BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 Next by Michael Crichton 1 6 (HarperCollins: $27.95) A cancer survivor, his daughter and grandson are the targets of unscrupulous genetic researchers determined to harvest disease-fighting cells for profit.

2 Hollywood Station by 2 7 Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown: $24.99) Cops stationed in a Hollywood of meth tweakers and hustlers try to solve a jewelry heist and a security guard’s murder.

3 For One More Day by Mitch 5 15 Albom (Hyperion: $21.95) An alcoholic tries suicide and encounters his mother’s ghost, who tells him about her life and sacrifices as a single parent.

4 The Emperor’s Children by -- 12 Claire Messud (Knopf: $25) Three college friends stumble on their paths to becoming shining lights in the East Coast constellation of cultural elites.

5 Special Topics in Calamity 11 10 Physics by Marisha Pessl (Viking: $25.95) Brilliant, eccentric high school students and their film studies teacher are drawn into a murder mystery.

6 The Hunters by W.E.B. -- 1 Griffin (Putnam: $26.95) Presidential agent Charley Castillo investigates the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Uruguay and stumbles onto a food-for-oil conspiracy in Iraq.

7 The Boleyn Inheritance by 7 5 Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $25.95) Anne Boleyn’s scheming sister-in-law continues her intrigues as lady-in-waiting to two more of Henry VIII’s wives.

8 Cross by James Patterson 3 8 (Little, Brown: $27.99) Alex Cross quits tracking down serial killers for the sake of his family life until given the chance to hunt for his late wife’s murderer.

9 Hannibal Rising by Thomas 4 5 Harris (Delacorte Press: $27.95) Hannibal Lecter is rescued from a Soviet orphanage by his uncle, but the boy is haunted by demons.

10 Dear John by Nicholas 9 8 Sparks (Warner: $24.99) A soldier on leave falls in love with a student, but their relationship is put on hold when he returns to duty after Sept. 11.

11 The Cat Who Had 60 -- 1 Whiskers by Lilian Jackson Braun (Putnam: $23.95) An arson fire leaves Jim Quilleran and Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum homeless in Pickax City, Mich.

12 Suite Francaise by Irene -- 35 Nemirovsky (Knopf: $25) Two novellas by a writer killed at Auschwitz about the exodus from Paris ahead of the Germans’ arrival and on life in a farming village under occupation.

13 Water for Elephants by -- 13 Sara Gruen (Algonquin: $23.95) A nursing-home patient recalls his life and loves as a penniless student who dropped out of college to join the circus in the 1930s.

14 Shadow Dance by Julie -- 1 Garwood (Ballantine: $25.95) A woman tries to discover whether her brother’s wedding to her best friend has linked two clans feuding since medieval times.

15 Echo Park by Michael -- 11 Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.99) LAPD Det. Harry Bosch wrestles with the haunting thought that his oversight in an old murder case allowed a serial killer to continue his spree.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction LAST WEEK WEEKS ON LIST 1 I Feel Bad About My Neck 2 23 by Nora Ephron (Knopf: $19.95) The screenwriter ruminates on the effects of gravity and menopause, and reconciling herself to life among the post-bikini set.

2 The Proper Care and -- 1 Feeding of Marriage by Laura Schlessinger (HarperCollins: $25.95) How women should fulfill their role as homemaker, helpmate and sex partner.

3 The Audacity of Hope by 1 12 Barack Obama (Crown: $25) The U.S. senator from Illinois argues that his Democratic Party and the GOP must forgo partisanship to reclaim the American dream.

4 Palestine: Peace Not 3 7 Apartheid by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster: $27) The former president writes that Palestinians must recognize Israel, and Israel must honor its peace commitments.

5 The God Delusion by 4 13 Richard Dawkins (Houghton Mifflin: $27) The biologist criticizes religion for intolerance, rejecting scientific truth and threatening nonbelievers with eternal damnation.

6 Jim Cramer’s Mad Money by 11 4 James J. Cramer with Cliff Mason (Simon & Schuster: $25) The basics of buying and selling stocks, assessing risk and creating a valuable portfolio.

7 Marley & Me by John Grogan 7 50 (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.

8 Catching the Big Fish by -- 1 David Lynch (Tarcher: $19.95) The filmmaker details how Transcendental Meditation has allowed him to dive within, “catch” ideas and develop his creativity.

9 Sister Bernadette’s -- 1 Barking Dog by Kitty Burns Florey (Melville House: $19.95) The quirky history of diagraming sentences and how Sister Bernadette taught it to her sixth-grade class.

10 The Gospel of Food by -- 1 Barry Glassner (Ecco: $25.95) The “Culture of Fear” author debunks conventional wisdom about food, diets, nutrition and obesity but finds that the rich really are thinner.

11 Grayson by Lynne Cox -- 3 (Knopf: $16.95) The long-distance swimmer recalls how at 17 she discovered a baby gray whale following her and kept it at sea until its mother arrived.

12 The Intellectual -- 1 Devotional by David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim (Rodale: $22.50) How to complete your education and roam confidently through the cultured classes in 365 short lessons.

13 Eat, Pray, Love by 5 25 Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $24.95) After deciding that marriage and motherhood aren’t for her, the author embarks on a journey of self-discovery in Italy, India and Indonesia.

14 I Like You by Amy Sedaris 12 12 (Warner Books: $27.99) A guide to throwing the perfect party, with helpful hospitality hints and arch observations from the comic writer.

15 The Innocent Man by John 6 14 Grisham (Doubleday: $28.95) A true-crime tale about a former big league baseball player sent to death row for a murder he didn’t commit.

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