BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Vintage: $14.95) The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer.

2 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

3 Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (Scribner: $9.95) A pair of cowboys in love face a harsh world.

4 The Broker by John Grisham (Dell: $7.99) A jailed lawyer helps the CIA protect satellite technology.

5 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

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

7 Wicked by Gregory Maguire (ReganBooks: $15) The Wicked Witch of the West tells her side of the story.

8 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $16) Two sisters vie for the love of Henry VIII.

9 Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon (St. Martin’s: $6.99) A U.S. senator’s daughter is pursued by evildoers.

10 Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House: $13.95) An Indiana teen on a scholarship tries to fit in at a Massachusetts prep school.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (Anchor: $14.95) A memoir of addiction, rehabilitation and 12-step treatment.

2 Collapse by Jared Diamond (Penguin: $17) Why the Maya, the Anasazi and other societies died out.

3 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Vintage: $14) The masterful writer’s account of a Kansas family’s brutal murder.

4 Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg (Three Rivers Press: $12.95) What’s up, doc?

5 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins (Plume: $15) How the U.S. pressures poor countries.

6 The Power of Intention by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: $14.95) How to get the life you want.

7 Sudoku Easy by Will Shortz (St. Martin’s Griffin: $6.95) Vol. 1 of the popular puzzle book.

8 Su Doku for Dummies by Andrew Heron and Edmund James (Wiley: $9.99) Puzzle-solving hints and 240 puzzles.

9 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: $14) How to attain enlightenment by living in the now.

10 Chronicles by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: $14) The songwriter reflects on his life and creativity.

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