BOOK REVIEW

PAPERBACKS

Fiction

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday: 3 $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment. 2. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two 6 sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles. 3. Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, 2 Brown: $27.99) A supermodel disappears from a photo shoot in Hawaii. 4. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: 3 $27.95) A witness enters a barbecue competition to uncover the killer of a contestant. 5. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: 6 $27.99) A recently downsized reporter investigates a serial killer who uses his computer job to find his victims. 6. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) 49 The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. 7. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella 52 must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 8. Black Hills by Nora Roberts (Putnam: $26.95) Two 1 childhood friends return to South Dakota to find love and revisit an unsolved murder. 9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives 6 of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 10. Hancock Park by Isabel Kaplan (Harper Teen: $16.99) A 1 16-year-old attempts to stay sane living in the shadow of Hollywood. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) 32 An exploration of the background of high achievers. 2. Catastrophe by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (Harper: 3 $26.99) A call to prevent President Obama from transforming America into a socialist state. 3. The Waxman Report by Henry Waxman and Joshua Green 1 (Twelve: $24.99) The congressman from L.A. gives insights on his 35 years in the House. 4. Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold 15 Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. 5. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey 23 (Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. 6. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow 62 (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. 7. A Bright and Guilty Place by Richard Rayner 1 (Doubleday: $25) The intertwined stories of a police photographer and an ambitious young lawyer on trial for a mob murder paint a picture of early 20th century L.A. 8. Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton (Scribner: $28) A unit 6 of Special Forces soldiers pursues the Taliban in Afghanistan after 9/11. 9. Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley (Twelve: 10 $24.99) The son of William F. and Patricia Buckley tells of life with the high-powered couple and how he coped with their deaths. 10. Excuses Begone by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: $24.95) 5 Advice on achieving success and happiness by changing self-defeating habits. *--*

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95)

2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14)

3. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ($12.95)

4. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult ($16)

5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ($14)

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Nonfiction

1. Glenn Beck’s Common Sense by Glenn Beck ($11.99)

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

3. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris ($15.99)

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

5. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell ($14.99)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores. --

latimes.com/books

Manhattan in the year 2038

Astral Weeks: Paul Pope’s futuristic graphic novel “100%.” Off the Shelf: Laila Lalami goes to Morocco. Paperback Writers: Red Pine’s translations of classical Chinese poetry. Jacket Copy: What is Ray Bradbury?