Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

January 13, 2002

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 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: 1 Weeks on List: 18

2 SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by John Grisham (Doubleday: $19.95) Grisham takes a holiday from legal thrillers to poke fun at the suburban yuletide ritual. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 8

3 JACKDAWS by Ken Follett (Plume: $26.95) A group of female spies infiltrates a telephone exchange linking France to Germany as the Allies prepare to invade. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 4

4 VIOLETS ARE BLUE by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.95) Police detective Alex Cross investigates a series of brutal deaths with links to a vampire underground. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 6

5 LAST MAN STANDING by David Baldacci (Warner: $26.95) A G-man needs the help of a psychiatrist to uncover who mysteriously ambushed six of his men. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 8

6 HALF A LIFE by V.S. Naipaul (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) A writer drifts from bohemian London to colonial Africa in this tale of the collision of identity, class and politics. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 8

7 HATESHIP, FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, LOVESHIP, MARRIAGE by Alice Munro (Alfred A. Knopf: $24) Stories tracing the nuanced lives of women and their relationships. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 7

8 AUSTERLITZ by W.G. Sebald (Random House: $25.95) An architectural historian retraces the steps of his escape from the Nazis on a kindertransport train. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 3

9 BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS by Dai 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: -- Weeks on List: 4

10 HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster: $20) A would-be angel tries to reunite a girl with her family. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 6

11 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: -- Weeks on List: 8

12 THE SIGMA PROTOCOL by Robert Ludlum (St. Martin’s: $27.95) A businessman and a beautiful secret agent pursue a shadowy, powerful cartel around the globe. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 7

13 CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL by Glen David Gold (Hyperion: $24.95) A magician comes of age in the surly, seedy world of 1920s San Francisco and is tied to a U.S. president’s death. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 9

14 PURSUIT by Thomas Perry (Random House: $24.95) An ex-cop hunts down an assassin posing as a mass murderer in a life-or-death cat and mouse game. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

15 THE KISS by Danielle Steel (Delacorte: $26.95) A stolen moment between two friends stuck in unhappy marriages unleashes a series of life-changing events. Last Week: 14 Weeks on List: 5

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 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: 1 Weeks on List: 33

2 THEODORE REX by Edmund Morris (Random House: $35) The second in a planned biographical trilogy about Teddy Roosevelt, charting his rise from patrician to progressive. Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 6

3 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 cosmos. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 8

4 JACK by Jack Welch with John A. Byrne (Warner: $29.95) The life and times of a respected chief executive, from a Massachusetts childhood to his successful reinvention of General Electric. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 16

5 BEST-LOVED POEMS OF JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS Edited by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion: $21.95) A selection of Jackie’s favorite verse and some of her own, introduced by her daughter. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 10

6 HOW I PLAY GOLF by Tiger Woods (Warner: $34.95) The links master explains his game in words and pictures, offering tips on the best ways to get from the tee to the cup. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 12

7 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: 10 Weeks on List: 93

8 THE NO-SPIN ZONE by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway: $24.95) The Fox News commentator presents interviews with famous figures in his tough, no-holds-barred style. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 11

9 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2002 (Guinness World Records: $27.95) New feats from the world of human possibilities, from “extreme” body types and stunts to sports and music. Last Week: 14 Weeks on List: 4

10 THE HEART OF THE SOUL by Gary Zukav and Linda Francis (Simon & Schuster: $25) Tuning in to your emotions to help meet the needs of yourself and those around you. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

11 BIAS by Bernard Goldberg (Regnery: $27.95) A veteran CBS reporter argues that the mainstream media have been seriously damaged by a liberal, close-minded worldview. Last Week: 11 Weeks on List: 2

12 THE FINAL DAYS by Barbara Olson (Regnery: $27.95) The Clintons’ last actions in the White House, from pardons to executive orders, with commentary from the late Olson. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 10

13 CHURCHILL by Roy Jenkins (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $40) A biography of the legendary British statesman who inspired his people during the darkest hours of World War II. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 5

14 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House: $24.95) How three men transformed a thoroughbred horse from an also-ran into an American sports icon. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 33

15 WHEN CHARACTER WAS KING by Peggy Noonan (Viking: $24.95) Speechwriter for Ronald Reagan argues that personal traits were the secret to the former president’s success. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 4