BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A Harvard scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Catholic Church.

2 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Picador: $15) A Greek family embraces the American dream.

3 Key of Valor by Nora Roberts (Jove: $7.99) A mortal woman tries to free the souls of ancient Celtic demigoddesses.

4 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harvest Books: $14) A boy shares a lifeboat with a tiger on a harrowing trip.

5 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin: $14) A teenage girl is haunted by her mother’s death.

6 The King of Torts by John Grisham (Dell: $7.99) A street killing is linked to a conspiracy involving a pharmaceutical giant.

7 Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (Griffin: $14.95) A new technology threatens the balance of international power.

8 Deception Point by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A president’s reelection rests on an object buried in the Arctic.

9 Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (Vintage: $14.95) A disillusioned Confederate soldier makes his way home.

10 Deprivers by Steven-Elliot Altman (Ace: $13) A thriller centering on the horrors of sensory deprivation syndrome.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (Free Press: $14) A blackjack team from MIT bests Las Vegas casinos.

2 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Fiscal parenting.

3 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House: $13.95) A professor keeps literature alive for her students.

4 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know by American Heritage (Houghton Mifflin: $4.95)

5 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk food industry.

6 What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson (Random House: $14.95) People who found themselves.

7 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Quirky reflections on life in Paris and elsewhere.

8 How to Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen (Picador: $14) Essays on prison, the sex-advice industry and Alzheimer’s disease.

9 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15.95) How an also-ran became America’s favorite racehorse.

10 The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks (Three Rivers: $12.95) How to protect yourself from the living dead.

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