Southern California Rating:

FICTION

1. FLEUR DE LEIGH’S LIFE OF CRIME by Diane Leslie (Simon and Schuster: $23) A Hollywood “Upstairs, Downstairs” about a poor little rich girl and her L.A. childhood.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 5

2. WHITE OLEANDER by Janet Fitch (Little, Brown: $24) When a woman murders her lover, her daughter must learn to face womanhood in a foster home.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 3

3. STAR WARS, EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE by Terry Brooks (Lucasbooks/Del Rey: $25) The “Star Wars” saga unfolds with Darth Vader’s childhood on a desert planet.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 3

4. CLOSE RANGE by Annie Proulx (Scribner: $25) A collection of raw and lusty stories about luckless characters living in the rough wasteland of Wyoming.

Last Week: 14; Weeks on List: 3

5. MUSIC FOR TORCHING by A. M. Homes (Rob Weisbach Books/William Morrow: $26) A middle-class neighborhood deals with the dark truth behind its bright facade.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

6. THE HOURS by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $22) A haunting triptych of stories structured around Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 10

7. CERTAIN PREY by John Sandford (Putnam: $24.95) The 10th in the “Prey” series features the antihero Davenport against a pair of strange and cunning killers.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 2

8. THE TESTAMENT by John Grisham (Doubleday: $27.95) The 10th richest man in the United States has died, and his greedy heirs are circling like hungry vultures.

Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 15

9. BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES OF THE CENTURY edited by Katrina Kenison and John Updike (Houghton Mifflin: $28) Ernest Hemingway, Willa Cather, Raymond Carver and Co.

Last Week: 15; Weeks on List: 7

10. TURN OF THE CENTURY by Kurt Anderson (Random House: $24.95) A twisted adventure, set in the year 2000, when corruption permeates society.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

11. MOONLIGHT ON THE AVENUE OF FAITH by Gina B. Nahai (Harcourt Brace: $24) A little girl’s search for her magical missing mother in a Tehran ghetto.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 8

12. CHOICE OF EVIL by Andrew Vachss (Alfred A. Knopf: $23) A dark mystery in which a private eye must find and protect a vigilante who hates pedophiles.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

13. THE MERCY by Philip Levine (Alfred A. Knopf: $22) Industrial debris, dirty factories and Levine’s youth in Detroit combine in this collection of poems.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

14. FOR THE RELIEF OF UNBEARABLE URGES by Nathan Englander (Alfred A. Knopf: $23) A debut collection of stories rooted in Jewish history and orthodox life.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 3

15. TIMBUKTU by Paul Auster (Henry Holt: $22) Homelessness, schizophrenia, terminal illness and dreams of the afterlife, from a dog’s point of view.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

****

NONFICTION

1. MY ONE GOOD NERVE by Ruby Dee (John Wiley and Sons: $16.95) Musings and memories detailing the African American experience, specifically raising a family in America.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

2. THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $27.50) Globalization has replaced the Cold War system, though many resist its call.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 4

3. ANOTHER LIFE by Michael Korda (Random House: $26.95) An examination of the people in, and the transformation of, the book publishing industry.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

4. TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom (Doubleday: $19.95) A sportswriter’s empowering story about his weekly visits to see an older dying friend.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 73

5. BELLA TUSCANY by Frances Mayes (Broadway: $25) Rich, colorful stories of cuisine and Italian life in the villages by the author of “Under the Tuscan Sun.”

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 7

6. FEEL THIS BOOK by Janeane Garofalo and Ben Stiller (Ballantine: $22.95) Two comedians parody New Age religion and modern self-help books.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

7. CONGRATULATIONS! NOW WHAT? by Bill Cosby (Hyperion: $15.95) Light-hearted advice for graduating college students and their parents from a comedian and father.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

8. ENCORE PROVENCE by Peter Mayle (Alfred A. Knopf: $23) A return to southern France prompts memories of good times and a critique of American culture.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

9. WOMAN by Natalie Angier (Houghton Mifflin: $25) A poetic, exuberant celebration of womanhood and its unique qualities and influence on the world.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 8

10. OUR KIND OF PEOPLE by Lawrence Otis Graham (HarperCollins: $25) An insider reveals the institutions and social conventions of the country’s African American elite.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

11. WITH OSSIE AND RUBY by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee (William Morrow: $25) The engaging memoirs of two actors in love with each other through a half-century of strife.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

12. WAKE UP, I’M FAT by Camryn Manheim (Broadway: $23) An actress imparts her journey from a self-hating fat teenager to an activist for the overweight.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

13. THE GREATEST GENERATION by Tom Brokaw (Random House: $24.95) TV anchor tells the stories of the generation that came of age during the Depression and World War II.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 25

14. GEORGE ANDERSON’S LESSONS FROM THE LIGHT by George Anderson and Andrew Barone (Berkley: $23.95) The medium details his experience with departed souls.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

15. THE TIMES OF MY LIFE by Max Frankel (Random House: $29.95) An in-depth description of working at the New York Times, written by a former executive editor.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

Paperbacks

FICTION

1. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by Arthur Golden (Vintage: $14) The life and loves of a teahouse entertainer in Kyoto.

2. THE PILOT’S WIFE by Anita Shreve (Little, Brown: $13.95) A woman’s disturbing discoveries after a fatal plane crash.

3. THE READER by Bernhard Schlink (Vintage: $11) A boyhood fling with an older woman and its aftermath.

4. SUMMER SISTERS by Judy Blume (Dell: $7.50) Unlikely friendship between two girls.

5. SECRET PREY by John Sandford (Berkley: $7.99) Davenport investigates a murder in the woods.

6. DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD by Rebecca Wells (HarperPerennial: $13) Sisterhood in the South.

7. THE GENERAL’S DAUGHTER by Nelson DeMille (Warner: $7.50) A girl’s murder reveals her shameful past.

8. ISABEL’S BED by Elinor Lipman (Washington Square Press: $14) An unemployed writer finds inspiration.

9. WHERE SERPENTS LIE by T. Jefferson Parker (Hyperion: $7.50) A maniac terrorizes Orange County with snakes.

10. CITIES OF THE PLAIN by Cormac McCarthy (Vintage: $13) Two ranchers seek to rescue a Mexican prostitute.

****

NONFICTION

1. SEAT OF THE SOUL by Gary Zukav (Fireside: $13) The inward transformation of the human soul.

2. EVERYBODY WAS SO YOUNG by Amanda Vaill (Broadway: $15) Gerald and Sara Murphy and the Lost Generation.

3. DEVELOPMENT GIRL by Hadley Davis (Doubleday: $10.95) A humorous tour of the world of Hollywood executives.

4. REAL BOYS by William Pollack (Owl Books: $13.95) A psychologist dispels many common myths about boys.

5. FALLING LEAVES by Adeline Yen Mah (Broadway: $13) Life under an oppressive stepmother in mainland China.

6. OUR DUMB CENTURY by the Onion staff (Three Rivers: $15) Satiric headlines from a popular humor publication.

7. PARIS IN THE FIFTIES by Stanley Karnow (Random House: $14) A journalist’s apprenticeship in Paris.

8. UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN by Frances Mayes (Broadway: $13) Restoring a cozy home in a glorious Italian landscape.

9. THE COLOR OF WATER by James McBride (Riverhead Books: $12.95) A woman’s struggle against racism and poverty.

10. TAKE THE RICH OFF WELFARE by Mark Zepezauer and Arthur Naiman (Odonian: $12) Why subsidize the wealthy?

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.