BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin: $14) A father hides the birth of a twin from his wife.

2 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $13.95) Two women in 19th century China.

3 The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Grove: $14) A retired judge is caught up in Nepal’s independence movement.

4 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy searches for treasure in Egypt.

5 The Lighthouse by P.D. James (Vintage: $13.95) Adam Dalgliesh searches for the killer of an acclaimed novelist.

6 Mary, Mary by James Patterson (Warner Vision: $9.99) FBI agent Alex Cross seeks the killer of a top Hollywood actress.

7 Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts (Jove: $7.99) A circle of six prepares to do battle with Lilith the demon queen.

8 March by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin: $14) Imagining the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, father of the “Little Women.”

9 Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan (Ballantine: $14.95) Tourists in Burma make darkly humorous missteps.

10 The Sea by John Banville (Vintage: $12.95) A widower visits the coastal town where he spent time as a boy.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Picador: $14) A boy goes to live with his mother’s psychiatrist.

2 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $14) A memoir of breaking away from dysfunctional parents.

3 Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky (Owl Books: $13) A critique of America’s quest for global supremacy.

4 Bad President by R.D. Rosen et al. (Workman: $8.95) Jokes and photos about President Bush.

5 Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers (Bantam: $7.99) The men in the iconic Iwo Jima photo.

6 Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk (Vintage: $14.95) The Nobel laureate meditates on life in his city and its ancient civilization.

7 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (TechPress/Warner: $16.95) Fiscal parenting.

8 The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Laura Schlessinger (Harper: $13.95) How to manage men.

9 A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume: $14) How transcending ego can end conflict and suffering.

10 An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (Rodale: $21.95) The former vice president cites the evidence for global warming.

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