Alta Journal’s California Bestsellers List (January 23, 2025)

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 January 19, 2025.

This week’s list features two powerful novels. First, Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler, shows a world devastated by climate change and economic collapse, where California suffers from a severe water shortage and fires. In this chaos is 15-year-old Lauren Olamina, who tries to defend the vulnerable and imagine a different future. Next is Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, bestselling author Grady Hendrix’s latest thriller. At Wellwood House, a home for unwed young mothers, residents are used to living under strict rules. But when one woman discovers an occult book and taps into its power, Wellwood House is thrown into turmoil.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. James, Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28. Read an excerpt in Alta.
2. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan, Grove Press, $20
3. The God of the Woods, Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $30
4. All Fours, Miranda July, Riverhead Books, $29. Read the Alta review.
5. Intermezzo, Sally Rooney, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $29

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About, Mel Robbins, Hay House, $29.99
2. Aflame: Learning from Silence, Pico Iyer, Riverhead Books, $30. Read the Alta review.
3. The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World, $30
4. Didion and Babitz, Lili Anolik, Scribner, $29.99. Read the Alta interview with Anolik.
5. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Burgoyne (illustrator), Scribner, $20

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Orbital, Samantha Harvey, Grove Press, $17
2. Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $18. Watch the author speak at a California Book Club event.
3. Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler, Grand Central Publishing, $19.99. Read Lynell George’s reflection on the novel.
4. Yellowface, R.F. Kuang, William Morrow Paperbacks, $18.99
5. Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros, Red Tower Books, $20.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan, Knopf, $35
2. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder, Crown, $12
3. Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey, Crown, $20
4. The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness, Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, Atria Books, $18.99
5. All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. James, Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28. Read an excerpt in Alta.
2. All Fours, Miranda July, Riverhead Books, $29. Read the Alta review.
3. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan, Grove Press, $20
4. Intermezzo, Sally Rooney, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $29
5. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, Grady Hendrix, Berkley, $30

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Burgoyne (illustrator), Scribner, $20
2. Aflame: Learning from Silence, Pico Iyer, Riverhead Books, $30. Read the Alta review.
3. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About, Mel Robbins, Hay House, $29.99
4. The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World, $30
5. The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Orbital, Samantha Harvey, Grove Press, $17
2. Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $18. Watch the author speak at a California Book Club event.
3. Yellowface, R.F. Kuang, William Morrow Paperbacks, $18.99
4. The Frozen River, Ariel Lawhon, Vintage, $18
5. Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler, Grand Central Publishing, $19.99. Read Lynell George’s reflection on the novel.

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan, Knopf, $35
2. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder, Crown, $12
3. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18
4. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20
5. All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99

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.