Southern California Rating:FICTION1 SHOPGIRL by Steve...

Southern California Rating:

FICTION

1 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Hyperion: $17.95) A young artist who works days in the glove department at Neiman Marcus falls abruptly in love with a millionaire businessman.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 3

2 SLAVES OF OBSESSION by Anne Perry (Ballantine: $25) In the 11th William Monk mystery, Monk and his partner Hester track a would-be cold-blooded murderer to Washington, D.C.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

3 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon (Random House: $26.95) In 1939 Brooklyn, two Jewish cousins, one American, one Czech, collaborate to create a comic book.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 3

4 THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A narrative tour de force of self-deceit and revenge that joins the lives of two sisters with an unpublished sci-fi novel.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 6

5 LYING AWAKE by Mark Salzman (Alfred A. Knopf: $21) A meditation on spirituality in the life of an Angeleno nun facing a dilemma: Should she have surgery that will cure her of mystical visions?

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 3

6 THE NIGHT LISTENER by Armistead Maupin (HarperCollins: $26) A writer meets an abused 13-year-old boy with AIDS and finds all of his relationships profoundly changed.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

7 DROWNING RUTH by Christina Schwarz (Doubleday: $23.95) In early 20th century Wisconsin, a family is torn apart by a tragic death and the secrets that follow.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 3

8 FOUR BLONDES by Candace Bushnell (Atlantic Monthly: $24) Interconnected stories from the “Sex and the City” author about four women caught up in the glitz and glamour of New York.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 5

9 THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON by Tom Clancy (Putnam: $28.95) CIA warrior and U.S. president Jack Ryan faces brewing trouble in Russia and China and a global struggle for Siberian oil.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 7

10 WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS by Kazuo Ishiguro (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) An English boy is “orphaned” when his mother and father vanish; years later, he returns as a detective to solve the disappearances.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 5

11 PERISH TWICE by Robert B. Parker (Putnam: $23.95) A private investigator goes to the aid of three very different women: her sister, her best friend and the CEO of a feminist organization.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 3

12 SHATTERED by Dick Francis (Putnam: $25.95) Violent thugs and the death of a jockey friend threaten a glass-blower’s world, unless he can learn the secret of a stolen videotape.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 5

13 THE RESCUE by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $22.95) A volunteer fireman in a North Carolina town helps a waitress rebuild her life when her son disappears after a car accident.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 4

14 THE SKY IS FALLING by Sidney Sheldon (William Morrow: $26) When five members of a family are killed in a series of accidents, a young journalist decides to investigate.

Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 3

15 COLD IS THE GRAVE by Peter Robinson (William Morrow: $24) Sex, scandal, murder and corruption force Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks to investigate his most powerful enemy.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

NONFICTION

1 THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY by The Beatles (Chronicle Books: $60) Previously unreleased photos, memorabilia and reminiscences that should make any Fab Four fan want to twist and shout.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 2

2 NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE WORLD by Stephen Ambrose (Simon & Schuster: $28) The historian looks at the building of the transcontinental railroad and its impact on the growth of the nation.

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 8

3 ON WRITING by Stephen King (Scribner: $25) Autobiography of the writer’s formative years, from his misbehaving youth to a janitorial stint that led to the idea for “Carrie.”

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 2

4 JOURNEY by Marsha Mason (Simon & Schuster: $25) The personal and professional battles fought by the award-winning actress and former wife of Neil Simon.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

5 DREAM CATCHER by Margaret A. Salinger (Washington Square: $27.95) J.D. Salinger’s daughter describes growing up in the shadow of Holden, Phoebe and his other fictional creations

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

6 THE O’REILLY FACTOR by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway Books: $23) The TV pundit pontificates on what he sees as the good, the bad and the completely ridiculous in American life.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 3

7 A GOOSE IN TOULOUSE by Mort Rosenblum (Hyperion: $25) How the French live, cook, eat and market their cuisine and what that means about their culture, by a war correspondent-foodie.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

8 FREUD by Louis Breger (John Wiley & Sons: $30) A psychoanalyst puts Freud on the couch, creating a portrait of a man whose theories grew out of his own encounters with pain and tragedy.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 2

9 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) This co-author of “The One Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to show people how to manage change.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 33

10 SHADOWS OF A PRINCESS by P.D. Jephson (HarperCollins: $26) Princess Diana’s private secretary gives an intimate account of his employer, a woman who became an icon.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

11 NATURAL BLONDE by Liz Smith (Hyperion: $25.95) The “Grande Dame of Dish” describes her climb from small-time journalism to gossip column stardom.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 4

12 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s story of the life lessons he received during weekly visits to an older dying friend.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 140

13 FACE FORWARD by Kevyn Aucoin (Little, Brown: $32.95) Makeup artist Aucoin shows the creative possibilities of makeup, with portraits of Sharon Stone, Martha Stewart, Mary J. Blige and others.

Last Week: 15; Weeks on List: 2

14 IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE by Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins (Putnam: $24.95) Triumph in the life of a champion cyclist, from overcoming cancer to winning the Tour de France.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 13

15 CHAVEZ RAVINE by Don Normark (Chronicle: $29.95) Photographs of a forgotten neighborhood in the L.A. hills that was uprooted in 1950 to build Dodger Stadium.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 11

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

1 PLAINSONG by Kent Haruf (Vintage: $13) Lives intersect in a small Colorado cattle town.

2 LIONESS by Nell Brien (Mira: $5.99) A woman goes to Kenya to investigate the suspicious death of her architect brother.

3 GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE by Susan Vreeland (Penguin: $12) Eight stories linked by a Dutch master’s painting.

4 THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant (Picador USA: $14) The blossoming of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter, in Genesis.

5 WAITING by Ha Jin (Vintage: $13) A legal loophole allows long-separated lovers to be united.

6 ON THE OTHER HAND by Deena Metzger (Red Hen Press: $18.95) A woman astronomer is haunted by the Holocaust’s aftermath.

7 DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE by Isabel Allende (HarperPerennial: $14) A young woman escapes to Gold Rush California.

8 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG by Andre Dubus III (Vintage: $14) Two families clash over an auctioned house in this tragic tale.

9 INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $12) Indian customs color the lives of people coping with loss.

10 FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley (Dover: $1) “Igor! The monster . . He’s stirs!

PAPERBACKS

NONFICTION

1 THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95) S-O-S!

2 THE GREATEST OF MARLYS by Lynda Barry (Sasquatch: $15.95) The life and times of a character in “Ernie Pooks Comeek.”

3 OH NO! NOT ANOTHER PROBLEM by Jeanette A. Griver and Michele W. Vodrey (Compsych Systems Inc.: $12.95) Problem solving.

4 TALKING DIRTY WITH THE QUEEN OF CLEAN by Linda Cobb (Pocket: $8.99) Quick, inexpensive housekeeping tips galore.

5 GREAT NEED OVER THE WATER edited by Stina Katchadourian (Gomidas Institute: $25) A missionary’s letters from Turkey.

6 THE RALPH NADER READER by Ralph Nader (Seven Stories Press: $19.95) The collected writings of an activist.

7 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2000 edited by Nic Kynaston (Bantam: $6.99) People do amazing things.

8 IS OUR CHILDREN LEARNING? by Paul Begala (Simon & Schuster: $12) A pundit skewers George W. Bush’s public career.

9 THE SEAT OF THE SOUL by Gary Zukav (Fireside: $13) Teaching readers to rethink the mind-body connection.

10 CARAVAGGIO: A LIFE by Helen Langdon (Westview: $17) Portrait of the artist.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.