BESTSELLERS

PAPERBACKS

1. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez ($14.95)

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (Little, Brown: $24.99) 3 A depressed divorcee kills her mother, then tries to understand what drove her to it. 2. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (Del Rey: 1 $21.95) An unlikely pair of travelers ply their skills along the Silk Road in the 10th century. 3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: 25 $25.95) Two Afghan women struggle to survive jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny. 4. Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn (Atria: $26.95) When 1 the CIA director is kidnapped in Iraq, counterterrorism agent Mitch Rapp must rescue her. 5. Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $26.95) 3 Forensics expert Kay Scarpetta goes to Rome to investigate a tennis champ’s murder. 6. World Without End by Ken Follett (Dutton: $35) Four 4 children who witness a murder jockey for power and position as adults in 14th century England. 7. Cheating at Canasta by William Trevor (Viking: $24.95) A 2 collection of 12 stories on life in the emerging economic powerhouse of Ireland. 8. Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (Doubleday: $21.95) A 6 down-on-his-luck pro quarterback finds refuge on a football team in Parma, Italy. 9. Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker (HarperCollins: $24.95) A 1 13th century demon child’s memoir about his battle with an angel in disguise. 10. Caspian Rain by Gina B. Nahai (MacAdam Cage: $25) Class, 3 faith and tradition clash in this tale of love in pre-revolution Tehran. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. I Am America (and so Can You!) by Stephen Colbert 5 (Grand Central: $26.99) “The Colbert Report” star expounds on the forces destroying America. 2. Clapton by Eric Clapton (Broadway: $26) The guitarist 4 tells all -- about the blues, becoming a rock legend, his bouts with addiction and his loves. 3. You: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. 1 Oz (Free Press: $26) Doctors explain how the body ages and how to counter those effects. 4. Slash by Slash and Anthony Bozza (Harper 1 Entertainment: $27.95) The Guns N’ Roses guitarist details his raucous road to fame and fortune. 5. Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (Knopf: $26) The medical 2 storyteller explores the link between music and its myriad effects on the human brain. 6. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) 46 Life’s secrets distilled from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy. 7. The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan (Penguin: 7 $35) The enigmatic former Fed chief explains his economic actions, good and bad. 8. Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson (Simon & 2 Schuster: $26) The former CIA agent tells of her outing by the Bush administration over the Iraq war. 9. American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis (Knopf: $26.95) 1 A look at the challenges facing the nation from the War of Independence to the Louisiana Purchase. 10. Become a Better You by Joel Osteen (Free Press: $25) 2 The Texas pastor offers advice on prayer, good habits and building better relationships. *--*

Fiction

2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen ($13.95)

3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ($15)

4. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky ($14.95)

5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy ($14.95)

-- Nonfiction

1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15)

2. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer ($13.95)

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

4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan ($16)

5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls ($15)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.