FictionMASON & DIXON by Thomas Pynchon. (Henry...

Fiction

MASON & DIXON by Thomas Pynchon. (Henry Holt: $27.50.) Our reviewer, Ted Mooney, called the novel a “remarkable book” in its vision of “a wilderness America, peopled as much by European hopes and longings as by the interlocking kingdoms of the indigenous. . . . A masterpiece” (4). Southern California ranking: 1; Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 4

THE MEMOIRS OF CLEOPATRA by Margaret George. (St. Martin’s: $27.95.) The Queen of the Nile describes her shaky rule in a mighty kingdom and her reign over men’s hearts (15). Southern California ranking: 2; Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 2

PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER by Mary Higgins Clark. (Simon & Schuster: $25) (2). Southern California ranking: 3; Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 6

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE SON by Norman Mailer. (Random House: $22.) Not content with the job done by the evangelists, Jesus presents his autobiography (9). Southern California ranking: 4; Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 5

AMERICAN PASTORAL by Philip Roth. (Houghton Mifflin: $26.) Richard Eder, The Times’ book critic, wrote that this novel “scintillates with more Rothian wit, paradox, eloquent tantrums . . . than can be counted.” Southern California ranking: 5; Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 5

THE PARTNER by John Grisham. (Doubleday: $26.95) (1). Southern California ranking: 6; Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 13

THE ACTUAL by Saul Bellow. (Viking: $17.95.) A semi-retired businessman pursues an old high school flame and learns about spiritual exile in the process. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 3

EVENING CLASS by Maeve Binchy. (Delacorte: $24.95.) An Italian course brings together eight Dublin students, each with disappointments and secrets that come to light. Southern California ranking: 8; Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 2

PURPLE AMERICA by Rick Moody (Little, Brown & Company: $23.95.) Our reviewer, Michael Frank, called this book “a stellar accomplishment . . . An original and reverberative novel.” Southern California ranking: 9; Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 3

SNOW IN AUGUST by Pete Hamill. (Little, Brown: $23.95.) An unlikely friendship grows between an 11-year-old Catholic boy and a rabbi in 1940s Brooklyn (8). Southern California ranking: 10; Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

Nonfiction

WITHOUT A DOUBT by Marcia Clark with Teresa Carpenter. (Viking: $25.95.) More on the melodrama of the Simpson trial, plus the former prosecutor’s struggles with getting caught in the media spotlight (1). Southern California ranking: 1; Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 3

ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt. (Scribner: $24) (3). Southern California ranking: 2; Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 31

OVITZ: The Inside Story of Hollywood’s Most Controversial Power Broker by Robert Slater. (McGraw-Hill: $22.95.) Cutting deals in Tinsel Town, plus the facts behind Ovitz’s brief tenure as president of The Walt Disney Company. Southern California ranking: 3; Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

LOCKED IN THE CABINET by Robert B. Reich. (Knopf: $25.) Antics and anecdotes of the Clinton administration by the former secretary of Labor. Southern California ranking: 4; Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 5

INTO THIN AIR: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer. (Villard: $24.) (2). Southern California ranking: 5; Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 5

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, BOOK ONE by Neale Donald Walsch. (Putnam: $19.95) (11). Southern California ranking: 6; Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 7

UNDERBOSS: Sammy the Bull Gravano’s Story of Life in the Mafia by Peter Maas. (HarperCollins: $25) (6). Southern California ranking: 7; Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 6

8 WEEKS TO OPTIMUM HEALTH: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body’s Natural Healing Power by Andrew Weil. (Knopf: $23) (9). Southern California ranking: 8; Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 10

JUST AS I AM by Billy Graham. (HarperSanFrancisco: $28.50.) The crusading preacher reflects on his 50-year career ministering to the spiritual needs of the world (4). Southern California ranking: 9; Last Week: --; Weeks on List: 1

THE SECRET TO TENDER PIE: America’s Grandmothers Share Their Favorite Recipes by Mindy Marin. (Ballantine: $17.95.) Southern California ranking: 10; Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 2

Paperbacks: FICTION

1. THE LOST WORLD by Michael Crichton. (Ballantine: $7.99)

2. MALICE by Danielle Steel. (Dell: $7.50)

3. IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ENEMY by Elizabeth George. (Bantam: $6.99)

4. MARTIN DRESSLER by Steven Millhauser. (Vintage: $12)

5. THE BLUE FLOWER by Penelope Fitzgerald. (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin: $12)

Paperbacks: NONFICTION

1. HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?! by Laura Schlessinger. (Harper Perennial: $13)

2. DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF by Richard Carlson. (Hyperion: $8.95)

3. THE SHELTER OF EACH OTHER by Mary Pipher. (Ballantine: $12.95)

4. OUTRAGE by Vincent Bugliosi. (Island/Dell: $6.99)

5. NO SHIRT. NO SHOES . . . NO PROBLEM! by Jeff Foxworthy. (Hyperion: $5.99)

Rankings based on Times’ poll of local bookstores. National hardcover rankings (in parentheses)are those of Publishers Weekly.