BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction 1 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin: $14) A father hides the birth of a twin from his wife.

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

3 The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Grove: $14) A retired judge is caught up in Nepal’s independence movement.

4 Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Vintage: $11.95) A man reflects on his life.

5 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead: $14) A writer returns to Kabul to rescue the son of a childhood friend.

6 S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton (Berkley: $7.99) Kinsey Millhone unravels the secret of a woman’s disappearance.

7 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Random House: $13.95) Two women in 19th century China.

8 Wicked by Gregory Maguire (Regan Books: $16) How Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West.

9 Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (Back Bay: $13.99) A private detective tackles three crime cases in and around London.

10 The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury (Signet: $9.99) Knights Templar steal a museum artifact.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction 1 The Iraq Study Group Report by James A. Baker III, Lee H. Hamilton et al. (Vintage: $10.95) On the situation in Iraq.

2 Bad President by R.D. Rosen et al. (Workman: $8.95) Jokes and photos about President Bush.

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

4 The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner (Amistad: $14.95) A homeless man’s struggle to be a successful stockbroker.

5 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $12.95) A code of conduct based on Toltec wisdom.

6 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz (Workman: $18.95) Trotting the globe.

7 Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama (Three Rivers: $14.95) The senator traces his mixed-raced heritage.

8 Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (Picador: $14) A boy goes to live with his mother’s psychiatrist.

9 Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Back Bay: $8.99) The humorist recalls Christmas holiday memories.

10 Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers (Bantam: $7.99) The story of the men in the Iwo Jima photo.

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