BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Vintage: $14.95) The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer.

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

3 The Broker by John Grisham (Dell: $7.99) A jailed lawyer helps the CIA protect satellite technology.

4 Red Lily by Nora Roberts (Jove: $7.99) The ghost of a bride haunts a Memphis mansion.

5 Runaway by Alice Munro (Vintage: $14.95) Stories of the surprises, betrayals and limits of love.

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

7 State of Fear by Michael Crichton (Avon: $7.99) Nefarious environmentalists and manufactured threats of global warming.

8 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy searches for treasure in Egypt.

9 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (HarperTrophy: $6.99) Children enter a magical realm.

10 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Vintage: $14.95) President Charles Lindbergh launches 1940s pogroms.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (Anchor: $14.95) A memoir of addiction, rehabilitation and 12-step treatment.

2 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Vintage: $14) The masterful writer’s account of a Kansas family’s brutal murder.

3 Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg (Three Rivers Press: $12.95) What’s up, doc?

4 The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2006 (World Almanac Books: $12.95) Just the facts, ma’am.

5 Su Doku for Dummies by Andrew Heron and Edmund James (Wiley: $9.99) Puzzle-solving hints and 240 puzzles.

6 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

7 The Book of Sudoku, No. 1 by Michael Mepham (Overlook: $9.95) An introduction to the numbers puzzle.

8 Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Back Bay: $8.95) The humorist recalls Christmas holiday memories.

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

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

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