BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Wild Fire by Nelson 1 2 DeMille (Warner Books: $26.99) A husband-wife duo try to foil a right-wing plot to bomb two American cities in an effort to provoke a U.S. nuclear strike on the Middle East.

2 Nature Girl by Carl -- 1 Hiaasen (Knopf: $25.95) Screwball characters romp through this tale of chases, hostage-taking and revenge, all so the world will be safe from telemarketers.

3 Cross by James Patterson -- 1 (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross quits tracking down serial killers for the sake of his family life until given the chance to hunt for his late wife’s killer.

4 Echo Park by Michael 3 7 Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.99) LAPD Det. Harry Bosch wrestles with the haunting thought that his oversight in an old murder case allowed a serial killer to continue his spree.

5 For One More Day by Mitch 2 8 Albom (Hyperion: $21.95) An alcoholic tries suicide and encounters his mother’s ghost, who tells him about her life and sacrifices as a single parent.

6 Hundred-Dollar Baby by 10 4 Robert B. Parker (Putnam: $24.95) Spenser steps in to help an old friend with a seedy past but discovers she’s not as innocent as she seems.

7 Suite Francaise by Irene 7 31 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) Two novellas by a writer killed at Auschwitz about the exodus from Paris ahead of the Germans’ arrival and on life in a farming village under occupation.

8 Dear John by Nicholas 6 3 Sparks (Warner: $24.99) A soldier on leave falls in love with a coed, but their relationship is put on hold when he returns to duty after Sept. 11.

9 Ines of My Soul by Isabel 4 2 Allende (HarperCollins: $25.95) A young widow travels to colonial Peru, where she falls in love with a Spanish soldier and together they battle to build a nation.

10 The Lay of the Land by -- 3 Richard Ford (Knopf: $26.95) A suburban real estate agent faces his mortality as well as marital and familial woes in the new millennium.

11 The View From Castle Rock -- 1 by Alice Munro (Knopf: $25.95) Munro turns to memoir and her own family’s history in these stories, with one recalling 19th century Scotland.

12 Thirteen Moons by Charles -- 6 Frazier (Random House: $26.95) A man recalls being adopted by a Cherokee elder, becoming a chief, fighting for the Confederacy and frittering away a fortune.

13 The Emperor’s Children by -- 9 Claire Messud (Knopf: $25) Three college friends stumble on their paths to becoming shining lights in the East Coast constellation of cultural elites.

14 The Ragtime Kid by Larry -- 1 Karp (Poisoned Pen: $24.95) A white teen idolizes Scott Joplin and his piano mastery in this turn-of-the-20th-century Missouri murder mystery.

15 What Is the What by Dave 9 2 Eggers (McSweeney’s: $26) A Sudanese refugee fights to create a new life in America but finds safety and a sense of belonging elusive. See review, p. 3

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Audacity of Hope by 1 5 Barack Obama (Crown: $25) The U.S. senator from Illinois argues that his Democratic Party and the GOP must forgo partisanship to reclaim the American dream.

2 I Feel Bad About My Neck 2 16 by Nora Ephron (Knopf: $19.95) The screenwriter ruminates on the effects of gravity and menopause, and reconciling herself to life among the post-bikini set.

3 The Innocent Man by John 3 7 Grisham (Doubleday: $28.95) A true-crime tale about a former big league baseball player sent to death row for a murder he didn’t commit.

4 The God Delusion by 9 6 Richard Dawkins (Houghton Mifflin: $27) The biologist criticizes religion for intolerance, rejecting scientific truth and threatening nonbelievers with eternal damnation.

5 I Like You by Amy Sedaris 13 5 (Warner Books: $27.99) A guide to throwing the perfect party, with helpful hospitality hints and arch observations from the comic writer.

6 Point to Point Navigation 5 3 by Gore Vidal (Doubleday: $26) In a second volume of memoirs, the writer recalls childhood, his literary career, politics past and present and coping with his partner’s death.

7 Culture Warrior by Bill 8 8 O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News TV host rails against “secular progressives,” billionaire Democrat George Soros, the ACLU and critics he dubs “smear merchants.”

8 A Photographer’s Life by -- 2 Annie Leibovitz (Random House: $75) A collection of 15 years of the celebrated photographer’s work, including intimate portraits of family and friends.

9 Bob Miller’s Tales From -- 1 the Los Angeles Kings by Bob Miller and Randy Schultz (Sports Publishing: $19.95) The hockey announcer recalls the past three decades.

10 Why We Want You to Be Rich 14 6 by Donald J. Trump, Robert T. Kiyosaki et al. (Rich Press: $24.95) The real estate magnate and the financial guru explain why some people get rich and others don’t.

11 State of Denial: Bush at 7 8 War, Part III by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster: $30) The inside story of a White House that dismisses bad news about the war in Iraq and how it is fueling terrorism.

12 Justice for All by Jim -- 4 Newton (Riverhead: $32) The life of Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren and his court’s landmark decisions on segregation, privacy and school prayer.

13 Thunderstruck by Erik 4 5 Larson (Crown: $25.95) As Guglielmo Marconi and a rival spar over credit for wireless communication, the device leads to a killer’s capture.

14 We Tell Ourselves Stories -- 1 in Order to Live by Joan Didion (Everyman’s Library: $30) The writer’s collected nonfiction works from 1968 to 2003, covering culture, politics and California.

15 Ageless by Suzanne Somers 6 5 (Crown: $25) An actress touts anti-aging and plant hormone therapies to detoxify the body, boost the immune system, treat menopause and stay healthy.

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