Alta Journal’s California Bestsellers List (May 31, 2023)

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 May 28, 2023.

California Book Club author Héctor Tobar appears on the list this week with his recently published work, Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino.” Looking back at his history as the offspring of Guatemalan immigrants, and on anecdotes he picked up from Latinx students, Tobar seeks to unravel the word “Latino” and its connotations in the United States. The Covenant of Water, by Palo Alto–based author Abraham Verghese, is on the list again this week. The novel follows three generations of a family plagued by a particular curse: in each passing generation, at least one person dies by drowning.

For a full list of titles and categories, visit the California Independent Booksellers Alliance.•

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, $32
2. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
3. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
4. Happy Place, Emily Henry, Berkley, $27
5. Yellowface, R.F. Kuang, William Morrow, $30

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Doubleday, $30
2. The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
3. Poverty, by America, Matthew Desmond, Crown, $28
4. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99
5. Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino,” Héctor Tobar, MCD, $27

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $17
2. The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave, Marysue Rucci Books, $17.99
3. Circe, Madeline Miller, Back Bay Books, $16.99
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
5. The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, Penguin Books, $18

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann, Vintage, $17
2. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, Michelle Zauner, Vintage, $17
3. All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
4. Quietly Hostile: Essays, Samantha Irby, Vintage, $17
5. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Penguin Books, $19

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, $32
2. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
3. Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29
4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
5. Yellowface, R.F. Kuang, William Morrow, $30

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Doubleday, $30
2. The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
3. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Peter Attia, MD, with Bill Gifford, Harmony, $32
4. Poverty, by America, Matthew Desmond, Crown, $28
5. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $17
2. The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, Penguin Books, $18
3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
4. The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave, Marysue Rucci Books, $17.99
5. The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller, Ecco, $17.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, Michelle Zauner, Vintage, $17
2. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann, Vintage, $17
3. Quietly Hostile: Essays, Samantha Irby, Vintage, $17
4. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20
5. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, MD, Penguin Books, $19

Source: California Independent Booksellers Alliance

Elizabeth Casillas

Elizabeth Casillas is an assistant editor at Alta Journal. A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, she has previously written for the Poly Post and Enspire Magazine.