Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

*--* Southern California Rating FICTION

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*--* 1 THE CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen (Picador: $15) A Midwestern family’s unraveling at the 20th century’s end 2 EMPIRE FALLS by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class lives in Maine 3 BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) A terrorist standoff in South America mirrors opera 4 LAST MAN STANDING by David Baldacci (Warner: $7.99) A guilt-ridden FBI agent investigates the ambush of his team 5 FULL HOUSE by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s: $6.99) A divorced mother falls for a wealthy man with a kooky family 6 TRAITOR TO MEMORY by Elizabeth George (Warner: $7.99) Child murder case holds clues in a vicious hit-and-run 7 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz 8 PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger (Grove: $13) A family travels the Great Plains in search of its outlaw son 9 POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt (Vintage: $14) Two literary sleuths find their lives entwined with two Victorian poets 10 AUSTERLITZ by W.G. Sebald (The Modern Library: $13.95) A man wrestles with the horrors of the mid-20th century

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*--* Southern California Rating NONFICTION

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*--* 1 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon 2 JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough (Touchstone: $18.95) The greatness of America’s second president 3 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry 4 A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY by Haven Kimmel (Broadway: $12.95) Vignettes about growing up in a little Indiana town 5 DR. ATKINS’ NEW DIET REVOLUTION by Robert C. Atkins (Avon: $7.99) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds 6 THE WRINKLE CURE by Nicholas Perricone (Warner: $13.95) Using antioxidants to keep the skin looking young 7 THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) Life lessons based on ancient Toltec wisdom 8 LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME by James W. Loewen (Touchstone: $15) The duping of America’s student body 9 NICKEL & DIMED by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt: $13) A writer works in low-wage America to see how the poor live 10 THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron (J.P. Tarcher: $15.95) A 12-week guide to recovering the sources of creativity

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