BESTSELLERS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Next by Michael Crichton -- 1 (HarperCollins: $27.95) A cancer survivor, his daughter and grandson are the targets of unscrupulous genetic researchers determined to harvest disease-fighting cells for profit.

2 Hollywood Station by 14 2 Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown: $24.99) Cops stationed in a Hollywood of meth tweakers and hustlers try to solve a jewelry heist and a security guard’s murder.

3 Against the Day by Thomas 4 2 Pynchon (Penguin: $35) Thirty years of the adventures of a crew of balloonists begins with a trip to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

4 Treasure of Khan by Clive -- 1 and Dirk Cussler (Putnam: $27.95) Federal underwater troubleshooters tangle with a modern-day Mongol who wants to restore his nation’s power and pride.

5 Wild Fire by Nelson 2 4 DeMille (Warner Books: $26.99) A husband-wife duo tries to foil a right-wing plot to bomb two American cities, which would trigger a U.S. nuclear strike on the Middle East.

6 The Shape Shifter by Tony 1 2 Hillerman (HarperCollins: $26.95) Joe Leaphorn is yanked from retirement to find a missing friend and revisit a long-ago murder tied to an ancient Navajo rug.

7 Nature Girl by Carl 3 3 Hiaasen (Knopf: $25.95) Screwball characters romp through this tale of chases, hostage-taking and revenge, all so the world will be safe from telemarketers.

8 Cross by James Patterson 5 3 (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross quits tracking down serial killers for the sake of his family life until given the chance to hunt for his late wife’s murderer.

9 For One More Day by Mitch 6 10 Albom (Hyperion: $21.95) An alcoholic tries suicide and encounters his mother’s ghost, who tells him about her life and sacrifices as a single parent.

10 Brother Odd by Dean Koontz -- 1 (Bantam: $27) A savant who sees the spirits of the dead must find out who is terrorizing a monastery in the Sierra Nevada that is home to severely troubled children.

11 Paint It Black by Janet 10 10 Fitch (Little, Brown: $24.99) An art model on the punk scene tries to make sense of her boyfriend’s death and his relationship with his narcissistic mother.

12 Ines of My Soul by Isabel 9 4 Allende (HarperCollins: $25.95) A young widow travels to colonial Peru, where she falls in love with a Spanish soldier, and together they battle to build a nation.

13 Suite Francaise by Irene 13 33 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) Two novellas by a writer killed at Auschwitz about the exodus from Paris ahead of the Germans’ arrival and on life in a farming village under occupation.

14 Echo Park by Michael 7 9 Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.99) LAPD Det. Harry Bosch wrestles with the haunting thought that his oversight in an old murder case allowed a serial killer to continue his spree.

15 The Road by Cormac -- 7 McCarthy (Knopf: $24) A father’s fierce love for his son is his last link with humanity as they struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world of cannibalistic marauders.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 The Audacity of Hope by 1 7 Barack Obama (Crown: $25) The U.S. senator from Illinois argues that his Democratic Party and the GOP must forgo partisanship to reclaim the American dream.

2 I Feel Bad About My Neck 2 18 by Nora Ephron (Knopf: $19.95) The screenwriter ruminates on the effects of gravity and menopause, and reconciling herself to life among the post-bikini set.

3 Palestine: Peace Not 6 2 Apartheid by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster: $27) The former president writes that Palestinians must recognize Israel and Israel must honor its peace commitments.

4 I Like You by Amy Sedaris 4 7 (Warner Books: $27.99) A guide to throwing the perfect party, with helpful hospitality hints and arch observations from the comic writer.

5 Culture Warrior by Bill 10 10 O’Reilly (Broadway: $26) The Fox News TV host rails against “secular progressives,” billionaire Democrat George Soros, the ACLU and critics he dubs “smear merchants.”

6 The God Delusion by 12 8 Richard Dawkins (Houghton Mifflin: $27) The biologist criticizes religion for intolerance, rejecting scientific truth and threatening nonbelievers with eternal damnation.

7 The Innocent Man by John 5 9 Grisham (Doubleday: $28.95) A true-crime tale about a former big league baseball player sent to death row for a murder he didn’t commit.

8 Point to Point Navigation 3 5 by Gore Vidal (Doubleday: $26) In a second volume of memoirs, the writer recalls childhood, his literary career, politics past and present and coping with his partner’s death.

9 Eat, Pray, Love by 11 21 Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $24.95) After deciding that marriage and motherhood aren’t for her, the author embarks on a journey of self-discovery in Italy, India and Indonesia.

10 The Secret edited by -- 1 Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) The book promises the distillation of a life-transforming “secret” gathered from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy.

11 State of Denial: Bush at 7 10 War, Part III by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster: $30) The author tells how the White House dismisses bad news about the Iraq war, which is fueling terrorism.

12 The Blind Side by Michael -- 1 Lewis (W.W. Norton: $24.95) The author of “Moneyball” examines the game of football and how a Memphis ghetto teen became the prize catch for college recruiters.

13 Love and Louis XIV by -- 1 Antonia Fraser (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $32.50) A look at the Sun King and the women in his life, beginning with his mother, who treated him as a god-like miracle.

14 Thunderstruck by Erik 8 7 Larson (Crown: $25.95) As Guglielmo Marconi and a rival spar over credit for wireless communication, the device leads to a killer’s capture.

15 Chinese Lessons by John -- 1 Pomfret (Henry Holt: $26) Three tumultuous decades in China as seen by a student who became a journalist and witnessed the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square.

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