February 4, 2001Southern California RatingFICTION1. FROM THE...

February 4, 2001

Southern California Rating

FICTION

1. FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE by Dean Koontz (Bantam: $26.95) A boy born on a day of tragedy and terror finds that the events of his life live up to the remarkable circumstances of his birth.

Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 3

2 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.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

3 BODY ARTIST by Don DeLillo (Scribner: $22) In a ghostly seaside house, an artist encounters a strange, ageless man with an uncanny knowledge of her own life.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

4 THE CONSTANT GARDENER by John le Carre (Scribner: $28) A British diplomat quits his Nairobi home and garden to avenge the murder of his wife, who uncovered multinational misdeeds in Kenya.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 7

5 SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin (Hyperion: $17.95) A young artist who works days in the glove department at Neiman Marcus falls abruptly in love with a millionaire businessman.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 17

6 LYING AWAKE by Mark Salzman (Alfred A. Knopf: $21) A meditation on spirituality in the life of an Angeleno nun facing a dilemma: Should she have surgery that will cure her of mystical visions?

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 17

7 THE FIRST COUNSEL by Brad Meltzer (Warner: $25.95) In love with the president’s daughter, a young White House lawyer uncovers a murder plot that extends to the Oval Office.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 2

8 THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $26) A narrative tour de force of self-deceit and revenge that joins the lives of two sisters with an unpublished sci-fi novel.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 18

9 CODE TO ZERO by Ken Follett (Dutton: $26.95) A man wakes up in a train station in Washington, D.C., in 1958 with no idea who he is or how he got there.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 6

10 PRODIGAL SUMMER by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins: $26) In southern Appalachia, three stories of human love intersect within a larger tapestry.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 13

11 THE DEATH OF VISHNU by Manil Suri (W.W. Norton: $24.95) A dying man’s soul eavesdrops on his neighbors in a Bombay apartment building. Reviewed by Shashi Tharoor, Page 3.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

12 SOUL MOUNTAIN by Gao Xingjian (HarperCollins: $27) The Nobel Prize winner shares a story of a man’s inner journey and search for freedom in rural China.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 7

13 A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT by Terry McMillan (Viking: $25.95) A matriarch, her husband and her children see life--and one another--on their own terms.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

14 ROSES ARE RED by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $26.95) Alex Cross battles a cunning murderer, nicknamed “Mastermind,” who orchestrates teams of criminals while hiding in the shadows.

Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 8

15 TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG by Peter Carey (Alfred A. Knopf: $25.95) The gunslinging, word-slinging exploits of Australian robber and raconteur Ned Kelly.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

NONFICTION

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

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 45

2 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.

Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 11

3 PARIS TO THE MOON by Adam Gopnik (Random House: $24.95) A personal homage to years spent in the City of Light by a longtime New Yorker writer.

Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 13

4 THE O’REILLY FACTOR by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway Books: $23) The TV pundit pontificates on what he finds to be the good, the bad and the completely ridiculous in American life.

Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 16

5 ON WRITING by Stephen King (Scribner: $25) Autobiography of the writer’s formative years, from his misbehaving youth to a janitorial stint that led to the idea for “Carrie.”

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 8

6 AN INVITATION TO THE WHITE HOUSE by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster: $35) Upstairs, downstairs with the former first lady, who narrates the fascinating history of the White House.

Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 5

7 AN HOUR BEFORE DAYLIGHT by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster: $26) Memories of the former president’s boyhood on a Georgia farm during the Great Depression.

Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 2

8 CONSTANTINE’S SWORD by James Carroll (Houghton Mifflin: $28) A Catholic writer looks at the roots of his church’s two-thousand-year relationship with Judaism.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

9 A LIFE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (Houghton Mifflin: $28.95) The first volume of the historian’s memoirs parallels his development with America’s from 1917 to 1950.

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 4

10 VANITY FAIR’S HOLLYWOOD edited by Graydon Carter and David Friend (Viking Studio: $60) Essays, photographs and caricatures portraying the cult of celebrity from 1914 to the present.

Last Week: 15; Weeks on List: 6

11 DARWIN AWARDS by Wendy Northcutt (Dutton: $16.95) Stupid human tricks: Honoring those who improve our gene pool by eliminating themselves from it.

Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 7

12 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.

Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 152

13 UNTIL TODAY! by Iyanla Vanzant (Simon & Schuster: $22) In an effort to help kill old (bad) habits, Vanzant offers 365 daily devotions for spiritual growth and peace of mind.

Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 3

14 DAMN RIGHT! by Janet Lowe (John Wiley & Sons: $27.95) An inside look at Berkshire Hathaway and the man many consider to be “the brains behind Warren Buffett.”

Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 2

15 MAESTRO by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster: $25) Portrait of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who started as a Juilliard-trained sax man and now keeps the U.S. economy in tune.

Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 9

PAPERBACKS

FICTION

1 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG by Andre Dubus III (Vintage: $14) Two families clash over an auctioned house in this tragic tale.

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

3 CHOCOLAT by Joanne Harris (Penguin: $12.95) A new chocolate shop arouses French villagers’ desires in the middle of Lent.

4 O IS FOR OUTLAW by Sue Grafton (Ballantine: $7.99) New information dredges up old memories for Kinsey.

5 INTERPRETER OF MALADIES by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner: $12) Indian customs color the lives of people coping with loss.

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

7 THE BRETHREN by John Grisham (Dell Island: $7.99) A scam by three former judges doing time goes awry.

8 THE ATTORNEY by Steve Martini (Jove: $7.99) A drug-addicted mother battles her daughter’s grandfather for custody.

9 HANNIBAL by Thomas Harris (Dell: $7.99) Hannibal Lecter devours his enemies in this “Silence of the Lambs” sequel.

10 BIG TROUBLE by Dave Barry (Berkley: $7.50) The male ego runs amok in the fabled world of Miami’s vice.

PAPERBACKS / NONFICTION

1 GALILEO’S DAUGHTER by Dava Sobel (Penguin: $14) The famous astronomer and his daughter, a cloistered nun.

2 BEFORE NIGHT FALLS by Reinaldo Arenas (Viking: $12.95) A Cuban writer’s memoir of political and sexual oppression.

3 THE NINE STEPS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM by Suze Orman (Three Rivers Press: $13.95) Practical tips for managing money.

4 TALKING DIRTY WITH THE QUEEN OF CLEAN by Linda Cobb (Pocket: $8.99) Quick, inexpensive housekeeping tips galore.

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

6 THE DARK SIDE OF THE LIGHT CHASERS by Debbie Ford (Riverhead: $13) How to reclaim your emotional power.

7 WORLD ALMANAC & BOOK OF FACTS 2001 (World Almanac: $10.95) Includes 2000 Olympics and election coverage.

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

9 THE GHOSTS OF ECHO PARK by Ron Emler (Echo Park Publishing: $15) A pictorial history of the L.A. neighborhood.

10 TRAVELING MERCIES by Anne Lamott (Anchor: $13) The growth of Lamott’s beliefs and how they helped her overcome grief.