BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

2 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Vintage: $14.95) President Charles Lindbergh launches 1940s pogroms.

3 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks a killer.

4 London Bridges by James Patterson (Warner Vision: $7.99) Alex Cross battles nuclear terrorists.

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

6 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Vintage: $14.95) The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer.

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

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

9 The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime: $5.99) Two Maine newsmen recount a stranger’s murder.

10 Tijuana Straits by Kem Nunn (Scribner: $15) A washed-up surfer helps a woman hiding along the Mexican border.

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

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

4 Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: $14) The songwriter reflects on his life and creativity.

5 Bad Dog by R.D. Rosen et al (Workman: $9.95) Photographs of 278 canines with attitude.

6 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Back Bay: $14.95) How fads, trends and ideas behave like viruses in a society.

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

8 Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton: $14.95) How Shakespeare became Shakespeare.

9 Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Vintage: $14.95) A serial killer haunts the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

10 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom.

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