With reporting from the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Alta Journal brings you a list of the bestselling titles at independent bookstores across Northern and Southern California for the week ending February 5, 2023.
In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, we’re highlighting titles about love from this week’s list. The novel It Ends with Us and its sequel, It Starts with Us, tell a winding tale of relationships and second chances. Alongside them is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, whose movie-icon main character recounts one steamy relationship after another. There’s also The Song of Achilles, a retelling of The Iliad, which serves up an epic tale of devotion. For those leaning toward nonfiction, All About Love: New Visions, by bell hooks, explores acts of love in a polarized society, and former monk Jay Shetty teaches readers the ropes with 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go.
For a full list of titles and categories, visit the California Independent Booksellers Alliance.•
Southern California
HARDCOVER FICTION
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
- Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
- Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29
- Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $28
- The Shards, Bret Easton Ellis, Knopf, $30. Read the Alta review
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
- Spare, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, Random House, $36
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
- Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, Michelle Zauner, Knopf, $26.95
- 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go, Jay Shetty, Simon & Schuster, $28.99
- I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy, Simon & Schuster, $27.99
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
- It Ends with Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria Books, $16.99
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
- Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $20
- It Starts with Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria Books, $17.99
- Violeta, Isabel Allende, Ballantine Books, $18
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
- All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
- Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20
- The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion, Vintage, $17
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Penguin Books, $19
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills, Amber-Allen Publishing, $12.95
Northern California
HARDCOVER FICTION
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
- Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29
- Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
- Horse, Geraldine Brooks, Viking, $28
- Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $28
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
- Spare, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, Random House, $36
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
- I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy, Simon & Schuster, $27.99
- The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, Michelle Obama, Crown Publishing Group, $32.50
- Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, Dacher Keltner, Penguin Press, $28
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
- It Ends with Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria Books, $16.99
- The Maid, Nita Prose, Ballantine Books, $18
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
- The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller, Ecco, $17.99
- Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $20
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
- All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
- Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Penguin Books, $19
- Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, Merlin Sheldrake, Random House Trade, $18
- Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, Anna Lembke, MD, Dutton, $18
Source: California Independent Booksellers Alliance
