Bestsellers

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

2 Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (HarperTorch: $7.99) A girl’s murder causes three friends to confront their pasts.

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

6 Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Berkley: $7.99) Kinsey Millhone reopens an unsolved 18-year-old murder case.

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

8 The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason (Vintage: $14) A British piano tuner’s adventures in 19th century Burma.

9 Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Warner: $7.99) Alex Cross helps to clear a Vietnam vet framed for murder.

10 Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (Simon & Schuster: $14) A Zulu pastor in the South Africa of the 1940s.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (Broadway: $15) Restoring a cozy home in glorious Italy.

2 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Quill: $13.95) Shed pounds with a low-carb diet.

3 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15.95) How an also-ran became America’s favorite racehorse.

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

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

6 Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (Free Press: $14) A blackjack team from MIT bests the casinos in Las Vegas.

7 The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel (Villard: $9.95) The woes of a college student in financial straits.

8 Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (Random House: $13.95) An African childhood.

9 Falling Out of Grace by Sobonfu Some (North Bay Press: $14) Meditations on loss, healing and wisdom.

10 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.