BESTSELLERS

PAPERBACKS

Fiction

*--* Fiction Weeks on list 1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard 2 professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C. 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives 17 of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 3. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore (Knopf : $25.95) A 3 naive Midwestern college coed takes a job as a nanny for a recently adopted toddler. 4. South of Broad by Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese: $29.95) A 6 gossip columnist’s homage to a close-knit group of friends from Charleston, S.C. 5. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: 9 $25.95) A hacker implicated in two murders must revisit her past to prove her innocence. 6. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central: $24.99) 3 A brother and sister begrudgingly spend the summer with their estranged pianist father and discover the meaning of unconditional love. 7. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone: $25.99) 6 The wars of the Plantagenets, who ruled England before the Tudors, enmeshed with the mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London. 8. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press: 3 $17.99) The winners of the annual Hunger Games face the consequences of their victory. 9. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella 63 must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 10. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two 14 sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles. *--*

*--* Nonfiction 1. True Compass by Edward Kennedy (Twelve: $35) The 1 memoir of the late Massachusetts statesman. 2. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) 43 An exploration of the background of high achievers. 3. Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (Doubleday: 2 $27.95) A chronicle of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned Army ranger whose death in Afghanistan stunned the power structure. 4. Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad (Ecco: $25.99) 15 The son of a daredevil tells of his life on the edge and how he survived a deadly plane crash. 5. Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin 2 (Ballantine: $25) The comedian and reality show star’s unplugged and uncensored life. 6. L.A. Noir by John Buntin (Harmony: $26) Gangster 4 Mickey Cohen and LAPD Chief William Parker battle for control in midcentury Los Angeles. 7. Guinness World Records 2010 by Guinness World Records 1 (Guinness: $28.95) Bizarre and unfathomable feats from the first decade of the 21st century. 8. Culture of Corruption by Michelle Malkin (Regnery 9 Publishing: $27.95) An investigation into alleged corruption in the Obama administration. 9. Character Driven by Derek Fisher (Touchstone: $24.99) 2 The Lakers star shares his life lessons and family devotion along his journey to winning four NBA titles. 10. Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder (Random 4 House: $26) The saga of a refugee from Burundi, who, with the help of strangers, makes his way to America before going back to start a medical clinic. *--*

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95)

2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout ($14)

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ($15)

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ($14)

5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ($12.95)

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Nonfiction

1. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme ($15)

2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ($15)

3. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell ($14.99)

4. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher ($13.99)

5. The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd Edition by the College Board ($21.99)

Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores. --

latimes.com/books

Huxley’s demons

Paperback Writers: A roundup includes Aldous Huxley’s “The Devils of Loudun.” Off the Shelf: Tom Miller picks up Hemingway’s Nobel Prize. Jacket Copy: Even Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” can’t break the e-book 5% sales rule.