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THE LATEST REVIEWS

freedom essays by zinzi clemmons, book review

The Struggle Continues

Zinzi Clemmons’s new essay collection, Freedom, explores fights for personal and political liberation.

migrant heart by reyna grande, book review

Butterfly’s Wings

Reyna Grande’s Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget is a standout collection that tackles the scars left by immigration and racism.

TTS audio available7 min
lovers xxx, allie rowbottom

Sex and the City

In Lovers XXX, Allie Rowbottom imagines a porn industry pas de deux.

TTS audio available7 min
coyoteland by vanessa hua, book review

Suburban Territory

Vanessa Hua’s pandemic novel, Coyoteland, revolves around the tension and conflicts among several neighboring families of different racial backgrounds.

a violent masterpiece by jordan harper, book review

Slashed from the Headlines

Jordan Harper’s grisly new neo-noir plumbs the depths of Hollywood depravity.

TTS audio available6 min
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CALIFORNIA'S NEW CANON

The 25 Books You Must Read

alta journal issue 31, 25 books that define california, illustration

25 Books That Define California

methodology icon

The Methodology

25 books that define california, chowder, natalia molina

What Makes a California Novel?

TTS audio available1 min
25 books that define california

A Novel Challenge

TTS audio available14 min
25 books that define california, chowder, tod golberg

What Makes a California Writer?

TTS audio available1 min
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MONTHLY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

books, new releases, june 2026 releases, upcoming releases, 15 new books for june 2026

15 New Books for June

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CALIFORNIA NOIR

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Five Great Prison Noirs

the big sleep by raymond chandler

The Big Sleep

TTS audio available2 min
walter mosley, john freeman, edwidge danticat

Event Recap: Walter Mosley’s ‘Devil in a Blue’

the maltese falcon novel by dashiell hammett

The Maltese Falcon

TTS audio available2 min
only way out by tod goldberg, book review

Long Con in the New West

THE BAY AREA CORNER

san francisco blues, jack kerouac

Kerouac’s Ghost

the joy luck club, amy tan

25 Books that Define California: The Joy Luck Club

TTS audio available2 min
lew welch, illustration

Alta Folio: ‘I Went Southwest’

the maltese falcon novel by dashiell hammett

The Maltese Falcon

TTS audio available2 min
there there, tommy orange

There There

TTS audio available5 min

THE CENTRAL VALLEY

susan straight

Why I Write: To See My People’s Stories in Books

TTS audio available5 min
east of eden, john steinbeck

East of Eden

TTS audio available6 min
manuel munoz, the consequences

The Magic of Sundays in ‘The Consequences’

TTS audio available7 min
under the feet of jesus, helena maria viramontes, agricultural workers, novel, fiction, california book club

Labor and Love in ‘Under the Feet of Jesus’

founded in 2003, underground books is managed by georgia “mother rose” west

Central Valley: Underground Books

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NOTABLE CALIFORNIA AUTHORS

gary snyder, john freeman, riprap, practice of the wild

Event Recap: Gary Snyder

joan didion primer

A Joan Didion Primer

james, percival everett

Excerpt: ‘James’

leigh bardugo primer

A Leigh Bardugo Primer

peter matthiessen book primer

A Peter Matthiessen Primer

CALIFORNIA BOOK CLUB

dagoberto gilb, the flowers

Excerpt: ‘The Flowers’

TTS audio available5 min
mecca, susan straight

Why You Should Read This: ‘Mecca’

TTS audio available4 min
robert hass, praise, jesse nathan, john freeman

Event Recap: Robert Hass’s ‘Praise’

TTS audio available6 min
lisa see, on golden mountain

‘On Gold Mountain’

TTS audio available3 min

CALFORNIA BESTSELLERS LIST

books, california bestsellers, northern california, southern california, hardcover ficiton, hardcover nonficiton, trade paperback nonfiction, trade paperback fiction, things in nature merely grow by yiyun li, the calamity club by kathryn stockett, liar’s kingdom by andrew weissmann

Alta Journal ’s California Bestsellers List (May 28, 2026)

TTS audio available5 min
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tc boyle, no way home, book review

The Three-Hander

TTS audio available7 min
announcement for independent bookstore day

Your Ultimate CA Indie Bookstore Day Guide

TTS audio available5 min
roland betancourt, disneyland and the rise of automation, book review

Happiest Place on Earth

midnight at the war by devi s laskar, book review

Dispatches from an Unnamed Country

rachel khong, my dear you

Everyday Magic

TTS audio available7 min
first rolling stone magazine cover, brand new beat, peter richardson

Inside the Reckless Ascent of ‘Rolling Stone’

TTS audio available11 min
marriage at sea, sarah stone

Lives We Perform

privacys defender by cindy cohn, book review

Recruiting You to the Barricades

recent monday book reviews

Alta’s Recently Reviewed

upcoming spring 2026 book releases

Upcoming Releases: A Host of Spring Reads

TTS audio available6 min
young man in a hurry by gavin newsom, book review

Gavin Newsom’s Bid for Likability

book cover of paradiso 17 by hannah lillith

Memory House

the glorians by terry tempest williams, book review

Dream of Life

crown city by naomi hirahara, book review

City of Kings

swirl and vortex, larry levis

Lives of the Poet

TTS audio available8 min
they kill people by sheila ellis

Twisted Intersection

james sallis, lew griffin novels, books, writer

“Endings Are Seldom Pretty”

TTS audio available7 min
how to commit a postcolonial murder by nina mcconigley, book review

Split Self, Split Sisters

author gabriel tallent poses beside the cover of his novel crux, the subject of a critical review examining risk, genius, and obsession.

Love Me Like a Rock

american reich by eric lichtblau

The State of Hate

scavengers by kathleen boland, book review

Let’s Have Some Fun

january 2026, new books

12 New January Books

television by lauren rothery, book review

Lights, Camera…Screen Time

issue 34, recent reviews

Recently Reviewed: From Activists to Insiders

this year, 365 songs annotated a book of days by john darnielle, book review

Memory Book

a long game, elizabeth mccracken

Permission for Writers

TTS audio available6 min
books, 2025 december releases

9 New Books for December

lightbreakers, aja gabel

The Physics of Grief: Aja Gabel’s ‘Lightbreakers’

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susan straight, sacrament

Nurses and Lowriders

only way out by tod goldberg, book review

Long Con in the New West

private i, lynn hershman leeson

Mounting the Evidence

TTS audio available7 min
november new book releases

12 New Books for November

we survived the night by julian brave noisecat, book review

Coyote’s Descendants

TTS audio available8 min
joyride by susan orlean, book review

Golden Run

TTS audio available6 min
a wooded shore by thomas mcguane, book review

When Things Go Very Wrong

TTS audio available15 min
beings by ilana masad, book review

Out of the Archives

author ross macdonald, book jackets

Light in the Lew Archer Novels

shadow ticket, thomas pynchon

Conspiracy Theory

new book releases, october 2025

15 New Books for October

mcnamara at war, philip taubman and william taubman, biography

The Price of Loyalty

TTS audio available7 min
rick bass, wrecking ball, book review

Football As Religion