BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 In the Company of the -- 1 Courtesan by Sarah Dunant (Random House: $23.95) A cunning dwarf and a celebrated courtesan remake themselves in Venice after fleeing conflict in Rome in 1527.

2 The 5th Horseman by James -- 1 Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown: $27.95) A cop investigates the mysterious death of a young mother in a San Francisco emergency room.

3 Cell by Stephen King 3 5 (Scribner: $26.95) Low-tech people fight for survival against zombies who’ve been stripped of all but the most destructive urges by a pulse sent from their cellular phones.

4 Arthur and George by 6 6 Julian Barnes (Knopf: $24.95) Arthur Conan Doyle tries to clear an obscure country lawyer convicted in a racially tinged case of mutilating cattle and writing obscene letters.

5 The Last Templar by 4 4 Raymond Khoury (Dutton: $24.95) Four horsemen dressed like the Knights Templar crash a Vatican artifacts exhibit and steal a code cracker.

6 Sea Change by Robert B. 1 2 Parker (Putnam: $24.95) The murder of a woman aboard a sailboat leads a Massachusetts police chief into a universe of drugs, pornography and rape.

7 Lovers & Players by Jackie 2 2 Collins (St. Martin’s Press: $24.95) An aging billionaire brings his three sons to Las Vegas to announce stunning news about their inheritance.

8 Veronica by Mary Gaitskill 13 6 (Pantheon: $23) A former fashion model who faces some of life’s ugly realities recalls a friendship with a woman who was an early casualty of AIDS.

9 The Da Vinci Code by Dan 5 145 Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.

10 Snow Flower and the Secret 15 29 Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $21.95) Two women in the cloistered society of 19th century China forge a close friendship that is threatened by misunderstanding.

11 Timothy by Verlyn -- 1 Klinkenborg (Knopf: $16.95) A tortoise muses about life, love, humans and beasts from the 18th century English garden of amateur naturalist Gilbert White.

12 Memories of My Melancholy 7 15 Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Knopf: $20) A nonagenarian journalist who falls for a 14-year-old virgin prostitute reflects on his life and loves.

13 On Beauty by Zadie Smith -- 19 (Penguin: $25.95) Identity crises, adultery, racial conflict and religious zealotry afflict two families whose lives are a 21st century parallel to E.M. Forster’s “Howards End.�

14 Prayers for the Assassin -- 1 by Robert Ferrigno (Scribner: $24.95) A nuclear terrorist attack pushes the blue states toward Islam and the red states into forming a Christian republic.

15 The Good Life by Jay -- 1 McInerney (Knopf: $25) Two wealthy New York couples reexamine their lives, relationships and values in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Year of Magical 1 21 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.

2 Marley & Me by John Grogan 2 14 (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.

3 The World Is Flat by 3 45 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting -- and changing -- the world.

4 You’re Wearing That? by -- 2 Deborah Tannen (Random House: $24.95) A linguist studies the conversations between mothers and daughters, the direct and indirect messages, intended or not.

5 Bad Childhood, Good Life 4 7 by Laura Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $24.95) How to move past an unhappy childhood, change negative behaviors and thrive.

6 Freakonomics by Steven D. 5 39 Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

7 Self-Made Man by Norah -- 2 Vincent (Viking: $24.95) The female columnist spends 18 months disguised as a man to discover how men behave and interact with each other and with women.

8 Love Smart by Phil McGraw -- 6 (Free Press: $26) How to take control of your love life, whether it’s finding a mate or holding on to the one you already have.

9 Manhunt by James L. 7 2 Swanson (William Morrow: $26.95) The search for President Lincoln’s killer, actor John Wilkes Booth, and how he eluded capture for 12 days.

10 Jim Cramer’s Real Money: 12 3 Sane Investing in an Insane World by James J. Cramer (Simon & Schuster: $26) The TV host and co-founder of TheStreet.com explains the basics.

11 The Judgment of Paris by 11 2 Ross King (Walker & Co.: $28) How the Impressionists fought for acceptance against the prevailing painting schools of a Paris in turmoil.

12 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell 10 46 (Little, Brown: $25.95) An exploration of the workings of the human mind, perceptions and whether we can really trust our first instincts.

13 The Game by Neil Strauss -- 6 (ReganBooks: $29.95) A “regular guy� transforms himself into a highly trained pickup artist, entering a subculture where seduction and betrayal live in close discomfort.

14 State of War by James 8 5 Risen (Free Press: $26) The New York Times reporter delves into the Bush administration, the CIA and the events that led up to the U.S. war with Iraq.

15 American Mania by Peter C. -- 1 Whybrow (W.W. Norton: $24.95) A psychiatrist contends that Americans suffer from a clinical mania that compels them to consume material goods and services.

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