BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Terrorist by John Updike 1 2 (Alfred A. Knopf: $24.95) An Irish-Egyptian-American teen living in a dying New Jersey town becomes enthralled with a local radical cleric.

2 The Foreign Correspondent 7 3 by Alan Furst (Random House: $24.95) A journalist in Paris finds himself drawn into the activities of the Italian resistance on the eve of World War II.

3 Suite Francaise by Irene 9 8 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) A posthumous novel about the Jewish exodus from Paris to a German-occupied village, penned by a celebrated writer killed at Auschwitz.

4 There Will Never Be -- 4 Another You by Carolyn See (Random House: $24.95) A UCLA dermatologist suspects biological terrorism or an experiment gone awry when cats turn up dead.

5 Everyman by Philip Roth 4 9 (Houghton Mifflin: $24) A self-centered New Jersey adman with a lifelong obsession that his death is imminent reflects on what he’s missed.

6 Beach Road by James 10 7 Patterson and Peter de Jonge (Little, Brown: $27.95) Three young men are shot to death on a billionaire’s basketball court, and suspicion falls on a star high school player.

7 Blue Screen by Robert B. -- 1 Parker (Putnam: $24.95) Boston PI Sunny Randall teams with pal Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Mass., to investigate the killing of an action movie star’s sister.

8 The Husband by Dean Koontz 3 3 (Bantam: $27) A gardener has 60 hours to raise $2 million to free his wife and in the process finds himself dealing with killers and a child pornographer.

9 Literacy and Longing in 6 4 L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack (Delacorte: $22) A book-obsessed divorcee stalks her movie-mogul ex-husband until she meets a literature major.

10 Blue Shoes and Happiness -- 7 by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon: $21.95) At the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Precious Ramotswe tries to slim down while solving dilemmas for her clients.

11 Digging to America by Anne 12 6 Tyler (Knopf: $24.95) A friendship between two couples adopting Korean girls becomes an exploration of culture and family.

12 Telegraph Days by Larry -- 1 McMurtry (Simon & Schuster: $25) A Virginia woman heads west, becomes a telegraph operator, a writer, manager to Buffalo Bill and a witness to the OK Corral shootout.

13 Water for Elephants by -- 2 Sara Gruen (Algonquin: $23.95) A nursing-home patient recalls his life and loves as a penniless college student who drops out to join the circus in the 1930s.

14 The Cold Moon by Jeffery 8 3 Deaver (Simon & Schuster: $26) Quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs hunt for the Watchmaker, a sadistic serial killer.

15 The Book of the Dead by 5 3 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Warner: $25.95) A psychotic killer who has ground a museum’s gem exhibit to dust then interferes with an Egyptian tomb restoration.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Wisdom of Our Fathers by 7 4 Tim Russert (Random House: $22.95) The “Meet the Press” host shares stories from sons and daughters who responded to his filial memoir, “Big Russ and Me.”

2 Dispatches From the Edge 1 4 by Anderson Cooper (HarperCollins: $24.95) The telegenic son of heiress Gloria Vanderbilt recounts personal tragedies and covering wars and disasters for CNN.

3 Marley & Me by John Grogan 2 31 (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.

4 Godless by Ann Coulter 3 2 (Crown Forum: $27.95) The conservative commentator argues that liberalism has taken on many of the attributes of a religion and also argues against the certainty of evolution.

5 Mayflower by Nathaniel 5 6 Philbrick (Viking: $29.95) The story of devout English Christians landing in the New World and the natives they meet as they found Plymouth Colony.

6 Cesar’s Way by Cesar 4 11 Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier (Harmony: $24.95) The TV show host gives tips on understanding and correcting common canine behavior problems.

7 The World Is Flat by 8 61 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) How technology and globalization are changing the world and what training is needed to compete.

8 Heat by Bill Buford 6 3 (Knopf: $25.95) The journalist chronicles his time as a “kitchen slave” to TV chef Mario Batali and reveals the secrets of a three-star restaurant.

9 Eat, Pray, Love by 10 9 Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $24.95) After deciding that marriage and motherhood aren’t for her, the author embarks on a journey of self-discovery in Italy, India and Indonesia.

10 Laurel Canyon by Michael -- 4 Walker (Faber & Faber: $25) A look at the ‘60s rock bands and artists whose creativity flowered in Laurel Canyon, then a sylvan enclave above Sunset Boulevard.

11 There Are Worse Things I -- 1 Could Do by Adrienne Barbeau (Carroll & Graf: $25) The co-star of TV’s “Maude” tells of her stage, singing and film career, her loves and motherhood at 51.

12 The Great Black Way by RJ -- 1 Smith (PublicAffairs: $26.95) A history of African Americans in 1940s Los Angeles and their fabled boulevard of the arts, Central Avenue.

13 Secrets of the Savanna by -- 1 Mark and Delia Owens (Houghton Mifflin: $26.95) The wildlife conservationists examine the social and political pressures in 1990s Africa.

14 The Year of Magical 12 37 Thinking by Joan Didion (Knopf: $23.95) The author explores the nature of grief and survival in the months after her writer-husband’s sudden death.

15 I Do but I Don’t by Kamy -- 1 Wicoff (Da Capo Press: $22.95) How a 21st century bride can navigate the social, financial and emotional pressures to make her wedding meaningful.

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