LOS ANGELES TIMES LIST FOR AUG. 18, 2004

Rankings are based on a Times poll of national and independent booksellers.

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*--* 1 How to Grill by Steven Raichlen (Workman, $19.95) Everything you ever wanted to know, with pictures.

2 Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers (Clarkson Potter, $35) Admirers of the authors’ half-dozen other cookbooks are propelling this new title.

3 30-Minute Meals 2 by Rachael Ray (Lake Island Press, $14.95) Still going strong more than a year after publication.

4 The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells (HarperCollins, $29.95) The latest from the well-known American expat features recipes gathered from her neighbors.

5 Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill: 125 Reasons to Light Your Fire! by Bobby Flay (Scribner, $30) If it’s summer, there’s a new Bobby Flay grilling book.

6 Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Careme, the First Celebrity Chef by Ian Kelly (Walker & Co., $26) A biography of the 19th century Paris-based chef whose creative contributions to the culinary arts are still with us.

7 South Beach Cookbook by Arthur Agatston (Rodale Press, $29.95) Recipes for the dieter.

8 30 Minute Meals by Rachael Ray (Lake Island Press, $14.95) The original compilation of the Food Network star’s favorites.

9 Seriously Simple: Easy Recipes for Creative Cooks by Diane Rossen Worthington (Chronicle, $35) A steadily selling favorite from a respected cookbook author.

10 Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (Ecco, $14) Swagger and soap opera in the restaurant kitchen.

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