BESTSELLERS
*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction
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*--* 1 Atonement by Ian McEwan (Anchor: $14) A haunting novel of guilt and redemption in World War II England
2 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Harvest Books: $12) A day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway and her London coterie
3 The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Picador: $13) Three women linked across time by Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.â€
4 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) Opera mingles with mayhem in South America
5 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin: $14) A teenage girl is haunted by her mother’s death
6 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (Anchor: $10) Literary light in a communist village
7 Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella (Delta: $10.95) A bride-to-be faces the wedding wishes of two mothers
8 Dreamcatcher by Stephen King (Pocket Books: $7.99) In the Maine woods, four old friends battle a sinister alien foe
9 City of Bones by Michael Connelly (Warner: $7.99) Det. Harry Bosch investigates a 20-year-old murder of a child
10 Widow’s Walk by Robert B. Parker (Berkley: $7.99) Spenser aids a woman suspected of killing her banker husband
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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction
*--*
*--* 1 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon
2 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Quill: $13.95) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds
3 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom
4 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry
5 Dreaming War by Gore Vidal (Thunder’s Mouth: $11.95) Arguing that greed, not justice, underlies Bush’s focus on Iraq
6 What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff et al. (Workman: $13.95) Pregnancy explained
7 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Fiscal parenting
8 Power and Terror by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $11.95) Alternatives to militarism and violence
9 Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (Random House: $12.95) A girl’s African childhood
10 The Hard Questions by Susan Piver (Jeremy P. Tarcher: $10) Queries for couples to get to know each other better
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