Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

March 3, 2002

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 THE SUMMONS by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A man discovers $3 million in his dead father’s house and hides it from his prodigal brother and a mysterious extortioner. Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 2

2 UP COUNTRY by Nelson Demille (Warner: $26.95) A U.S. Army investigator travels to Vietnam to probe a 30-year-old murder in which the only living eyewitness is an enemy soldier. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 3

3 TISHOMINGO BLUES by Elmore Leonard (William Morrow: $25.95) A high diver plunges into the Delta drug trade and the Dixie Mafia after witnessing a murder from atop his rig. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 3

4 THE CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $26) The saga of a dysfunctional Midwestern family living at the end of the 20th century. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 25

5 THE MILLIONAIRES by Brad Meltzer (Warner: $25.95) Two brothers who loot the account of a deceased client at a private bank get more than they bargained for. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 6

6 BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS by Daj Sijie (Alfred A. Knopf: $18) Two Chinese youths use classic Western literature to free their minds in the face of communist re-education. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 8

7 TEPPER ISN’T GOING OUT by Calvin Trillin (Random House: $22.95) A New Yorker becomes an urban legend by taking prized parking spots only to sit and read in his car. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

8 UNDER FIRE by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam: $26.95) A Marine captain tries in vain to alert top brass of an impending invasion by the North at the outset of the Korean War. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 4

9 BASKET CASE by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf: $25.95) Once a hotshot reporter, an obituary writer for a small paper unravels the bizarre causes of the death of a rock star. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 7

10 THE GOOD MEN by Charmaine Craig (Riverhead: $24.95) A village rector and the women he loves cope with their desires as inquisitors hunt for heretics in 14th century France. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 2

11 THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER by Joyce Reardon (Hyperion: $22.95) The strange occurrences at Rose Red, the haunted mansion setting of an ABC miniseries by Stephen King. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 2

12 STAR WARS: THE APPROACHING STORM by Alan Dean Foster (Del Rey: $26) Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker join others in a quest to quell unrest and keep the Republic together. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

13 HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $25.95) Harry competes in the great Triwizard Tournament and is pursued by the sinister Lord Voldemort. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 14

14 A BEND IN THE ROAD by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $23.95) A widower’s romance with a small-town schoolteacher is threatened by the mystery surrounding his wife’s death. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 12

15 THE CAT WHO WENT UP THE CREEK by Lilian Jackson Braun (Putnam: $23.95) Cats and crime go toe-to-toe as Siamese felines Koko and Yum Yum help solve mysteries in Moose County. Last Week: 12 Weeks on List: 4

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 SELF MATTERS by Phillip C. McGraw (Simon & Schuster: $25) A self-improvement guru and “Oprah” regular teaches readers how to “create your life from the inside out.” Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 5

2 BIAS by Bernard Goldberg (Regnery: $27.95) A veteran CBS reporter argues that the mainstream media have been seriously damaged by a liberal, closed-minded worldview. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 9

3 SACRED CONTRACTS by Caroline Myss (Harmony: $25) Lessons in decoding symbols, myths, intuition and coincidences to understand your purpose in life. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 3

4 SATISFACTION by Kim Cattrall and Mark Levinson (Warner: $24.95) A star of HBO’s “Sex and the City” and her husband draw on viewer feedback for this guide to pleasing women. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 3

5 JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS by Mattie J.T. Stepanek (Hyperion: $14.95) A new collection of poetry from a boy struggling with a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 4

6 THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE by Christiane Northrup (Bantam: $27.95) A physician sees menopause, its symptoms and treatments as an opportunity for personal growth. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

7 WHAT WENT WRONG by Bernard Lewis (Oxford University: $23) An esteemed historian describes the Islamic Middle East’s fall from enlightenment into repression and tyranny. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 3

8 THE UNIVERSE IN A NUTSHELL by Stephen Hawking (Bantam: $35) The celebrated physicist offers up a look at space, time and the origin and future of the universe. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 13

9 JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster: $35) The story of our second president, a man Thomas Jefferson called “the colossus of independence.” Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 40

10 THE PRAYER OF JABEZ by Bruce H. Wilkinson (Multnomah: $9.99) Remaking your life according to a little-known biblical figure’s 32-word prayer. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 4

11 SHADOW WARRIORS by Tom Clancy with Gen. Carl Stiner (Putnam: $29.95) The recent history of the U.S. military’s Special Forces, and their usefulness when conventional tactics fail. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 2

12 YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR NEXT ONE by Mike Medavoy with Josh Young (Pocket Books: $27) Memoir of a studio exec’s rise from the Universal mailroom to movie mogul-dom. Last Week: 15 Weeks on List: 2

13 DRIVER #8 by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Jade Gurss (Warner: $23.95) The story of Dale Jr.’s rookie year on the Winston Cup circuit, as he learns the ropes in the shadow of a legendary father. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

14 THE POWER OF NOW by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: $21.95) How to improve relationships and encourage happiness and contentment by living in the present. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

15 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) The co-author of “The One-Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to discuss managing change. Last Week: 12 Weeks on List: 100

Paperbacks

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 FALL ON YOUR KNEES by Ann-Marie MacDonald (Scribner: $14) The travails of a family in coal-mining Nova Scotia.

2 A PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham (Dell Island: $7.99) Violence looms over a boyhood in rural Arkansas in 1952.

3 THE BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER by Amy Tan (Ballantine: $7.99) A ghostwriter uncovers her family’s anguished past.

4 A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $6.99) A man recalls the bittersweet love story of his youth.

5 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz.

6 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Theia: $10.95) Department store

clerk Mirabelle meets an older man too good to be true.

7 1st TO DIE by James Patterson (Warner Vision: $7.99) Four

women track a killer with a penchant for newlyweds.

8 MY DREAM OF YOU by Nuala O’Faolain (Riverhead: $14) An Irish writer uncovers a 150-year-old love story.

9 THE BODY ARTIST by Don DeLillo (Scribner: $12) A woman meets a strange man with an uncanny knowledge of her life.

10 THE HEARING by John Lescroart (Signet: $7.99) A lawyer defends a heroin addict accused of murder.

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 A BEAUTIFUL MIND by Sylvia Nasar (Touchstone: $16) A brilliant mathematics professor’s battle with schizophrenia.

2 BLACK HAWK DOWN by Mark Bowden (Signet: $7.99) A gritty account of a disastrous 1993 military operation in Somalia.

3 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry.

4 THE WRINKLE CURE by Nicholas Perricone (Warner: $13.95) Using antioxidants to keep the skin looking young.

5 9-11 by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $8.95) An alternative view of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

6 FOUNDING BROTHERS by Joseph Ellis (Vintage: $14) The genius, cunning and flaws of the nation’s architects.

7 THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) Life lessons based on ancient Toltec wisdom.

8 HEARTSONGS by Mattie J.T. Stepanek (Vacation Spot: $11.50) Musings on life by a boy with muscular dystrophy.

9 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting.

10 ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Wisecracking essays on life in Paris and elsewhere.