BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

2 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

3 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks out a killer.

4 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Del Rey: $7.99) A hapless traveler creates galactic havoc.

5 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin: $14) A teenage girl is haunted by her mother’s death.

6 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $16) Two sisters vie for the love of Henry VIII.

7 The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (Plume: $14) Members of a book group reveal their own foibles.

8 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church.

9 Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Del Rey: $18.95) The entire “Hitchhiker” series.

10 Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes (Miramax: $13.95) Park Avenue princesses search for love and riches.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

2 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) A serial killer haunts the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

3 Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (Perennial: $13.95) Reflections on friendship and devotion.

4 Bad Cat by Jim Edgar (Workman: $9.95) Meet 244 cats and kittens with attitude, all in living color.

5 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $16.95) Fiscal parenting.

6 Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Picador: $14) A boy goes to live with his mother’s psychiatrist.

7 Moneyball by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton: $13.95) How the Oakland A’s built a winning team without big bucks.

8 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

9 What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff et al. (Workman: $13.95) The ABCs of pregnancy.

10 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.