BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS
Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.
*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin: $14) A father hides the birth of a twin from his wife.
2 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy searches for treasure in Egypt.
3 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $13.95) Two women in 19th century China.
4 March by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin: $14) Imagining the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, father of the “Little Women.”
5 The Lighthouse by P.D. James (Vintage: $13.95) Adam Dalgliesh searches for the killer of an acclaimed novelist.
6 Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan (Ballantine: $14.95) Tourists in Burma make darkly humorous missteps.
7 The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Grove: $14) A retired judge is caught up in Nepal’s independence movement.
8 The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton: $13.95) A writer escapes the Nazis but loses his beloved.
9 Snow by Orhan Pamuk (Vintage: $14.95) A Turkish poet returns from exile to find ideological strife.
10 Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts (Jove: $7.99) A circle of six prepares to do battle with Lilith the demon queen.
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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Picador: $14) A boy goes to live with his mother’s psychiatrist.
2 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $14) A memoir of breaking away from dysfunctional parents.
3 Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser (Anchor: $16.95) A portrait of France’s child-queen.
4 Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk (Vintage: $14.95) The Nobel laureate meditates on life in his city and its ancient civilization.
5 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom.
6 Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers (Bantam: $7.99) The men in the iconic Iwo Jima photo.
7 The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Laura Schlessinger (Harper: $13.95) How to manage men.
8 Bad President by R.D. Rosen et al. (Workman: $8.95) Jokes and photos about President Bush.
9 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $16.95) Fiscal parenting.
10 Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill & Wange: $9) A teenager’s harrowing year spent in four concentration camps.
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