BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Everyman by Philip Roth 13 2 (Houghton Mifflin: $24) A New Jersey ad man with a lifelong obsession about his imminent death reflects on what he’s missed.

2 Blue Shoes and Happiness 1 2 by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon: $21.95) At the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Precious Ramotswe tries to slim down while solving dilemmas for her clients.

3 Promise Me by Harlan Coben -- 1 (Dutton: $26.95) A sports agent becomes a suspect in the disappearance of a teenage girl whom he had promised to help.

4 Two Little Girls in Blue 4 4 by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster: $25.95) Parents return from an evening out to discover their 3-year-old twins missing and an $8-million ransom demand.

5 Elements of Style by Wendy -- 1 Wasserstein (Alfred A. Knopf: $23.95) The late playwright’s first novel skewers Manhattan’s hoity-toities and those who want in.

6 The Debutante Divorcee by 3 2 Plum Sykes (Miramax: $23.95) Having succeeded at finding husbands, several New York City women busily try to get divorces to be swinging singles again.

7 Gone by Jonathan Kellerman 6 5 (Ballantine: $22.95) Psychologist Alex Delaware and an LAPD detective combine forces to solve the disappearance and death of an aspiring actress.

8 Dark Tort by Diane Mott -- 1 Davidson (William Morrow: $24.95) Caterer Goldy Schulz investigates the death of a neighbor who worked as a paralegal in a firm filled with paintings of food.

9 Between the Bridge and the 10 3 River by Craig Ferguson (Chronicle Books: $24.95) Boyhood pals navigate the dregs of the entertainment industry, organized religion and the media.

10 A Dirty Job by Christopher 2 6 Moore (William Morrow: $24.95) A San Francisco shopkeeper is tapped to collect souls from the newly departed in this dark comedy.

11 Dark Harbor by Stuart 5 3 Woods (Putnam: $25.95) A New York lawyer called to a Maine town because of the death of a cousin and his family doubts the local police theory of murder-suicide.

12 This Book Will Save Your -- 1 Life by A.M. Homes (Viking: $24.95) A well-to-do day trader tries to reconnect with the humanity he has discarded along the way.

13 Black Swan Green by David 12 2 Mitchell (Random House: $23.95) The coming-of-age struggles of a 13-year-old boy in a Midlands village in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain.

14 The Faithful Spy by Alex -- 1 Berenson (Random House: $24.95) A CIA operative who has infiltrated the highest levels of Al Qaeda is sent by Bin Laden’s men to attack America.

15 Vanish by Tess Gerritsen -- 1 (Ballantine: $24.95) A woman mistakenly thought dead wakes up in a morgue and proceeds on a spree of terror.

*--*

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Marley & Me by John Grogan 1 24 (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.

2 The World Is Flat by 4 54 Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting and changing the world, with updates from the author.

3 The Year of Magical 11 31 Thinking by Joan Didion (Knopf: $23.95) The author explores the nature of grief and survival in the months after her writer-husband’s sudden death.

4 Cesar’s Way by Cesar 3 4 Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier (Harmony: $24.95) The popular TV show host gives tips on understanding and correcting common canine behavior problems.

5 Freakonomics by Steven D. 5 48 Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.

6 The Gospel of Judas edited 2 4 by Rodolphe Kasser et al. (National Geographic: $22) The lost gospel of Judas Iscariot suggests that he was doing Jesus’ bidding when he betrayed him.

7 American Theocracy by 7 6 Kevin Phillips (Viking: $26.95) Phillips argues that an overzealous global reach, a rise in fundamentalist religion and high debt historically lead to downfall.

8 Manhunt by James L. -- 10 Swanson (William Morrow: $26.95) The search for President Lincoln’s killer, actor John Wilkes Booth, and how he eluded capture for 12 days.

9 My Life in France by Julia 8 4 Child with Alex Prud’homme (Knopf: $25.95) The late chef’s memoir of her formative years in France, studies at the Cordon Bleu and the best Parisian restaurants.

10 Clemente by David Maraniss -- 1 (Simon & Schuster: $26) The achievements on and off the field of the baseball star who died in a 1972 plane crash while on a relief mission to Nicaragua.

11 Don’t Make a Black Woman 12 3 Take Off Her Earrings by Tyler Perry (Riverhead: $23.95) The “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” author offers more advice from his alter ego, Madea.

12 Bad Childhood, Good Life 9 11 by Laura Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $24.95) How to move past an unhappy childhood, change negative behaviors and thrive.

13 Guests of the Ayatollah by -- 1 Mark Bowden (Atlantic Monthly Press: $26) A chronicle of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage crisis.

14 The Political Zoo by -- 1 Michael Savage (Nelson Current: $25.99) The talk-show host takes a fantastical tour of an imaginary menagerie, filled with animals based on leading politicians and pundits.

15 Eat, Pray, Love by 14 4 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.

*--*