FictionAIRFRAME by Michael Crichton (Alfred A. Knopf:...

Fiction

AIRFRAME by Michael Crichton (Alfred A. Knopf: $26) A mysterious glitch threatens the production of a profitable jetliner (1). Southern California ranking: 1; Last Weeks: 1; Week on List: 5

THE LAWS OF OUR FATHERS by Scott Turow. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $26.95) (8)*. Southern California ranking: 2; Last Weeks: 5; Week on List: 11

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA by John le Carre. (Alfred A. Knopf: $25) Clothier to Central America’s elite turns British agent for the power and the money (14)*. Southern California ranking: 3; Last Weeks: 3; Week on List: 11

THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN by Jacquelyn Mitchard. (Viking: $23.95) A child’s vanishing and the cruel aftershock felt by his family (6). Southern California ranking: 4; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 13

THE FALLEN MAN by Tony Hillerman. (HarperCollins: $24) Two sleuths track a killer after finding a human skeleton at the top of a Navajo shrine (7)*. Southern California ranking: 5; Last Weeks: 4; Week on List: 5

ALIAS GRACE by Margaret Atwood. (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: $24.95) A 19th century psychologist helps a murderess with memory loss to recall her crime (15). Southern California ranking: 6; Last Weeks: 8; Week on List: 7

THE CLINIC by Jonathan Kellerman. (Bantam: $24.95) Alex Delaware must unlock the secrets of a murdered psychology professor before he can catch her killer. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

EXECUTIVE ORDERS by Tom Clancy (Putnam: $27.95) Jack Ryan’s president and facing problems in the Middle East (3)* . Southern California ranking: 8; Last Weeks: 2; Week on List: 12

THE CHRISTMAS BOX by Richard Paul Evans. (Simon & Schuster: $12.95) A wise elderly lady teaches a young family about the true meaning of Christmas (3). Southern California ranking: 9; Last Weeks: 7; Week on List: 13

SILENT HONOR by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte: $24.95) A successful Japanese family’s world is overturned by World War II and confinement in a relocation center (4). Southern California ranking: 10; Last Weeks: 9; Week on List: 7

Nonfiction

A REPORTER’S LIFE by Walter Cronkite. See review on Page 3. (Alfred A. Knopf: $26.95) (1)*. Southern California ranking: 1; Last Weeks: 1; Week on List: 4

THE ZONE by Barry Sears with Bill Lawren. (HarperCollins/ReganBooks: $22)*. Southern California ranking: 2; Last Weeks: 5; Week on List: 43

ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt. (Scribner: $24) A memoir of childhood in a gloomy Irish city (5). Southern California ranking: 3; Last Weeks: 3; Week on List: 11

SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. (Warner: $17.95) A collection of meditations to take women through a year of self-discovery (4). Southern California ranking: 4; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 21

MY SERGEI: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva with E.M. Swift. (Warner: $18.95) The romance and tragedy of Olympic ice skating’s Romeo and Juliet (2). Southern California ranking: 5; Last Weeks: 8; Week on List: 8

THE PATH TO LOVE: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life by Deepak Chopra. (Harmony/Crown: $24). Southern California ranking: 6; Last Weeks: 9; Week on List: 2

MEN ARE FROM MARS: Women Are From Venus by John Gray, PhD. (HarperCollins: $23) (7)*. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 138

REWRITES by Neil Simon. (Simon & Schuster: $25) The comic playwright remembers his ups and downs during TV’s Golden Age and beyond. Southern California ranking: 8; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 7

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED AND BEYOND: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety by M. Scott Peck. (Simon & Schuster: $23) Developing a stronger consciousness to cope with the struggles of daily life. Southern California ranking: 9; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

DOWN IN THE GARDEN by Anne Geddes. (Cedco Publishing: $39.95) Adorable infants posed as flowers, peas in a pod and other floral delights (12). Southern California ranking: 10; Last Weeks: 2; Week on List: 5

Paperbacks: FICTION

1. THE ENGLISH PATIENT by Michael Ondaatje. (Vintage: $11.)

2. THE BOOK OF RUTH by Jane Hamilton. (Anchor: $11.95.)

3. SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson. (Vintage: $12.)*

4. THE POET by Michael Connelly. (Warner: $6.99.)

5. PORTRAIT OF A LADY by Henry James. (Signet: $5.99.)

Paperbacks: NONFICTION

1. ZAGAT SURVEY 1997 LOS ANGELES/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT GUIDE edited by Merrill Shindler and Karen Berk. (Zagat Survey: $10.95.)

2. THE RULES: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider. (Warner: $14.95.)

3. THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE by Stephen R. Covey. (Fireside/Simon and Schuster: $12.)

4. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE WOMAN’S SOUL by J. Canfield, M.V. Hansen, J. Hawthorne and M. Shimoff. (Health Communications: $12.95.)

5. REVIVING OPHELIA by Mary Pipher. (Ballantine: $12.50.)

Rankings based on Times’ poll of local bookstores. National hardcover rankings (in parentheses) are those of Publishers Weekly. Asterisk (*) indicates book also available on audio (source: Sound Audio Books Distributing, Agoura Hills). For early information on Times bestsellers, call (213) 237-4336 after 11 a.m. Wednesdays.