Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

March 31, 2002

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A haunting novel of guilt and redemption that follows several lives through the chaos of England in World War II. Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 2

2 2nd CHANCE by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $26.95) The Women’s Murder Club is back on the case, looking to stop a racist killer who doesn’t like cops. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 3

3 THE SUMMONS by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) A man discovers $3 million in his dead father’s house and hides it from his prodigal brother and a mysterious extortioner. Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 6

4 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: 3 Weeks on List: 29

5 THE NANNY DIARIES by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (St. Martin’s: $24.95) The travails of an overworked and underappreciated Park Avenue caregiver. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 3

6 THE COTTAGE by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press: $26.95) An aging movie star encounters a whole new world when money troubles force him to rent out part of his Bel-Air estate. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 3

7 BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS by Daj 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: 5 Weeks on List: 12

8 THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $25.95) An art restorer and spy finds himself framed for the murder of a client. (See review, p. 12) Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 3

9 SOUTHAMPTON ROW by Anne Perry (Ballantine: $25) A spiritualist’s murder in 1890s England threatens to derail a candidate’s Parliament bid, unless Thomas Pitt can find the killer. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 2

10 THE STONE MONKEY by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster: $25) A smuggler sabotages a ship full of Chinese immigrants and then tries to evade the survivors. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

11 UP COUNTRY by Nelson DeMille (Warner: $26.95) A U.S. Army investigator travels to Vietnam to probe a 30-year-old murder in which the only living eyewitness is an enemy soldier. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 6

12 THE GOOD MEN by Charmaine Craig (Riverhead: $24.95) A village rector and the women he loves cope with their desires as inquisitors hunt for heretics in 14th century France. Last Week: 10 Weeks on List: 6

13 HUNTING SEASON by Nevada Barr (Putnam: $24.95) When a body turns up on Mississippi’s Natchez Trace Parkway, a ranger finds her investigation sabotaged at every turn. Last Week: 12 Weeks on List: 4

14 THREE WEEKS IN PARIS by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Doubleday: $24.95) Alumni of a Parisian art school return to honor a beloved teacher and confront their stormy pasts. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 3

15 BASKET CASE by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf: $25.95) Once a hotshot reporter, an obituary writer for a small paper unravels the bizarre causes of a rock star’s death. Last Week: 14 Weeks on List: 8

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 STUPID WHITE MEN ... AND OTHER SORRY EXCUSES FOR THE STATE OF THE NATION by Michael Moore (Regan Books: $24.95) Lampooning the president. Reviewed on Page 7. Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 4

2 SHAKEDOWN by Kenneth R. Timmerman (Regnery: $29.95) An investigative reporter contends that Jesse Jackson has used the race issue for personal gain. Last Week: 14 Weeks on List: 3

3 SELF MATTERS by Phillip C. McGraw (Simon & Schuster: $25) A self-improvement guru and “Oprah” regular teaches readers how to “create your life from the inside out.” Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 9

4 BIAS by Bernard Goldberg (Regnery: $27.95) A veteran CBS reporter argues that the mainstream media have been seriously damaged by a liberal, closed-minded worldview. Last Week: 3 Weeks on List: 13

5 THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE by Christiane Northrup (Bantam: $27.95) A physician sees menopause, its symptoms and treatments as an opportunity for personal growth. Last Week: 2 Weeks on List: 5

6 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: 104

7 10 STUPID THINGS COUPLES DO TO MESS UP THEIR RELATIONSHIPS by Laura Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $24.95) Blunt talk from the radio personality. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 2

8 SACRED CONTRACTS by Caroline Myss (Harmony: $25) Lessons in decoding symbols, myths, intuition and coincidences to understand your purpose in life. Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 7

9 SATISFACTION by Kim Cattrall and Mark Levinson (Warner: $24.95) A star of HBO’s “Sex and the City” and her husband draw on viewer feedback for this guide to pleasing women. Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 7

10 LOVE, GREG & LAUREN by Greg Manning (Bantam: $24.95) A husband’s daily account as his wife recovers from harrowing burns sustained in the World Trade Center attacks. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

11 BODY FOR LIFE by Bill Phillips and Michael D’Orso (HarperCollins: $26) A 12-week program of weightlifting and cardiovascular exercise, along with nutrition and motivation tips. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 1

12 THE CONTRARIAN’S GUIDE TO LEADERSHIP by Steven B. Sample (Jossey-Bass: $24) Lessons in managing people, gleaned from Sample’s record as the president of USC. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 5

13 NIGGER by Randall Kennedy (Pantheon: $22) The evolution of an explosive word and its shifting meanings in the history of American race relations. Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 2

14 JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS by Mattie J.T. Stepanek (Hyperion: $14.95) A new collection of poetry from a boy struggling with a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Last Week: -- Weeks on List: 6

15 SHADOW WARRIORS by Tom Clancy with Gen. Carl Stiner (Putnam: $29.95) The recent history of the U.S. military’s Special Forces and their usefulness when conventional tactics fail. Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 6

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 A PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham (Dell Island: $7.99) Violence looms over a boyhood in rural Arkansas in 1952.

2 A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) An ace detective is a prime murder suspect.

3 TELL NO ONE by Harlan Coben (Dell: $6.99) A long-dead love affair is revived when a man receives a strange message.

4 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Theia: $10.95) Department store clerk Mirabelle meets an older man too good to be true.

5 FALL ON YOUR KNEES by Ann-Marie MacDonald (Scribner: $14) The travails of a family in coal-mining Nova Scotia.

6 1st TO DIE by James Patterson (Warner Vision: $7.99) Four

women track a killer with a penchant for newlyweds.

7 THE LAST TIME THEY MET by Anita Shreve (Little, Brown: $13.95) Two poets share a lifelong passion.

8 GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier (Plume: $12) The woman who inspired a Vermeer painting.

9 THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant (Picador USA: $14.95) The blossoming of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter, in Genesis.

10 A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $6.99) A man recalls the bittersweet love story of his youth.

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry.

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

3 FOUNDING BROTHERS by Joseph Ellis (Vintage: $14) The genius, cunning and flaws of the nation’s architects.

4 A BEAUTIFUL MIND by Sylvia Nasar (Touchstone: $16) A brilliant mathematics professor’s battle with schizophrenia.

5 9-11 by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $8.95) An alternative view of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

6 WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG by Harold G. Moore and Joseph Galloway (Harper: $7.99) Against all odds.

7 THE WRINKLE CURE by Nicholas Perricone (Warner: $13.95) Using antioxidants to keep the skin looking young.

8 THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) Life lessons based on ancient Toltec wisdom.

9 ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Wisecracking essays on life in Paris and elsewhere.

10 A CHILD CALLED “IT” by Dave Pelzer (Health Communications: $9.95) Life with a sadistic mother.