Southern California Rating:FICTION1 SHOPGIRL by Steve...

Southern California Rating:

FICTION

1 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Hyperion: $17.95) A young artist who works days in the glove department at Neiman Marcus falls abruptly in love with a millionaire businessman.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 12

2 THE CONSTANT GARDENER by John le Carre (Scribner: $28) A British diplomat quits his Nairobi home and garden to avenge the murder of his wife, who uncovered multinational misdeeds in Kenya.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

3 PRODIGAL SUMMER by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins: $26) In southern Appalachia, three stories of human love intersect within a larger tapestry.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 8

4 THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A narrative tour de force of self-deceit and revenge that joins the lives of two sisters with an unpublished sci-fi novel.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 14

5 CODE TO ZERO by Ken Follett (Dutton: $26.95) A man wakes up in a train station in Washington, D.C., in 1958 with no idea who he is or how he got there.

Last Week: 15; Weeks on List: 2

6 SOUL MOUNTAIN by Gao Xingjian (HarperCollins: $27) The Nobel Prize winner shares a story of a man’s inner journey and search for freedom in rural China.

Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 2

7 LYING AWAKE by Mark Salzman (Alfred A. Knopf: $21) A meditation on spirituality in the life of an Angeleno nun facing a dilemma: Should she have surgery that will cure her of mystical visions?

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 12

8 OFF KECK ROAD by Mona Simpson (Alfred A. Knopf: $19) A novella about a tight-knit group of people coming of age and then growing old together in Green Bay, Wis.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 4

9 THE PROMETHEUS DECEPTION by Robert Ludlum (St. Martin’s: $27.95) A spy infiltrates his former shadowy agency in this story of post-Cold War double-crosses and Wall Street conspiracies.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 6

10 ROSES ARE RED by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $26.95) Alex Cross battles a cunning murderer, nicknamed “Mastermind,” who orchestrates teams of criminals while hiding in the shadows.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 4

11 THE LAST PRECINCT by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $26.95) At Christmastime, Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her staff have not a moment to spare as mangled corpses crowd their morgue.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 4

12 DROWNING RUTH by Christina Schwarz (Doubleday: $23.95) In early 20th century Wisconsin, a family is torn apart by a tragic death and the secrets that follow.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 8

13 THE LAST CITY ROOM by Al Martinez (St. Martin’s: $22.95) A novel by the L.A. Times columnist tells the story of the decline of a San Francisco newspaper during the turbulent ‘60s.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 5

14 WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS by Kazuo Ishiguro (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) An English boy is “orphaned” when his mother and father vanish; years later, he returns as a detective to solve the disappearances.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 12

15 THE MARK by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Tyndale House: $22.99) The antichrist has taken over, branding his followers and causing mayhem in the latest in the “Left Behind” series.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 4

NONFICTION

1 A SHORT GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE by Anna Quindlen (Random House: $12.95) The columnist reflects on what it takes to “get a life” by living deeply rather than merely existing.

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 6

2 THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY by The Beatles (Chronicle Books: $60) Previously unreleased photos, memorabilia and reminiscences that should make any Fab Four fan want to twist and shout.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 11

3 PARIS TO THE MOON by Adam Gopnik (Random House: $24.95) A personal homage to years spent in the City of Light by a longtime New Yorker writer.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 8

4 NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE WORLD by Stephen Ambrose (Simon & Schuster: $28) The historian looks at the building of the transcontinental railroad and its impact on the growth of the nation.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 17

5 DARWIN AWARDS by Wendy Northcutt (Dutton: $16.95) Stupid human tricks: Honoring those who improve our gene pool by eliminating themselves from it.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 2

6 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) This co-author of “The One Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to show people how to manage change.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 407 MAESTRO by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster: $25) Portrait of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who started as a Juilliard-trained sax man and now keeps the U.S. economy in tune.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 5

8 AN INVITATION TO THE WHITE HOUSE by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster: $35) Upstairs, downstairs with the First Lady, who narrates the fascinating past and present of the White House.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

9 VANITY FAIR’S HOLLYWOOD edited by Graydon Carter and David Friend (Viking Studio: $60) Essays, photographs and caricatures portraying the cult of celebrity from 1914 to the present.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

10 THE O’REILLY FACTOR by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway Books: $23) The TV pundit pontificates on what he finds to be the good, the bad and the completely ridiculous in American life.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 11

11 THE TEN THINGS YOU CAN’T SAY IN AMERICA by Larry Elder (St. Martin’s: $23.95) The radio talk show host directs his scorn at feminism, gun control and other controversial topics.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 4

12 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s story of the life lessons he received during weekly visits to an older dying friend.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 147

13 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking: $24.95) Life and death aboard the Nantucket whaler Essex, which was sunk by a sperm whale in 1821.

Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 17

14 HIDDEN TREASURES by Leigh Keno and Leslie Keno (Warner Books: $29.95) The twin brothers, featured on “The Antiques Road Show,” share stories about discovering rare furniture treasures.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 3

15 FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS by James Bradley with Ron Powers (Bantam: $24.95) A son pieces together the history of his father, who helped raise the American flag at Iwo Jima.

Last Week: 14; Weeks on List: 20

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

1 CHOCOLAT by Joanne Harris (Penguin: $12.95) A woman and her daughter open a chocolate store in a French village.

2 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG by Andre Dubus III (Vintage: $14) Two families clash over an auctioned house in this tragic tale.

3 THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant (Picador USA: $14) The blossoming of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter, in Genesis.

4 INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $12) Indian customs color the lives of people coping with loss.

5 PLAINSONG by Kent Haruf (Vintage: $13) A lyrical novel about needy people finding each other in a small Colorado town.

6 DISGRACE by J.M. Coetzee (Penguin: $13) An outcast professor seeks refuge and finds tragedy on a South African farm.

7 WAITING by Ha Jin (Vintage: $13) A legal loophole allows long-separated lovers to be united.

8 PERSONAL INJURIES by Scott Turow (Warner: $7.99) An FBI sting operation uses a dirty lawyer to nab some dirty judges.

9 GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE by Susan Vreeland (Penguin: $12) Eight stories linked by a Dutch master’s painting.

10 THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperPerennial: $14) A missionary family’s ordeals.

PAPERBACKS

NONFICTION

1 THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95) S-O-S!

2 TALKING DIRTY WITH THE QUEEN OF CLEAN by Linda Cobb (Pocket: $8.99) Quick, inexpensive housekeeping tips galore.

3 GALILEO’S DAUGHTER by Dava Sobel (Penguin: $14) The famous astronomer and his daughter, a cloistered nun.

4 WORLD ALMANAC & BOOK OF FACTS 2001 (World Almanac: $10.95) Includes 2000 Olympics and election coverage.

5 OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC 2001 by Robert B. Thomas (Villard: $5.95) Forecasts, tides and everything else ‘twixt Earth and sky.

6 OH NO! NOT ANOTHER PROBLEM by Jeanette A. Griver & Michele W. Vodrey (Compsych Systems: $12.95) Solutions for daily life.

7 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting.

8 THE GHOSTS OF ECHO PARK by Ron Emler (Echo Park Publishing: $15) A pictorial history of the L.A. neighborhood.

9 THE SEAT OF THE SOUL by Gary Zukav (Fireside: $13) Teaching readers to rethink the mind-body connection.

10 THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester (HarperPerennial: $13) A madman with a

flair for words.

*

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.