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 March 17, 2024.
As you’re soaking up the first rays of spring, indulge in some popular reads from this week’s list. Fans of the new box-office hit Dune: Part Two will enjoy the iconic book that started it all, Frank Herbert’s Dune. Set on the fictional desert planet Arrakis, the first installment of this science fiction masterpiece captures the journey of Paul Atreides as he transitions from a young nobleman into a significant figure on Arrakis. And for those who prefer stories set on Planet Earth, Emily Henry’s Happy Place follows two former flames as they endeavor to keep their breakup a secret from friends.
For a full list of titles and categories, visit the California Independent Booksellers Alliance.•
Southern California
HARDCOVER FICTION
- The Women, Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s Press, $30
- The Hunter, Tana French, Viking, $32
- North Woods, Daniel Mason, Random House, $28. Read the Alta review.
- Wandering Stars, Tommy Orange, Knopf, $29. Read the Alta review.
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride, Riverhead Books, $28
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
- Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones, James Clear, Avery, $27
- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Doubleday, $30
- How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, David Brooks, Random House, $30
- The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir, RuPaul, Dey Street Books, $29.99
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
- Dune, Frank Herbert, Ace Books, $18
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19
- Happy Place, Emily Henry, Berkley Books, $19
- A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara, Anchor, $18
- The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, Penguin Books, $18
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
- Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (movie tie-in edition), David Grann, Vintage, $18
- Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, Michelle Zauner, Vintage, $17
- The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron, Tarcherperigee, $19
- The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017, Rashid Khalidi, Picador, $19.99
- All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
Northern California
HARDCOVER FICTION
- The Hunter, Tana French, Viking, $32
- The Women, Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s Press, $30
- Wandering Stars, Tommy Orange, Knopf, $29. Read the Alta review.
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride, Riverhead Books, $28
- North Woods, Daniel Mason, Random House, $28. Read the Alta review.
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
- Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, Kara Swisher, Simon & Schuster, $30
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
- The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Doubleday, $30
- Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, Charles Duhigg, Random House, $30
- Reading Genesis, Marilynne Robinson, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $29
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
- Dune, Frank Herbert, Ace Books, $18
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19
- Happy Place, Emily Henry, Berkley Books, $19
- Horse, Geraldine Brooks, Penguin, $19
- Trust, Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $17
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
- Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (movie tie-in edition), David Grann, Vintage, $18
- The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017, Rashid Khalidi, Picador, $19.99
- All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
- The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary, Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, W.W. Norton & Company, $21.99
- Solito: A Memoir, Javier Zamora, Hogarth, $18. Register for Zamora’s California Book Club event.
Source: California Independent Booksellers Alliance
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.
