BESTSELLERS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: 12 $25.95) Two Afghan women struggle to survive jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny. 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling 3 (Scholastic: $34.99) Dark and dangerous, Harry’s saga comes to a close. 3. The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $25.95) 2 Israeli intelligence agent Gabriel Allon seeks a young woman kidnapped by terrorists. 4. The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke (Simon & 3 Schuster: $26) The line between survival and criminality is blurred in post-Katrina New Orleans. 5. The Quickie by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge 5 (Little, Brown: $27.99) A detective with a cheating husband is caught in a web of revenge. 6. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: 10 $22) A couple face a cruel reality on their wedding night. 7. Peony in Love by Lisa See (Random House: $23.95) A 17th 6 century Chinese girl who dies before she can marry tells her story from the netherworld. 8. The Maytrees by Annie Dillard (HarperCollins: $24.95) A 6 bohemian explores her feelings after her husband moves to Maine with another woman. 9. The Judas Strain by James Rollins (William Morrow: 5 $25.95) Members of the Sigma Force fight an ancient plague, which takes the form of a cryptogram. 10. In at the Death by Harry Turtledove (Del Rey: $26.95) 1 The Confederates surrender to the Union to end World War II in this alternate history. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden 14 (HarperCollins: $24.95) How to tie knots, find true north, build treehouses and other vital skills. 2. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) 33 Life’s secrets distilled from oral tradition, literature, religion and philosophy. 3. God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (Twelve: 15 $24.99) The acerbic commentator argues that the world would be a better place without religion. 4. The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown (Doubleday: 9 $27.50) A dishy take on the late princess of Wales by the former editor of Tatler and Vanity Fair. 5. Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner (Doubleday: $27.95) A 3 searing look at the Central Intelligence Agency and, the author contends, its culture of incompetence. 6. Change Your Thoughts -- Change Your Life by Wayne W. 1 Dyer (Hay House: $26.95) Applying ancient Chinese wisdom to life in the modern world. 7. Mere Anarchy by Woody Allen (Random House: $21.95) A 8 collection of vintage Allen rants, along with some new humor. 8. ¡Ask a Mexican! by Gustavo Arellano (Scribner: $20) 5 The OC Weekly columnist’s answers to curious and sometimes hateful questions about Mexicans. 9. The Assault on Reason by Al Gore (Penguin: $25.95) 9 The former vice president laments the lack of reasoned political debate on vital national issues. 10. You Can Run But You Can’t Hide by Duane “Dog” Chapman 1 (Hyperion: $25.95) The bounty hunter recounts his journey from gangster to media darling. *--*