BESTSELLERS

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

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*--* 1 The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking: $24.95) A 1 5 woman called home to cope with her troubled mother finds herself drawn to a Benedictine monk on an island off South Carolina.

2 Saturday by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A 2 7 day in the life of a neurosurgeon brings both quotidian and earth-shattering struggles in post-Sept. 11 London.

3 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A 4 111 Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

4 In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall 3 2 Smith (Pantheon: $19.95) The newly married proprietor of Botswana’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has a new crop of colorful cases.

5 The Innocent by Harlan Coben (Dutton: $26.95) A New -- 1 Jersey naif with a criminal record is on the run from cops as tries to clear himself and prove that his wife isn’t cheating on him.

6 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran 8 8 Foer (Houghton Mifflin: $24.95) A 9-year-old wunderkind seeks the lock that fits a key belonging to his dead father.

7 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 7 15 $23) An aging minister facing death explains his life and religious beliefs in a letter to his young son.

8 True Believer by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $24.95) A 6 3 science writer who exposes fraud is called to a North Carolina town to investigate mysterious lights in a local cemetery.

9 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring 9 5 Stover (Del Rey: $25.95) Yoda and fellow masters try to protect the Jedi Council amid civil war and the arrival of a dark new Sith lord.

10 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) 5 8 Inside the walls of a seemingly charming school in the English countryside is a place where destiny is anything but idyllic.

11 No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & 13 4 Schuster: $25.95) A young woman is confronted with a past she spent years trying to escape when she returns to her hometown.

12 Savage Garden by Denise Hamilton (Scribner: $22) -- 1 Reporter Eve Diamond and her boyfriend help search for a leading lady who goes missing before the curtain rises.

13 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom -- 81 (Hyperion: $19.95) An amusement-park maintenance man faces his life, death and afterlife in this three-part parable.

14 The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman (Little, Brown: $23.95) -- 1 An emotionally numb librarian obsessed since childhood by death is jolted from her reserve by a lightning strike.

15 One Sunday Morning by Amy Ephron (William Morrow: -- 1 $21.95) Bridge party companions spot a friend leaving a hotel with a man who is not her husband in New York City’s Jazz Age.

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

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*--* 1 The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus 3 3 & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

2 My Life So Far by Jane Fonda (Random House: $26.95) The 1 4 actress, antiwar activist, fitness guru and feminist icon tells the story of her life, with a heavy emphasis on the men along the way.

3 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $25.95) 2 16 Gladwell explores why decisions are so often made in an instant and whether we can really trust those first instincts.

4 And One More Thing Before You Go ... by Maria Shriver 5 4 (Free Press: $13.95) Ten rules for teenagers and adults alike on how to find abundance and love by knowing what is important in life.

5 He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz -- 29 Tuccillo (Simon Spotlight Entertainment: $21.95) A no-excuses guide to help women understand guys and get on with their lives.

6 Winning by Jack Welch with Suzy Welch (HarperBusiness: 4 4 $27.95) How to succeed in business (and life) by staying optimistic, making no excuses and getting things done.

7 On Bull... by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University 7 7 Press: $9.95) A leading philosopher takes on society’s view of what sometimes seems to be the fine line between truth and lying.

8 Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner 13 2 (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

9 The Bradbury Chronicles by Sam Weller (William Morrow: -- 1 $26.95) A look at the life of prolific writer Ray Bradbury and how an Illinois boy with an affinity for the fantastic found his true calling.

10 The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan: 6 109 $19.99) How the “God-ordained” principles of worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism bring fulfillment.

11 Translation Nation by Hector Tobar (Riverhead: $24.95) -- 1 The Los Angeles Times reporter chronicles the experience of Central American immigrants as they redefine themselves and America.

12 French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano (Knopf: 14 17 $22) The chief executive of the French wine conglomerate Clicquot Inc. reveals the French secret of eating for pleasure without the bulge.

13 Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen (Random House: $12.95) -- 1 The author and longtime columnist shares her wisdom on how to avoid “the perfection trap” and live the life you desire.

14 Bono: In Conversation With Michka Assayas (Riverhead: -- 1 $23.95) U2 lead singer Bono talks about faith, family, commitment and public service with his friend and music journalist.

15 The City: A Global History by Joel Kotkin (Modern -- 1 Library: $21.95) A history of urban centers from 5000 BC to the New York City of today, including the first mega-city, Rome.

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