LOS ANGELES TIMES LIST FOR JULY 19, 2006

Rankings are based on a Times poll of national and independent booksellers.

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*--* 1 Heat (An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany) by Bill Buford (Knopf, $26) This latest entry in the kitchen-as-vision-quest category of food lit is piling up plaudits and sales.

2 The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury USA, $25) Travel pieces from his TV show, previously published articles, etc.

3 My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme (Knopf, $26) Grandnephew Prud’homme edited and brought to completion this memoir of Child’s pivotal years in post-World War II France.

4 Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl (Penguin Press, $25) The third memoir by former Los Angeles Times and New York Times food critic.

5 Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter, $35) Still a favorite.

6 Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis (Clarkson Potter, $33) The Food TV star’s second cookbook.

7 Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl (Broadway, $16) The original volume of memories from the prominent culinary journalist.

8 Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes from the London River Cafe by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers (Clarkson Potter, $38) The sixth cookbook and the second “Easy” book by the English restaurateurs.

9 Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (Harper Perennial, $14) Lots of summer readers are catching up with bad boy Bourdain’s 6-year-old bestseller.

10 Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals: What to Keep on Hand, What to Buy Fresh for the Easiest-Ever 30-Minute Meals by Rachael Ray (Clarkson Potter, $19) Another season, another bestselling cookbook. This one tells how to stock a pantry so dinner’s just an express-lane shopping stop away.

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