BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

*--*

*--* 1 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) Opera mingles with mayhem in South America

2 The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (Picador: $15) A Midwestern family unravels at the 20th century’s end

3 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (Anchor Books: $10) Literary light in a communist village

4 The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Picador: $13) Three women linked across time by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.”

5 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz

6 Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Grove, $13) A family travels the Great Plains in search of its outlaw son

7 Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (Hyperion: $14.95) A magician in 1920s San Francisco

8 Empire Falls by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class folk in Maine

9 Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro (Vintage: $14) Women’s lives

10 Jackdaws by Ken Follett (Signet: $7.99) A World War II thriller about Allied agents blocking Nazi awareness of D-day

*--*

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

*--*

*--* 1 John Adams by David McCullough (Touchstone: $18.95) The greatness of America’s second president

2 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon

3 Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $8.95) Elf love, Santa’s diaries and more about the season’s dark side

4 World Almanac and Book of Facts 2003 (World Almanac Books: $11.95) Just the facts, ma’am

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

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

7 Worst-Case Scenario Handbook: Holidays by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95)

8 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Quill: $13.95) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds

9 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Fiscal parenting

10 The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Golf by Joshua Piven et al. (Chronicle: $14.95) Rough perils

*--*