BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

2 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

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

4 Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes (Miramax: $13.95) Park Avenue princesses search for love and riches.

5 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks out a killer.

6 The Master by Colm Toibin (Scribner: $14) A fictionalized imagining of the interior life of master novelist Henry James.

7 The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (Plume: $14) Members of a book group reveal their own foibles.

8 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A scholar uncovers a vendetta against the Roman Catholic Church.

9 Black Rose by Nora Roberts (Jove: $7.99) A wealthy woman tries to identify the bride whose ghost haunts her mansion.

10 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $14) An Andalusian shepherd boy seeks treasure in Egypt.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) A serial killer haunts the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

2 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

3 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $16.95) Fiscal parenting.

4 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom.

5 Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (Perennial: $13.95) Reflections on friendship and devotion.

6 Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (Broadway: $12.95) A columnist learns life lessons from a dying teacher.

7 Bad Cat by Jim Edgar (Workman: $9.95) Meet 244 cats and kittens with attitude, all in living color.

8 Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff (Chelsea Green: $10) A guide for political progressives.

9 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

10 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (Back Bay: $14.95) The humorist on his family.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.