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

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

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

7 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperSanFrancisco: $13) An Andalusian shepherd boy searches for treasure in Egypt.

8 Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage: $12) An autistic teen seeks a killer.

9 Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (Scribner: $9.95) A pair of cowboys in love face a harsh world.

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

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

4 Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg (Three Rivers Press: $12.95) What’s up, doc?

5 The Book of Sudoku, No. 1 by Michael Mepham (Overlook: $9.95) An introduction to the numbers puzzle.

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

7 Sudoku Easy by Will Shortz (St. Martin’s Griffin: $9.95) Vol. 1 of the popular puzzle book.

8 Sudoku Easy to Hard by Will Shortz (St. Martin’s Griffin: $6.95) One hundred wordless crossword puzzles.

9 Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: $14) The songwriter reflects on his life and creativity.

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

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