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 15, 2026.
Start your spring reading with two standout nonfiction titles. On the list is The Best Dog in the World, a heartfelt collection of essays edited by Alice Hoffman. Featuring the work of fourteen writers—including former California Book Club authors Isabel Allende and Amy Tan—the book brings together moving stories about beloved canines. Also featured this week is Liza Minnelli’s new memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! Over 400 pages, Minnelli reflects on her legendary parents, struggles with substance abuse, and remarkable artistic journey.
For a full list of titles and categories, visit the California Independent Booksellers Alliance.•
Southern California
HARDCOVER FICTION
- The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
- Kin, Tayari Jones, Alfred A. Knopf, $32
- Brawler: Stories, Lauren Groff, Riverhead Books, $29
- Heart the Lover, Lily King, Grove Press, $28
- Vigil, George Saunders, Random House, $28
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
- A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
- Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, Liza Minnelli, Grand Central Publishing, $36
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad, Knopf, $28
- Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Gavin Newsom, Penguin Press, $30. Read the Alta review.
- Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
- Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
- Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
- Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99
- Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22
- Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid, Carina Press, $18.99
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
- Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
- I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy, Simon and Schuster, $19.99
- All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
- The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, Amanda Montell, Atria/One Signal Publishers, $19
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills, Amber-Allen Publishing, $18
Northern California
HARDCOVER FICTION
- The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
- Kin, Tayari Jones, Alfred A. Knopf, $32
- Heart the Lover, Lily King, Grove Press, $28
- Brawler: Stories, Lauren Groff, Riverhead Books, $29
- Judge Stone, Viola Davis and James Patterson, Little, Brown and Company, $32
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
- A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
- Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Gavin Newsom, Penguin Press, $30. Read the Alta review.
- Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, Liza Minnelli, Grand Central Publishing, $36
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad, Knopf, $28
- The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love, Alice Hoffman (editor), Scribner, $22
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
- Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
- Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22
- Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
- Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid, Carina Press, $18.99
- Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell, Vintage, $19
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
- Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
- The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change, Rebecca Solnit, Haymarket Books, $16.95. Watch the California Book Club event with the author.
- The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, Erik Larson, Crown, $22
- All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder, Crown, $12
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.
