BESTSELLERS

PAPERBACKS

1. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett ($24.95)

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. Double Cross by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $27.99) 2 Alex Cross is called back to action when a flurry of murders causes terror in Washington, D.C. 2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: 28 $25.95) Two Afghan women struggle to survive jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny. 3. Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (Doubleday: $21.95) A 6 down-on-his-luck pro quarterback finds refuge on a football team in Parma, Italy. 4. Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker (HarperCollins: $24.95) A 4 13th century demon child’s memoir about his battle with an angel in disguise. 5. The Chase by Clive Cussler (Putnam: $26.95) A detective 3 pursues a bank robber across the West, landing in San Francisco for the 1906 earthquake. 6. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (Del Rey: 4 $21.95) An unlikely pair of travelers ply their skills along the Silk Road in the 10th century. 7. Confessor by Terry Goodkind (Tor Books: $29.95) In this 2 final chapter of the “Chainfire Trilogy,” Richard Rahl must find his wife and save the world. 8. Away by Amy Bloom (Random House: $23.95) A survivor of a 6 Russian pogrom arrives in New York in 1924 and soon begins a search for her lost daughter. 9. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (Little, Brown: $24.99) 6 A depressed divorcee kills her mother, then tries to understand what drove her to it. 10. World Without End by Ken Follett (Dutton: $35) Four 7 children who witness a murder jockey for power and position as adults in 14th century England. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (Scribner: $25) The 1 groundbreaking comedian reflects on his childhood and the evolution of his art. 2. I Am America (and So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert 8 (Grand Central: $26.99) “The Colbert Report” star expounds on the forces destroying America. 3. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden 28 (HarperCollins: $24.95) Learn how to tie knots, find true north and other essential skills. 4. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and 4 Miriam Peskowitz (HarperCollins: $24.95) A girls’ handbook of skills and must-have knowledge. 5. Boom! Voices of the Sixties by Tom Brokaw (Random 3 House: $28.95) Reflections on a decade of social change that swept America and its people. 6. You: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. 4 Oz (Free Press: $26) Doctors explain how the body ages and how to counter those effects. 7. The Long Embrace by Judith Freeman (Pantheon: $25.95) 2 The tale of Raymond Chandler and the beautiful, much older woman he married. 8. Good Dog, Stay by Anna Quindlen (Random House: 1 $14.95) The bittersweet recollections of life with Beau, Quindlen’s black Labrador retriever. 9. Clapton by Eric Clapton (Broadway: $26) The guitarist 7 tells all -- about the blues, becoming a rock legend, his bouts with addiction and his loves. 10. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) 49 Life’s secrets distilled from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy. *--*

Fiction

2. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez ($14.95)

3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ($15)

4. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen ($13.95)

5. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy ($14)

Nonfiction

1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ($15)

2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15)

3. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer ($13.95)

4. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson ($14.95)

5. 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey ($12.99)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.