Bestsellers

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

2 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Picador: $15) A Greek family embraces the American dream.

3 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Harvest Books: $14) A boy shares a lifeboat with a tiger on a harrowing trip.

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

5 Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (Griffin: $14.95) A new technology threatens the balance of international power.

6 Deception Point by Dan Brown (Pocket Books: $7.99) A president’s reelection rests on an object buried in the Arctic.

7 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Perennial: $14) A century in Macondo.

8 Drop City by T.C. Boyle (Penguin: $14) Denizens of a commune in 1970s California relocate to the wilds of Alaska.

9 The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander M. Smith (Anchor: $11.95) Botswana’s favorite private eye.

10 Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Plume: $14) Imagining the young woman who inspired Vermeer’s painting.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House: $13.95) A professor keeps literature alive for her students.

2 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

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

4 The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide by Phil McGraw (Pocket Books: $7.99) No-nonsense weight loss.

5 50 Things You’re Not Supposed to Know by Russ Kick (Disinformation Co.: $9.95) Debunking myths.

6 Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (Broadway: $12.95) Learning life’s lessons from a dying former teacher.

7 Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas (Random House: $12.95) An Iranian girl grows up in Newport Beach.

8 Conservatives Are From Mars ... by Burt Prelutsky (Scorched Earth: $19.95) Humorous essays.

9 The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq by Christopher Scheer et al. (Seven Stories: $9.95)

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

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