BOOK REVIEW

PAPERBACKS

Fiction

*--* Fiction weeks on list 1. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown : 3 $27.99) An LAPD detective travels to Hong Kong to solve the murder of a Chinese immigrant. 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives 22 of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 3. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard 7 professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C. 4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney 3 (Amulet: $13.95) Greg desires to spend summer vacation indoors despite his mother’s wishes for outdoor family fun. 5. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb (W.W. Norton 2 & Co.: $24.95) Graphic depictions of all 50 chapters of the first book of the Bible. 6. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn (Atria: $27.99) Two 3 counterterrorism operatives deal with the fallout from a deadly terrorist attack. 7. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $26) The 3 story of a hard-knock gal who raised horses and survived floods and the Depression. 8. The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: 2 $27.95) Kay Scarpetta’s fame grows as do the bizarre events surrounding several unsolved cases. 9. The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt (Knopf: $26.95) A 2 runaway boy is taken in by a famous children’s book author and her storybook world. 10. The Wild Things by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $19.95) An 2 interpretation and elaboration of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: 1 $27.99) A collection of the author’s musings on everyday and extraordinary people. 2. SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. 2 Dubner (William Morrow: $29.99) More funny, informative facts and questions to ponder. 3. Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon (Harper: 3 $26.99) A collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on what it means to be a man and father. 4. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Hyperion: $23.99) 5 Albom’s observations of a rabbi and a pastor on an eight-year journey of faith. 5. Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking: 1 $32.95) A behind-the-scenes account of the players behind America’s financial crisis. 6. Republican Gomorrah by Max Blumenthal (Nation Books: 2 $25) A liberal look at how fringe elements are defining a new Republican Party. 7. Knockout by Suzanne Somers (Crown: $25.99) Interviews 1 with innovative cancer doctors. 8. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The 12 disappearance of a Syrian American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 9. The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons (ESPN: $30) An 1 encyclopedia of all you need to know about the NBA. 10. Moon River & Me by Andy Williams (Viking : 1 $25.95) A memoir of the singer’s seven-decade career as an entertainer. *--*

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95)

2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14)

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ($15)

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ($14)

5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ($12.95)

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Nonfiction

1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell ($15.99)

2. L.A. Bizarro by Anthony Lovett and Matt Maranian ($19.95)

3. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15)

4. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher ($13.99)

5. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme ($15)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores. --

latimes.com/books

Monstrous Austen

Off the Shelf: Susannah Carson on a spate of Jane Austen mash-ups. Dark Passages: What mystery writers do when their series turn stale. Jacket Copy: A graphic novel sticks it to traditional publishers.