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

3 State of Fear by Michael Crichton (Avon: $7.99) Nefarious environmentalists and manufactured threats of global warming.

4 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin: $15) A quest for the truth about a Spanish novelist.

5 Runaway by Alice Munro (Vintage: $14.95) Stories of the surprises, betrayals and limits of love.

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

7 Whiteout by Ken Follett (Signet: $7.99) A deadly virus sample goes missing in a Scottish medical lab.

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

9 Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (Back Bay Books: $13.95) A London detective tackles cold cases.

10 Night Fall by Nelson DeMille (Warner Vision: $7.99) Federal agents try to solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800.

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

5 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library: $14) How to attain enlightenment by living in the now.

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

7 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

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

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

10 The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press: $14) How to transform negative traits into assets.

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