BESTSELLERS / PAPERBACKS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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

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

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

4 The Hour Game by David Baldacci (Warner: $7.99) Private eyes try to catch a copycat killer.

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

6 The Virgin’s Lover by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $16) A young Queen Elizabeth I falls for a married man.

7 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $16) Two sisters vie for the love of Henry VIII.

8 Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury: $15.95) Two magicians try to steer history’s course.

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

10 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin: $14) A teenage girl is haunted by her mother’s death.

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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

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

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

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

5 Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster: $14) The songwriter reflects on the joys and trials of creativity.

6 The Big Book of Su Doku, No. 1 by Mark Huckvale (Newmarket: $8.95) Puzzles easy to hard, with tips and rules.

7 Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (W.W. Norton: $16.95) A scientist’s take on Europe’s rise to dominance.

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

9 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (Back Bay: $14.95) The humorist on his family.

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

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.