Southern California Rating:FICTION1 MERRICK by Anne...

Southern California Rating:

FICTION

1 MERRICK by Anne Rice (Alfred A. Knopf: $26.95) The haunting tale of a New Orleans witch delves into voodoo and returns to the characters of “Interview with the Vampire.”

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 2

2 JOURNEY by Danielle Steel (Dell: $26.95) A picture-perfect Georgetown power couple conceals their stormy, fracturing marriage in Steel’s 50th novel.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

3 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Hyperion: $17.95) A young artist who works days in the glove department at Neiman Marcus falls abruptly in love with a millionaire businessman.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 8

4 DROWNING RUTH by Christina Schwarz (Doubleday: $23.95) In early 20th century Wisconsin, a family is torn apart by a tragic death and the secrets that follow.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 6

5 PRODIGAL SUMMER by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins: $26) In southern Appalachia, three stories of human love intersect within a larger tapestry.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 4

6 THE LAST PRECINCT by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $26.95) At Christmastime, Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her staff have not a moment to spare as mangled corpses crowd their morgue.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

7 WINTER’S HEART by Richard Jordan (Tor Books: $29.95) The “Wheel of Time” saga rolls on, as doomed hero Rand rallies the forces of magic against evil legions.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

8 THE MARK by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Tyndale House: $22.99) The antichrist has taken over, branding his followers and causing mayhem in the latest in the “Left Behind” series.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

9 THE PROMETHEUS DECEPTION by Robert Ludlum (St. Martin’s: $27.95) A spy infiltrates his former shadowy agency in this story of post-Cold War double-crosses and Wall Street conspiracies.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

10 LYING AWAKE by Mark Salzman (Alfred A. Knopf: $21) A meditation on spirituality in the life of an Angeleno nun facing a dilemma: Should she have surgery that will cure her of mystical visions?

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 8

11 GUESS AGAIN by Bernard Cooper (Simon & Schuster: $21) Short stories explore the nature of love, sexuality, relationships and loss in the age of AIDS.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 2

12 THE LAST CITY ROOM by Al Martinez (St. Martin’s: $22.95) A novel by the L.A. Times columnist tells the story of the decline of a San Francisco newspaper during the turbulent ‘60s.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

13 THE SITUE STORIES by Frances Khirallah Noble (Syracuse University Press: $22.95) Eleven interconnected short stories form a drama about an extended Arabic family in America.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 2

14 THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A narrative tour de force of self-deceit and revenge that joins the lives of two sisters with an unpublished sci-fi novel.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 10

15 WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS by Kazuo Ishiguro (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) An English boy is “orphaned” when his mother and father vanish; years later, he returns as a detective to solve the disappearances.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 10

NONFICTION

1 ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER by Natalie Cole with Digby Diehl (Warner: $25.95) Autobiography of the Grammy-winning singer, from fond memories of life with Nat to the perils of her show biz career.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

2 MY FATHER’S DAUGHTER by Tina Sinatra with Jeff Coplon (Simon & Schuster: $26) A portrait of Frank Sinatra by his youngest daughter, describing the heights, slumps and loneliness of his career.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 3

3 A SHORT GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE by Anna Quindlen (Random House: $12.95) The columnist reflects on what it takes to “get a life” by living deeply rather than merely existing.

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 2

4 THE O’REILLY FACTOR by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway Books: $23) The TV pundit pontificates on what he finds to be the good, the bad and the completely ridiculous in American life.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 7

5 W.E.B. DUBOIS by David Levering Lewis (Henry Holt: $35) Volume two (volume one won a Pulitzer Prize) of Lewis’ biography of a pioneering black activist and thinker.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

6 AMERICA’S QUEEN by Sarah Bradford (Viking: $29.95) A new look at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the woman who captured America’s imagination as young bride, first lady and grieving widow.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 4

7 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) This co-author of “The One Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to show people how to manage change.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 37

8 NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE WORLD by Stephen Ambrose (Simon & Schuster: $28) The historian looks at the building of the transcontinental railroad and its impact on the growth of the nation.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 13

9 FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS by James Bradley with Ron Powers (Bantam: $24.95) A son pieces together the history of his father, who helped raise the American flag at Iwo Jima.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 18

10 PARIS TO THE MOON by Adam Gopnik (Random House: $24.95) A personal homage to years spent in the City of Lights by a longtime New Yorker writer.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 4

11 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s story of the life lessons he received during weekly visits to an older dying friend.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 144

12 JOE DIMAGGIO by Richard Ben Cramer (Simon & Schuster: $28) A biography seeks to capture the allegedly selfish, resentful private life of an American icon clad in Yankee pinstripes.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 4

13 THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY by The Beatles (Chronicle Books: $60) Previously unreleased photos, memorabilia and reminiscences that should make any Fab Four fan want to twist and shout.

Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 7

14 KING DAVID by Jonathan Kirsch (Ballantine: $28) Beyond the blockbusters and the epics, a search for the real history of the man who ruled Israel.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 4

15 MAESTRO by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster: $25) Portrait of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who started as a Julliard-trained sax man and now keeps the U.S. economy in tune.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

1 TIMELINE by Michael Crichton (Ballantine: $7.99) Investigators time-travel to 14th century France.

2 THE LION’S GAME by Nelson DeMille (Warner: $7.99) A New York cop and an FBI agent join forces to find a terrorist.

3 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG by Andre Dubus III (Vintage: $14) Two families clash over an auctioned house in this tragic tale.

4 INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $12) Indian customs color the lives of people coping with loss.

5 THE HOURS by Michael Cunningham (Picador USA: $13) Three stories built on Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs. Dalloway.”

6 MY CENTURY by Gunter Grass (Harvest Books: $13) A chorus of voices meditate on the 20th century, year by year.

7 CHOCOLAT by Joanne Harris (Penguin: $12.95) A woman and her daughter open a chocolate store in a French village.

8 IN PURSUIT OF THE PROPER SINNER by Elizabeth George (Bantam: $7.50) Murder most foul among the ruins of the English moors.

9 GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE by Susan Vreeland (Penguin: $12) Eight stories linked by a Dutch master’s painting.

10 THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant (Picador USA: $14) The blossoming of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter, in Genesis.

PAPERBACKS

NONFICTION

1 GALILEO’S DAUGHTER by Dava Sobel (Penguin: $14) The famous astronomer and his daughter, a cloistered nun.

2 THE ROCK SAYS by The Rock with Joe Layden (Regan Books: $7.99) A world wrestling champ’s battles in and out of the ring.

3 TALKING DIRTY WITH THE QUEEN OF CLEAN by Linda Cobb (Pocket: $8.99) Quick, inexpensive housekeeping tips galore.

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

5 THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95) S-O-S!

6 LOST & FOUND by Elizabeth Pomeroy (Many Moons Press: $16.95) Historic and natural landmarks of the San Gabriel Valley.

7 THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester (HarperPerennial: $13) A madman with a flair for words.

8 NO ONE LEFT TO LIE TO by Christopher Hitchens (Verso: $10) A diatribe on the abuses of the Clinton presidency.

9 THE SEAT OF THE SOUL by Gary Zukav (Fireside: $13) Teaching readers to rethink the mind-body connection.

10 BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE & NATURE WRITING 2000 edited by David Quammen (Houghton Mifflin: $27.50) Music of the spheres.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.