BESTSELLERS

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Keep by Jennifer Egan 8 3 (Alfred A. Knopf: $23.95) Two cousins fix up their frayed relationship as they repair an Eastern European castle in the hopes of launching a luxe hotel.

2 Suite Francaise by Irene 2 18 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) Two novellas from a writer killed at Auschwitz on the exodus from Paris ahead of the Germans’ arrival and on life in a farming village under occupation.

3 The Messenger by Daniel 4 4 Silva (Putnam: $25.95) Israeli art restorer and spymaster Gabriel Allon tries to avert an Islamic militants’ assassination plot against the pope.

4 Special Topics in Calamity 3 2 Physics by Marisha Pessl (Viking: $25.95) Brilliant, eccentric high school students and their film studies teacher are drawn into a murder mystery.

5 The Ruins by Scott Smith 1 5 (Knopf: $24.95) Four American friends in Cancun who agree to help a German tourist find his missing brother end up in a Mexican jungle a la TV’s “Lost.”

6 The Man Who Smiled by -- 1 Henning Mankell (New Press: $24.95) Inspector Kurt Wallander is on the brink of retirement when a friend who’d asked him to look into the killing of his father turns up dead.

7 The Night Gardener by 5 3 George Pelecanos (Little, Brown: $24.99) The reemergence of a serial killer reunites three men who had worked on the original investigation for the D.C. police department.

8 Ricochet by Sandra Brown -- 1 (Simon & Schuster: $25.95) A Georgia police detective is enthralled with the beautiful wife of a judge who may be in the pocket of a local drug lord.

9 Coronado by Dennis Lehane -- 1 (William Morrow: $24.95) Stories from the author of “Mystic River” about class friction in the South and strained familial relationships.

10 Judge & Jury by James 7 3 Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown: $27.99) An FBI agent finally gets his man, but a brutal mob boss hires a killer to make sure no conviction comes down.

11 Into the Storm by Suzanne -- 1 Brockmann (Ballantine: $21.95) A Navy SEAL team and private security experts are friendly rivals in a New England training exercise until one participant vanishes.

12 Literacy and Longing in 9 12 L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack (Delacorte: $22) A book-obsessed divorcee stalks her movie-mogul ex-husband until she meets a literature major.

13 Three Days to Never by Tim 15 2 Powers (William Morrow: $25.95) A man who discovers he is a descendant of Albert Einstein battles a shadowy Gnostic seeking a time-travel machine.

14 The Fourth Bear: A Nursery 12 2 Crime by Jasper Fforde (Viking: $24.95) Det. Jack Spratt, demoted to the missing-persons detail, hunts for Goldy, a reporter last seen by the Three Bears.

15 Phantom by Terry Goodkind 10 5 (Tor Books: $29.95) In the 10th book in the “Sword of Truth” series, Kahlan Amnell seeks her true identity in a war-torn world she has the power to destroy.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 I Feel Bad About My Neck: 2 4 And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (Knopf: $19.95) The screenwriter considers the effects of gravity and aging.

2 Fiasco: The American 1 4 Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks (Penguin: $27.95) The Washington Post reporter details the administration’s “reckless” war in Iraq.

3 Marley & Me by John Grogan 3 40 (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.

4 Freakonomics by Steven D. 15 61 Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

5 The World Is Flat by 9 70 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) How technology and globalization are changing the world and the training that is needed to compete.

6 Cesar’s Way by Cesar 8 20 Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier (Harmony: $24.95) The “Dog Whisperer” of TV gives tips on understanding and correcting common canine behavior problems.

7 The Looming Tower by 4 2 Lawrence Wright (Knopf: $27.95) A penetrating explanation of the ideological roots of Al Qaeda and how Osama bin Laden came to hate America.

8 I Feel Earthquakes More 5 2 Often Than They Happen by Amy Wilentz (Simon & Schuster: $26) Leaving the East Coast behind, Wilentz takes on California.

9 The One Percent Doctrine 7 9 by Ron Suskind (Simon & Schuster: $27) How the analyses of U.S. counterterrorism experts were exaggerated or dismissed to justify going to war with Iraq.

10 Dispatches From the Edge -- 10 by Anderson Cooper (HarperCollins: $24.95) Gloria Vanderbilt’s telegenic son recounts personal tragedies as well as the wars and disasters he’s covered for CNN.

11 Microthrills by Wendy -- 1 Spero (Hudson Street Press: $21.95) Autobiographical vignettes exploring the ways to gain gratification through life’s simple pleasures and how to tackle adulthood.

12 The Long Tail by Chris 13 6 Anderson (Hyperion: 24.95) How technological advances have shattered the old paradigms on marketing and created new opportunities for niche selling.

13 One Party Country by Tom -- 1 Hamburger and Peter Wallsten (Wiley: $25.95) How the Republicans have come to dominate politics nationally due to the courting of both minorities and big business.

14 Heat by Bill Buford 11 12 (Knopf: $25.95) The journalist chronicles his time as a “kitchen slave” to TV chef Mario Batali and reveals the secrets of a three-star restaurant and Italian cooking.

15 My Life in France by Julia -- 12 Child with Alex Prud’homme (Knopf: $25.95) The late chef’s memoir of her formative years in France, studies at the Cordon Bleu and the best Parisian restaurants.

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PAPERBACKS

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

3 March by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin: $14) Imagining the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, father of the “Little Women.”

4 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $13.95) Two women in 19th century China.

5 The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton: $13.95) A writer escapes the Nazis but loses his beloved.

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

7 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy searches for treasure in Egypt.

8 The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) An attorney for a rich woman’s son fears for his own safety.

9 The Sea by John Banville (Vintage: $12.95) A recent widower visits the coastal town where he spent time as a boy.

10 Lifeguard by James Patterson and Andrew Gross (Warner: $9.99) A botched art heist vaults a man onto the most-wanted list.

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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 An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (Rodale: $21.95) The former vice president cites the evidence for global warming.

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

4 1776 by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster: $18) How Colonial forces took on the world’s greatest military power.

5 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $14) A memoir of breaking away from dysfunctional parents.

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

7 The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer (Hyperion: $14.95) Finding father figures among the regulars at a Long Island bar.

8 Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (Penguin: $15) A food critic recalls dining incognito in New York.

9 Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas (Random House: $12.95) An Iranian girl grows up in Newport Beach.

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

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.