Alta Journal’s California Bestsellers List (June 14, 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 June 11, 2023.

Los Angeles–based author Lisa See’s new work of historical fiction, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, debuts on the list this week. The novel tells the true story of Tan Yunxian, a woman on a journey to be a doctor amid the restrictive societal norms of China’s Ming dynasty. Also on the list is the memoir Solito, by Javier Zamora. This account of nine-year-old Zamora’s two-month journey from El Salvador to Northern California reveals the dangers and treachery faced by migrants—particularly unaccompanied minors—when crossing the U.S. southern border.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
2. Happy Place, Emily Henry, Berkley, $27
3. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
4. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See, Scribner, $28
5. The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, $32

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. Pageboy: A Memoir, Elliot Page, Flatiron Books, $29.99
2. The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
3. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Doubleday, $30
4. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones, James Clear, Avery, $27
5. The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man, David Von Drehle, Simon & Schuster, $26

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $17
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
3. The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller, Ecco, $17.99
4. Beach Read, Emily Henry, Berkley, $16
5. The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave, Marysue Rucci Books, $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. Solito: A Memoir, Javier Zamora, Hogarth, $18
4. Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris, Little, Brown, $18.99
5. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills, Amber-Allen Publishing, $12.95

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, $32
2. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
3. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
4. Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29
5. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See, Scribner, $28

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. Pageboy: A Memoir, Elliot Page, Flatiron Books, $29.99
2. The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
3. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Doubleday, $30
4. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones, James Clear, Avery, $27
5. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Peter Attia, MD, with Bill Gifford, Harmony, $32

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $17
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
3. The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, Penguin Books, $18
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. Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris, Little, Brown, $18.99
4. Solito: A Memoir, Javier Zamora, Hogarth, $18
5. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20

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.