Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

February 10, 2002

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz.

2 A PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham (Dell Island: $7.99) Violence looms over a boyhood in rural Arkansas in 1952.

3 THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin: $20) An epic journey to destroy a dark lord’s evil ring.

4 A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $6.99) A man recalls the bittersweet love story of his youth.

5 THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING by J.R.R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin: $6.99) Volume 1 of “The Lord of the Rings.”

6 GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier (Plume: $12) The woman who inspired a Vermeer painting.

7 HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $6.99) A trap awaits Harry at Hogwarts.

8 THE TWO TOWERS by J.R.R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin: $12) Volume 2 of “The Lord of the Rings.”

9 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Theia: $10.95) Department store clerk Mirabelle meets an older man too good to be true.

10 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $7.99) Showdown with Sirius Black.

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 A BEAUTIFUL MIND by Sylvia Nasar (Touchstone: $16) A brilliant mathematics professor’s battle with schizophrenia.

2 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk food industry.

3 THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) Life lessons based on ancient Toltec wisdom.

4 THE WRINKLE CURE by Nicholas Perricone (Warner: $13.95) Using antioxidants to keep the skin looking young.

5 BLACK HAWK DOWN by Mark Bowden (Signet: $7.99) A gritty account of a disastrous 1993 military operation in Somalia.

6 THE BLESSING OF A SKINNED KNEE by Wendy Mogel (Penguin: $14) Applying Jewish thought to raising children.

7 KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL by Anthony Bourdain (Ecco Press: $14) Tales from the culinary trenches.

8 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting.

9 9-11 by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $8.95) An alternative view on the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

10 RETIRE YOUNG, RETIRE RICH by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Warner: $17.95) Fiscal future planning.