Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

January 6, 2002

FICTION

Southern California Rating

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

2 THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING by J.R.R. Tolkien (Ballantine: $6.99) Volume 1 of “The Lord of the Rings.�

3 THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin: $12) The adventures of Bilbo Baggins in the world of Middle-Earth.

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

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

6 THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant (Picador USA: $14.95) The blossoming of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter, in Genesis.

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

8 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $6.99) Young Harry trains as a wizard.

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

10 A FINE BALANCE by Rohinton Mistry (Vintage: $15) A tale of political and personal crises in contemporary India.

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Joshua Piven & David Borgenicht (Chronicle Books: $14.95) S-O-S!

2 ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Wisecracking essays on life in Paris and elsewhere.

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

4 WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: DATING & SEX (Chronicle Books: $14.95) Blind dates and other crises.

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

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

7 BAND OF BROTHERS by Stephen Ambrose (Touchstone: $16) The elite World War II fighting force Easy Company.

8 WORLD ALMANAC AND BOOK OF FACTS 2002 (World Almanac Books: $11.95) 2001 and then some.

9 PERSONAL HISTORY by Katharine Graham (Vintage: $15) A memoir by the late publisher of the Washington Post.

10 OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC 2002 by Robert B. Thomas (Villard: $5.95) Weather, tides, how-to advice and more.