Southern California Rating:FICTION1 HARRY POTTER AND THE...

Southern California Rating:

FICTION

1 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $19.95) Sirius Black--an escaped convict--is on the loose, and he’s after Harry.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 4

2 HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine Books: $17.95) Harry risks his life to solve a mystery at the Hogwarts School.

Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 4

3 O IS FOR OUTLAW by Sue Grafton (Henry Holt: $26) New information on an old crime forces Kinsey Millhone to look back at her ill-fated marriage.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 3

4 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $16.95) Unhappy at home, a young boy discovers that he is a great magician.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 3

5 PERSONAL INJURIES by Scott Turow (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27) Dirty lawyers, dirty judges and one equally soiled informant face off in fictional Kindle County.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 5

6 THE COMING OF THE NIGHT by John Rechy (Grove Press: $24) A day and night in the lives of hustlers and other outcasts looking for love on L.A.’s seamier side.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 5

7 PERV by Jerry Stahl (William Morrow: $24) After Woodstock and before Watergate, a 16-year-old looks for meaning and love as he road-trips from Philadelphia to California.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

8 THE PRICE OF HONOR by Col. David H. Hackworth (Doubleday: $25.95) An Army team investigates power-hungry politicians and money-hungry defense contractors.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

9 A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks (Warner: $19.95) An old man looks back at his own bittersweet love story from the vantage point that 40 years can offer.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 4

10 CREEPY SUSIE by Angus Oblong (Ballantine: $16.95) Edward Gorey meets Edward Allen Poe in this treasury of twisted tales from childhood’s Twilight Zone.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

11 BAGOMBO SNUFF BOX by Kurt Vonnegut (Putnam: $24.95) Twenty-four magazine stories, from the 1950s to the present, are collected here for the first time.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 7

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

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 17

13 DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE by Isabel Allende (HarperCollins: $26) A young woman escapes from the bonds of her youthful passion to Gold Rush California.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 4

14 WHITE ROSE by Amy Ephron (William Morrow: $23) An American reporter and a Cuban freedom fighter find love in 1890s Havana during Cuba’s revolt against Spain.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 2

15 THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA by Stendhal; Translated from the French by Richard Howard (The Modern Library: $24.95) A new translation of love and war in the Napoleonic era.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 3

NONFICTION

1 ‘TIS by Frank McCourt (Scribner: $26) A young McCourt arrives from Ireland in New York, with all its peril and promise, in this sequel to “Angela’s Ashes.”

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 6

2 THE WAY WE LIVED THEN by Dominick Dunne (Crown: $27.50) A personal photo album and memoir of Hollywood by a self-proclaimed name-dropper.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 5

3 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: 17

4 STIFFED by Susan Faludi (William Morrow: $27.50) From Sylvester Stallone to the Spur Posse, a look at the plight of the American male.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 4

5 GALILEO’S DAUGHTER by Dava Sobel (Walker & Co.: $25) The story of the famous scientist and his daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

6 WHAT THE DOORMOUSE SAID Collected by Amy Gash (Algonquin: $14.95) Quotes from beloved children’s books remind grown-ups of the values and lessons learned as kids.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

7 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: 94

8 ETHICS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM by The Dalai Lama (Riverhead Books: $24.95) Tibetan Buddhism’s leading voice presents a road map for achieving a global spiritual revolution.

Last Week: 9; Weeks on List: 6

9 WHY THEY KILL by Richard Rhodes (Alfred A. Knopf: $26.95) The life and career of a maverick criminologist, Lonnie Athens, and an examination of the mind of a sociopath.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

10 MAKING LOSS MATTER by Rabbi David Wolpe (Riverhead Books: $23.95) The search for meaning and purpose when loved ones die and after other losses.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 3

11 SECRETS OF THE FLESH by Judith Thurman (Alfred A. Knopf: $30) A portrait of the long and tumultuous life of French writer and celebrity Colette.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 4

12 WRITING IN FLOW by Susan Perry (Writers Digest Books: $19.99) Interviews with 76 writers about the ways in which they overcome the intimidation of facing a blank page.

Last Week: 14; Weeks on List: 3

13 FORTUNATE SON by J.H. Hatfield (St. Martin’s) A suspect biography of George W. Bush, recalled from stores by its publisher pending investigation of the author’s background.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

14 DUTCH by Edmund Morris (Random House: $35) This long-anticipated official biography of President Reagan features a fictionalized narrator.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 5

15 THE CENTURY by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster (Doubleday: $60) The story of our last 100 years as told through the experiences of ordinary people.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 24

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

1 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine: $5.99) A young wizard-in-training.

2 THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperPerennial: $14) A missionary family’s ordeals.

3 A MAN IN FULL by Tom Wolfe (Bantam: $8.50) The story of a real estate tycoon’s crash and burn.

4 BILLY STRAIGHT by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine: $7.99) A detective races to find a young murder witness.

5 FIGHT CLUB by Chuck Palahniuk (Henry Holt: $13) Unwind from a day at the office with blood sport and anarchy.

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

7 VIOLET & CLAIRE by Francesca Lia Block (Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins: $14.95) Friendship in Hollywood.

8 A CUP OF TEA by Amy Ephron (Ballantine: $10) How one glance can ruin another woman’s life.

9 RIVER, CROSS MY HEART by Breena Clarke (Little, Brown: $14.95) Segregation and grief in 1920s Georgetown.

10 THE SIMPLE TRUTH by David Balducci (Warner: $7.99) A convicted killer finds out he’s not guilty.

PAPERBACKS

NONFICTION

1 ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt (Touchstone: $14) Overcoming an Irish childhood during the Depression.

2 TO BEGIN AGAIN by Naomi Levy (Ballantine: $12.95) Comfort and faith after personal tragedy.

3 BLIND MAN’S BLUFF by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew (HarperPerennial: $7.99) American submarine espionage.

4 THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester (HarperPerennial: $13) A madman with a flair for words.

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

6 GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL by Jared Diamond (W.W. Norton: $14.95) The part played by this triad in history.

7 EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS by Peter Biskind (Simon and Schuster: $15) How ‘70s filmmakers saved Hollywood.

8 COME RAIN OR COME SHINE by Linda Bucklin and Mary Keil (Adams: $9.95) Friendships between women.

9 THINGS SEEN AND UNSEEN by Nora Gallagher (Vintage: $12) A yearlong journey to discover faith and God.

10 ABOUT FACE by Col. David H. Hackworth (Touchstone: $22) America’s most decorated living soldier tells all.

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.