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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST

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*--* 1 The Broker by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A 1 6 high-roller attorney is pardoned to lead the CIA to a powerful satellite surveillance system and the shadowy agents who want to buy it.

2 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 2 100 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

3 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 14 6 $23) An aging minister facing death explains his life and religious beliefs in a letter to his young son.

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4 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 3 73 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement-park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

5 State of Fear by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins: 5 10 $27.95) A globe-trotting thriller involving nefarious environmentalists and manufactured threats of global warming.

6 I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe (Farrar, Straus & 9 14 Giroux: $28.95) A North Carolina ingenue tries to fit in with an elite university’s beautiful-people-in-training.

7 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton 8 21 Mifflin: $26) Charles Lindbergh becomes president in 1940, setting the country on a course of isolationism and nationwide pogroms.

8 Snobs by Julian Fellowes (St. Martin’s Press: $23.95) 7 2 The “Gosford Park” screenwriter weaves a comedy of manners in the 1990s London of social climbers and aristocratic snobs.

9 Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (Knopf: $25.95) A 12 4 Tokyo teen who calls himself Kafka runs away because of Oedipal fears, and an elderly man embarks on a metaphysical quest.

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10 Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House: $21.95) An -- 2 Indiana teen on a scholarship tries to overcome her outsider status at a prestigious Boston prep school.

11 The Da Vinci Code Special Illustrated Edition by Dan 10 13 Brown (Doubleday: $35) The blockbuster thriller, complete with images of the artwork, symbols and sites in the text.

12 Pearl by Mary Gordon (Pantheon: $24.95) A New York City -- 1 woman tries to save her daughter who has gone on a hunger strike and chained herself to a flagpole outside the American Embassy in Dublin.

13 Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb (Putnam: $23.95) NYPD Lt. 6 2 Eve Dallas investigates the massacre of an Upper West Side lawyer and his family while protecting a 10-year-old eyewitness.

14 Life Studies by Susan Vreeland (Viking: $24.95) Ordinary -- 1 people encounter the extraordinary in the form of artists such as Renoir and Van Gogh in this collection of stories.

15 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: 13 13 $24.95) In postwar Barcelona, the son of a bookstore owner tries to unearth the story of a long-dead novelist.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST

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*--* 1 French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf: 3 6 $22) The chief executive of the French wine conglomerate Clicquot Inc. reveals the French secret of eating for pleasure without the bulge.

2 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $25.95) 1 5 Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

3 Collapse by Jared Diamond (Viking: $29.95) Diamond 2 7 examines why great societies such as the Anasazi and the Maya collapsed and what modern society can do to prevent future die-offs.

4 DisneyWar by James B. Stewart (Simon & Schuster: $29.95) -- 1 A look inside the personality conflicts that raged inside the media giant, making it anything but the happiest place on Earth.

5 The Grand Slam by Mark Frost (Hyperion: $30) How golfing -- 4 legend Bobby Jones trounced the competition in 1930 to win the Grand Slam and then shocked his fans by exiting the public stage.

6 He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz 4 22 Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $19.95) The no-excuses guide to help women understand guys and get on with their lives.

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7 Chronicles, Volume One by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: 6 20 $24) The songwriter reflects on the influences that helped shape him and his struggle to rediscover his creativity.

8 Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith: $19.99) 5 15 Seven steps to improving your life by using faith to develop self-esteem, let go of the past and fulfill your potential.

9 Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton: -- 11 $26.95) How an uneducated lad from the English countryside became William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and a favorite of the queen.

10 Ella in Europe by Michael Konik (Delacorte Press: $20) 15 2 The adventures of Ella Guinevere Konik, a Labrador-greyhound mix, and her doting human in the capitals of Europe.

11 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 10 99 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

12 Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin with Catherine 11 2 Johnson (Scribner: $19.99) An animal behavior expert uses her autism experiences to explain how animals perceive the world.

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13 His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis -- 8 (Knopf: $26.95) A portrait of the most imposing Founding Father, who held a young nation together through its rocky beginnings.

14 Juiced by Jose Canseco (ReganBooks: $25.95) The former -- 1 major league star details why he used steroids and names others who he alleges took them as well.

15 The Last Season by Phil Jackson (Penguin: $24.95) The -- 15 former Laker coach recounts last year’s turbulent season, in which egos ruled the court and a star-studded team stumbled.

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