BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

2 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harvest Books: $14) An Indian boy shares a lifeboat with a tiger on a harrowing trip

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

4 Three Junes by Julia Glass (Anchor: $14) A Scottish family comes together over three summers

5 The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor: $11.95) Botswana’s female private eye

6 Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy (Berkley: $7.99) Jack Ryan uncovers a KGB plot to kill the pope and create global chaos

7 The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber (Harvest: $15) A tale of a London prostitute, her lover and his wife

8 In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner (Washington Square Press: $14) Two sisters sort through childhood baggage

9 Blessings by Anna Quindlen (Anchor: $15) A foundling left at a reclusive woman’s estate upsets the lives of all around her

10 The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier (Plume: $14) Two women are bound across time by a family legacy in France

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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

2 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Quill: $13.95) Shedding pounds with a low-carb diet

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

4 Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Picador: $14) A boy goes to live with his mother’s psychiatrist

5 It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong (Berkley: $13) A world-class cyclist beats cancer and returns to racing

6 What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff et al. (Workman: $13.95) The ABCs of pregnancy

7 The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast (Plume: $14) A BBC reporter argues against globalization

8 Feng Shui Your Life by Jayme Barrett (Sterling: $24.95) Creating more energy in your living space

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

10 Self Matters by Phillip C. McGraw (Free Press: $14) How to “create your life from the inside out.”

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