BESTSELLERS

PAPERBACKS

Fiction

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

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

3. The Gathering by Anne Enright ($14)

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

5. Atonement by Ian McEwan ($14.95)

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 Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan ($16)

5. The Innocent Man by John Grisham ($7.99)

*--* Fiction -- weeks on list 1. T Is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (Putnam: 2 $26.95) Kinsey Millhone suspects elder abuse and becomes ensnared in a case of identity theft. 2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 32 (Riverhead: $25.95) Two Afghan women struggle to survive jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny. 3. World Without End by Ken Follett (Dutton: 10 $35) Four children who witness a murder jockey for power and position as adults in 14th century England. 4. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael 19 Chabon (HarperCollins: $26.95) Murder mystery meets alternative history in an Alaska gone Yiddish. 5. Double Cross by James Patterson (Little, 5 Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross is called back to action when a flurry of murders causes terror in Washington, D.C. 6. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson (Farrar, 6 Straus & Giroux: $27) The saga of an undercover CIA agent, beginning with the Tet offensive in Vietnam. 7. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean 3 Koontz (Bantam: $27) A woman who runs a golden retriever rescue group is hiding a dark secret. 8. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot 6 Diaz (Riverhead: $24.95) A sci-fi-loving nerd and his immigrant family are haunted by the past. 9. Rumpole Misbehaves by John Mortimer (Viking: 2 $23.95) The crafty solicitor defends a boy and himself against new laws banning antisocial activity. 10. Stone Cold by David Baldacci (Grand Central: 6 $26.99) Adventurers try to outmaneuver a swindled casino owner and a mysterious killer. *--*

*--* Nonfiction -- 1. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden 32 (HarperCollins: $24.95) Learn how to tie knots, find true north and other essential skills. 2. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (Scribner: $25) The 5 groundbreaking comedian reflects on his childhood and the evolution of his art. 3. I Am America (and so Can You!) by Stephen Colbert 12 (Grand Central: $26.99) “The Colbert Report” star expounds on the forces destroying America. 4. The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and 8 Miriam Peskowitz (HarperCollins: $24.95) A girls’ handbook of skills and must-have knowledge. 5. Boom! Voices of the Sixties by Tom Brokaw (Random 7 House: $28.95) Reflections on a decade of social change that swept America and its people. 6. A Family Christmas by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion: 3 $26.95) Reflections and writings on the history and spirit of Christmas in the United States. 7. Clapton by Eric Clapton (Broadway: $26) The guitarist 11 tells all -- about the blues, becoming a rock legend, his bouts with addiction and his loves. 8. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) 52 Life’s secrets distilled from oral tradition. 9. The Letters of Noel Coward edited by Barry Day 1 (Knopf: $37.50) The stiletto wit and wisdom of the British playwright and bon vivant. 10. Good Dog, Stay by Anna Quindlen (Random House: 5 $14.95) The bittersweet recollections of life with Beau, Quindlen’s black Labrador retriever. *--*

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.