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives 20 of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 3. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $25.95) A woman 2 acquaints herself with the songwriter whose album caused the breakup of her recent relationship. 4. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $27.99) 1 An LAPD detective travels to Hong Kong to solve the murder of a Chinese immigrant. 5. Blood’s a Rover by James Ellroy (Knopf : $28.95) A bank 3 heist sets off an escapade through ‘60s L.A. with run-ins with the mob, the FBI and Howard Hughes. 6. South of Broad by Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese: $29.95) A 7 gossip columnist’s homage to a close-knit group of friends from Charleston, S.C. 7. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore (Knopf : $25.95) A 7 naive Midwestern college coed takes a job as a nanny for a recently adopted toddler. 8. The Professional by Robert B. Parker (Putnam: $26.95) A 1 Boston PI is hired to investigate a blackmailing Lothario whose victims are turning up dead. 9. The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt (Knopf: $26.95) A 1 runaway boy is taken in by a famous children’s book author and her storybook world. 10. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $26) The 1 story of a hard-knock gal who raised horses, and survived floods and the Great Depression. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (Doubleday: 5 $27.95) A chronicle of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned Army Ranger whose death in Afghanistan stunned the power structure. 2. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Hyperion: $23.99) 3 Albom’s observations of a rabbi and a pastor, on an eight-year journey of faith. 3. True Compass by Edward Kennedy (Twelve: $35) The 4 memoirs of the late U.S. senator from Massachusetts. 4. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) 46 An exploration of the background of high achievers. 5. Arguing With Idiots by Glenn Beck (Threshold 3 Editions: $29.99) Secrets for winning arguments with small-minded people. 6. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The 10 disappearance of a Syrian American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 7. Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon (Harper: 1 $26.99) A collection of essays reflecting on what it means to be a man and father. 8. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (Free 2 Press: $30) A pro-evolution argument filled with scientific evidence. 9. American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson (Harper: 3 $25.99) A memoir of the Scottish-born comic living the American Dream. 10. L.A. Noir by John Buntin (Harmony: $26) Gangster 7 Mickey Cohen and LAPD Chief William Parker battle for control in midcentury Los Angeles. *--*

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

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

3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14)

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

5. Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan ($14.99)

Nonfiction

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

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

3. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell ($15.99)

4. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher ($13.99)

5. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max ($15.95)

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

latimes.com/books

Girl power

Word Play: “Fire” and “Goth Girl Rising” tackle budding female sexuality and identity. Jacket Copy: Gabriel Garcia Marquez under surveillance; why the “balloon boy” story is something out of Edgar Allan Poe.