Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

*--* Southern California Rating FICTION

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*--* 1 EMPIRE FALLS by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class lives in Maine 2 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz 3 BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) A terrorist standoff in a South American town mirrors opera 4 HOW TO BE GOOD by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $13) Hornby’s trademark wit is on display as a couple copes with infidelity 5 DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD by Rebecca Wells (HarperPerennial: $14) Sisterhood in the South 6 THE FORGOTTEN by Faye Kellerman (Avon: $7.99) Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus look for the killer of a vandal 7 GOOD IN BED by Jennifer Weiner (Washington Square Press: $13) A tell-all column helps a woman change her life 8 A BEND IN THE ROAD by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $7.99) His wife’s death looms over a sheriff’s romance with a teacher 9 LITTLE ALTARS EVERYWHERE by Rebecca Wells (HarperCollins: $13) More tales from the “Ya-Ya Sisterhood.” 10 DEAD SLEEP by Greg Iles (Signet: $7.99) A photographer finds a link between missing women and an art exhibit

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*--* Southern California Rating NONFICTION

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*--* 1 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon 2 FOUNDING BROTHERS by Joseph Ellis (Vintage: $14) The genius, cunning and flaws of the nation’s architects 3 9-11 by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $8.95) An alternative view of the U.S.-led war on terrorism 4 A BEAUTIFUL MIND by Sylvia Nasar (Touchstone: $16) A Nobel laureate’s long battle with schizophrenia 5 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting 6 NICKEL & DIMED by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt: $13) A writer works in low-wage America to see how the poor live 7 PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE by Gore Vidal (Thunder’s Mouth/Nation: $10) Civil liberties in danger 8 THE WRINKLE CURE by Nicholas Perricone (Warner: $13.95) Using antioxidants to keep your skin looking youthful 9 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry 10 LIFE STRATEGIES by Phillip C. McGraw (Hyperion, $12.95) How to take responsibility for your life to change it

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