FICTION1 THE BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER by Amy Tan...

FICTION

1 THE BONESETTER’S DAUGHTER by Amy Tan (Putnam: $25.95) A ghostwriter uncovers her family’s anguished past in China as her mother struggles with Alzheimer’s disease.

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2 A COMMON LIFE by Jan Karon (Viking: $24.95) The villagers in Mitford celebrate, from pre-nup counseling to the walk down the aisle, when Father Tim marries his next-door neighbor.

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3 DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS by P.D. James (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) In East Anglia, a theological college is torn apart by a sacrilegious and horrifying murder.

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4 SILENT JOE by T. Jefferson Parker (Hyperion: $23.95) A young sheriff’s deputy, his face horribly scarred, uncovers his mysterious past when he hunts the killers of his adopted father.

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5 1st TO DIE by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $26.95) Four female professionals dubbed “The Women’s Murder Club” track a killer with a penchant for newlyweds.

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6 DREAMCATCHER by Stephen King (Scribner: $28) Four boyhood friends return to a cabin in the Maine woods to recall old times and face horrifying bodysnatchers.

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7 THE DEATH OF VISHNU by Manil Suri (W.W. Norton: $24.95) A dying man’s soul eavesdrops on his colorful neighbors in a Bombay apartment building.

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8 ARKANSAS TRAVELER by Earlene Fowler (Prime Crime: $21.95) Folk art expert Benni Harper returns home to find a town torn apart by racial tensions and murder.

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9 A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $25.95) A retired FBI agent teams with an LAPD homicide detective to investigate a series of ritual killings.

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10 POTSHOT by Robert B. Parker (Putnam: $23.95) The 28th Spenser novel finds the private investigator in Potshot, Ariz., a former mining town reborn as a millionaires’ retreat.

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11 A PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) Tensions between two groups of farm workers result in a brutal murder in this tale of an Arkansas boyhood in 1952.

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12 THE LAST TIME THEY MET by Anita Shreve (Little, Brown: $24.95) Two poets sustain a lifelong passion though they’ve been together only three times.

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13 RESURRECTING MINGUS by Jenoyne Adams (The Free Press: $23) In the aftermath of her parents’ divorce, a young attorney strives to find her own identity.

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14 STICKS AND SCONES by Diane Mott Davidson (Bantam: $23.95) A caterer becomes a sleuth after she discovers a dead body on her first day on a new job.

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15 THE VILLA by Nora Roberts (Putnam: $25.95) The merger of two powerful family wineries in Napa, Calif., results in romance, intrigue, sabotage and murder.

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NONFICTION

1 SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House: $24.95) How three men transformed a thoroughbred horse from a neurotic also-ran into an American sports icon.

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2 FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser (Houghton Mifflin: $25) A journalist exposes the fast-food industry’s strategies, from meatpacking to the boardroom, to control American consumers.

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3 WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson (Putnam: $19.95) The coauthor of “The One Minute Manager” uses the parable of mice in a maze to show people how to manage change.

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4 TWENTYNINE PALMS by Deanne Stillman (William Morrow: $29) The story of a horrible double murder by a troubled Marine--and its long aftermath.

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5 THE MONEY AND THE POWER by Sally Denton and Roger Morris (Alfred A. Knopf: $26.95) The city of Las Vegas and its long and powerful hold on America.

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6 A SHORT GUIDE TO A HAPPY LIFE by Anna Quindlen (Random House: $12.95) The columnist reflects on what it takes to “get a life” by living deeply rather than merely existing.

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7 AMERICAN TERRORIST by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck (ReganBooks: $26.95) Timothy McVeigh and the story of the Oklahoma City bombing six years ago.

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8 WALKING THE BIBLE by Bruce Feiler (William Morrow: $26) A writer joins an archeologist on a trek in the Middle East to connect more deeply with his religious roots.

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9 BAREFOOT CONTESSA PARTIES! by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter: $32.50) Details on how to plan 16 theme parties, four for each season.

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10 THE FLNEUR by Edmund White (Bloomsbury: $16.95) Leisurely strolls through the City of Light prompt literary meditations by the novelist.

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11 RAISING FENCES by Michael Datcher (Putnam: $23.95) A poet’s memoir of his chaotic childhood in the inner city of L.A. and an impassioned indictment of absentee fathers.

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12 MORE THAN A GAME by Phil Jackson and Charley Rosen (Seven Stories Press: $24.95) The Laker coach shares strategy and locker room gossip of a championship season.

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13 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s story of the life lessons he received during weekly visits to an older dying friend.

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14 ABSOLUTE POWER by David Limbaugh (Regnery Publishing: $27.95) The brother of radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh accuses the Clinton Justice Department of corruption.

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15 NO APPARENT DANGER by Victoria Bruce (HarperCollins: $26) Two volcanic disasters: the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in 1985 and of Galeras in 1991.

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Paperbacks / FICTION

1 BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY by Helen Fielding (Penguin: $12.95) A thirtysomething Londoner’s quest for a mate.

2 GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier (Plume: $12) The woman who inspired a Vermeer painting.

3 ALONG CAME A SPIDER by James Patterson (Warner: $7.99) A serial killer kidnaps two children from an elite school.

4 GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE by Susan Vreeland (Penguin: $12) Eight stories linked by a Dutch master’s painting.

5 THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant (Picador USA: $14) The blossoming of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter, in Genesis.

6 INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $12) Stories of love, loss and Indian customs.

7 MY SOUL TO KEEP by Tananarive Due (HarperPrism: $15) A family is shattered by memories of long ago.

8 BLUE ANGEL by Francine Prose (HarperTrade: $14) Life with a struggling college professor and his sexy pupil.

9 MOTHERKIND by Jayne Anne Phillips (Vintage: $13) A mother and daughter bond as their lives change.

10 BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON by Helen Fielding (Penguin: $13) Has Bridget found the perfect mate?Southern California

Paperbacks / NONFICTION

1 THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Joshua Piven & David Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95) S-O-S!

2 A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers (Vintage: $14) A 22-year-old raises his brother.

3 ORDINARY RESURRECTIONS by Jonathan Kozol (HarperPerennial: $14) The South Bronx and its children.

4 RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Adventures in fiscal parenting.

5 MY MISSPENT YOUTH by Meghan Daum (Open City Books: $14) Essays on the American landscape.

6 THE CORNEL WEST READER by Cornel West (BasicBooks: $18) The selected writings of a public intellectual.

7 THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK: TRAVEL by J. Piven & D. Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95)

8 THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES by Eve Ensler (Villard: $12.95) The award-winning play in book form.

9 ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY WEALTH by Ric Edelman (HarperResource: $15) Middle-class tycoons.

10 ARE YOU SOMEBODY? by Nuala O’Faolain (Owl Books: $13) Growing up in 1940s and ‘50s Dublin.

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Ratings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.