Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

*--* Southern California Rating FICTION

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*--* 1 EMPIRE FALLS by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class lives in Maine 2 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz 3 BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) A terrorist standoff in a South American town mirrors opera 4 GOOD IN BED by Jennifer Weiner (Washington Square Press: $13) A tell-all column helps a woman change her life 5 THE BACHELOR by Carly Phillips (Warner: $5.99) Three brothers toss a coin to determine who will marry first 6 HOW TO BE GOOD by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $13) Hornby’s trademark wit is on display as a couple copes with infidelity 7 THE FORGOTTEN by Faye Kellerman (Avon: $7.99) Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus look for a young vandal’s killer 8 A BEND IN THE ROAD by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $7.99) His wife’s death looms over a sheriff’s romance with a teacher 9 THE BOURNE IDENTITY by Robert Ludlum (Bantam: $7.99) Jason Bourne’s a mystery man with assassins on his trail 10 DEAD SLEEP by Greg Iles (Signet: $7.99) A photographer finds a link between missing women and an art exhibit

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*--* Southern California Rating NONFICTION

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*--* 1 DR. ATKINS’ NEW DIET REVOLUTION by Robert C. Atkins (Avon: $7.99) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds 2 THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) Life lessons based on ancient Toltec wisdom 3 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting 4 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry 5 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon 6 PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE by Gore Vidal (Thunder’s Mouth: $10) The U.S.’ perilous situation 7 NICKEL & DIMED by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt: $13) A writer works in low-wage America to see how the poor live 8 9-11 by Noam Chomsky (Seven Stories Press: $8.95) An alternative view of the U.S.-led war on terrorism 9 THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE by Robert Evans (New Millennium: $17.95) A producer’s rise, fall and rise again 10 WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING by Heidi E. Murkoff et al. (Workman: $13.95) Pregnancy explained

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