Southern California Rankings:FICTION1. POINT OF ORIGIN by...

Southern California Rankings:

FICTION

1. POINT OF ORIGIN by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $25.95) Kay Scarpetta, chief medical examiner, takes on a psychopathic serial killer, her former lover.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

2. BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY by Helen Fielding (Viking: $22.95) The New Year’s resolutions of a single thirtysomething girlie Brit, from personal appearance to the perfect man.

Last Week: 1 ; Weeks on List: 6

3. I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE by Wally Lamb (ReganBooks: $27.50) A man with a twin brother searches for meaning in the story of an Italian ancestor.

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 5

4. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by Arthur Golden (Knopf: $25) The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer growing up in Kyoto during World War II.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 36

5. SUMMER SISTERS by Judy Blume (Delacorte: $21.95) Friendship between two unlikely girls blossoms and grows through years of hardship and maturity.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 9

6. A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR by John Irving (Random House: $27.95) From childhood to middle age, a woman learns that one must wait a long time to fall in love.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 11

7. AI! PERDITO! by L. Ron Hubbard and Kevin J. Anderson (Bridge Publications: $25) Naval Lt. Tom Smith discovers that his look-alike is a South American revolutionary.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

8. THE KLONE AND I by Danielle Steel (Delacorte: $17.95) Finding the right chemistry in a story of high-tech love among the test tubes.

Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 4

9. THE LAST FULL MEASURE by Jeff Shaara (Ballantine: $25.95) The final novel in a trilogy about the Civil War in he years after the Gettysburg turning point.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 7

10. ABOUT A BOY by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $22.95) A London bachelor’s comfy existence is upended by a needy youngster who squeezes into his life.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 9

11. COLD MOUNTAIN by Charles Frazier (Atlantic Monthly: $24) A Confederate soldier deserts the Civil War and walks home to his farm and sweetheart.

Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 49

12. THE STREET LAWYER by John Grishham (Doubleday: $27.95) After being confronted on a city street, an arrogant lawyer becomes a hero for the homeless.

Last Week: 14; Weeks on List: 22

13. LOW COUNTRY by Anne Rivers Siddons (Harper Collins: $25) A determined Southern belle chooses her land over her husband.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

14. MISADVENTURES IN THE (213) by Dennis Hensley (Rob Weisbach Books/Morrow: $24) Struggling writers, publicists and media egotists hunt for fame in Hollywood.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 2

15. GONE FOR GOOD by Mark Childress (Knopf: $25) A folk-rock singer crashes on an island inhabited by JFK, Marilyn and other celebrities.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 2

****

NONFICTION

1. TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s empowering story of his weekly visits to see an older dying friend.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 29

2. EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS by Peter Biskind (Simon & Schuster: $25) How the sex -drugs-and rock ‘n’ roll generation of filmakers saved Hollywood.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 14

3. ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt (Scribner: $24) A bittersweet lyrical memoir of a poverty-stricken childhood in a rain-soaked Irish city.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 87

4. A MONK SWIMMING by Malachy McCourt (Hyperion: $23.95) The brother of Frank McCourt offers a bawdy antidote to a sad childhood.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 6

5. A PIRATE LOOKS AT FIFTY by Jimmy Buffet (Random House: $24.95) The songwriter-author refelcts on his ventures around the globe aboard his seaplane.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 5

6. THE GIFTS OF THE JEWS by Thomas Cahill (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $23.50) How a nomadic people heard the Almighty’s voice and transformed the world.

Last Week: 14; Weeks on List: 14

7. PHILISTINES AT THE HEDGEROW by Steven Gaines (Little, Brown: $26.95) A social history of the elite living on walled estates in the Hamptons.

Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 4

8. TITAN by Ron Chernow (Random House: $30) A biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. that draws upon unpublished interviews with the industrial tycoon.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 7

9. THE NINE STEPS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM by Suze Orman (Crown: $23) Practical tips for avoiding stress, making good savings plans and managing money.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 14

10. THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Lanko (Longstreet Press: $22) Lives of the rich and famous, including golden parachutes.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 26

11. WE ARE OUR MOTHERS’ DAUGHTERS by Cokie Roberts (Morrow: $19.95) Activists, journalists and others challenging the roles of women in society.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 11

12. SHIP OF GOLD IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Gary Kinder (Atlantic Monthly: $27.50) A modern-day adventure to retrieve $450 million from a sunken steamer.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 7

13. CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, BOOK ONE by Neale Donald Walsch (Putnam: 19.95) Channeling messages from Mr. Big about good, evil and the meaning of life.

Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 59

14. IF YOU’RE NOT OUT SELLING, YOU’RE BEING OUTSOLD by Michael St. Lawrence and Steven Johnson (Wiley: $22) Getting in touch with your inner salesman.

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 5

15. RAT PACK CONFIDENTIAL by Shawn Levy (Doubleday: $23.95) What happened when Sinatra asked his buddies to party in a place called Las Vegas.

Last Week: 15; Weeks on List: 6

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

1. DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD by Rebecca Wells (HarperCollins: $13) Sisterhood in the South.

2. THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS by Arundhati Roy (HarperPerennial: $13) The rise and fall of an Indian family.

3. THE BEST LAID PLANS by Sidney Sheldon (Warner: $7.99) A poltical dreamer meets a sexy schemer.

4. UNNATURAL EXPOSURE by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley: $7.99) Kay Scarpetta hunts for a killer in cyberspace.

5. HIGH FIDELITY by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $12.95) A 35-year-old man squelches heartbreak with pop music.

6. SHE’S COME UNDONE by Wally Lamb (Pocket: $14) A woman’s painful journey of self discovery.

7. THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS by Caleb Carr (Ballantine: $7.99) In this sequel to “The Alienist,” the victims are infants.

8. A CUP OF TEA by Amy Ephron (Ballantine: $10) How one glance can ruin another woman’s life.

9. THE COMEDY WRITER by Peter Farrelly (Main Street: $12.95) An East Coast screenwriter gets a surreal taste of L.A.

10. A LESSON BEFORE DYING by Ernest J. Gaines (Vintage: $12) Visits with a teen facing death in a small, Southern town.

****

NONFICTION

1. UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN by Frances Mayes (Broadway: $13) Making a home in a glorious Italian landscape.

2. THE PERFECT STORM by Sebastian Junger (HarperPerennial: $13) Fishermen trapped in the fury of an Atlantic storm.

3. INTO THIN AIR by Jon Krakauer (Anchor Books: $7.99) Risk and recklessness on Mt. Everest.

4. BRAIN DROPPINGS by George Carlin (Hyperion: $9.95) The comedian’s look at the humorous absurdity of everyday life.

5. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME by Stephen Hawking (Bantam: $6.99) How the universe works, and a little bit of why as well.

6. THE COLOR OF WATER by James McBride (Riverhead: $12) A black musician’s homage to his white mother.

7. CONVERSATIONS WITH MY AGENT by Rob Long (Plume: $11.95) A “Cheers” writer recounts life after the hit sitcom.

8. TEAM RODENT by Carl Hiaasen (Ballantine: $8.95) The greed behind the gleam of the Walt Disney company.

9. FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS by Hunter Thompson (Vintage: $11) A gonzo-journalist on a magic carpet ride.

10. A CIVIL ACTION by Jonathan Harr (Vintage: $13) David vs. an industrial Goliath in Massachusetts.

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.