Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

September 23, 2001

FICTION

Southern California Rating

1 GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier (Plume: $12) The woman who inspired a Vermeer painting.

2 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz.

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

4 DROWNING RUTH by Christina Schwarz (Ballantine: $14.95) A mystery set in Wisconsin at the end of World War I.

5 THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood (Anchor: $14) A tale of two sisters and an unpublished sci-fi novel.

6 BEE SEASON by Myla Goldberg (Vintage: $13) A young girl wins her family’s attention after excelling at spelling bees.

7 DR. DEATH by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine: $7.99) Suspects abound in a euthanasia doctor’s murder.

8 THE FEAST OF LOVE by Charles Baxter (Vintage: $13) Love, sacrifice and redemption in Michigan lives.

9 THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON by Tom Clancy (Berkley: $7.99) Trouble in Russia and China threatens New World order.

10 THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING by J.R.R. Tolkien (Ballantine: $6.99) Volume 1 of the epic “The Lord of the Rings.”

NONFICTION

Southern California Rating

1 PERSONAL HISTORY by Katharine Graham (Vintage: $15) A memoir by the late publisher of the Washington Post.

2 THE BETRAYAL OF AMERICA by Vincent Bugliosi (Thunders Mouth/Nation Books: $9.95) Notes on the 2000 election.

3 ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $14.95) Wisecracking essays on life in Paris and elsewhere.

4 FDR AND HIS ENEMIES by Albert Fried (St. Martin’s: $15.95) Roosevelt’s cunning in overcoming New Deal opponents.

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

6 BAND OF BROTHERS by Stephen E. Ambrose (Touchstone Books: $16) The elite fighting force Easy Company.

7 TIME TO BE IN EARNEST by P.D. James (Ballantine: $12.95) A premier crime novelist reflects on her life and craft.

8 THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Joshua Piven & David Borgenicht (Chronicle: $14.95) S-O-S!

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

10 A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers (Vintage: $14) A 22-year-old raises his kid brother.