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

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

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

5 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Scribner: $12.95) A portrait of Jazz Age decadence and excess.

6 The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton: $13.95) A writer escapes the Nazis but loses his beloved.

7 Wicked by Gregory Maguire (ReganBooks: $16) How Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West.

8 Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (Plume: $14) A Philadelphia cafe manager falls for a Cary Grant look-alike.

9 Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (Berkley: $15) An archeologist uncovers a 13th century quest for the Holy Grail.

10 The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry (Ballantine: $7.99) A monastic order’s archive could disprove Christian dogma.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin: $15) A journey of self-discovery in Italy, India and Indonesia.

2 The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Vintage: $13.95) A meditation on grief and survival.

3 The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier (HarperSanFrancisco: $14.95) The actor on his values.

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

5 Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Three Rivers: $14.95) The senator traces his mixed-race heritage.

6 Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill & Wang: $9) A teenager’s harrowing year spent in four concentration camps.

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

8 Greenopia edited by Ferris Kawar (Green Media Group: $12.95) Living green in Los Angeles.

9 5 People Who Died During Sex by Karl Shaw (Broadway: $9.95) Oddities, collected.

10 The Freedom Writers Diary with Erin Gruwell (Broadway: $13.95) Long Beach teens write about their lives.

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