Alta Journal ’s California Bestsellers List (April 02, 2026)

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 29, 2026.

This week, consider books that challenge your habits and way of thinking. In The Artist’s Way, author Julia Cameron guides readers in building a creative practice through simple, daily exercises. Be sure to read our profile of Cameron and her enduring influence in the latest Alta issue. In a similar spirit, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer invites readers to reflect on their relationship with the natural world, offering a thoughtful path toward a more intentional life.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Night We Met (indie exclusive edition), Abby Jimenez, Hachette Book Group, $30
2. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
3. Kin, Tayari Jones, Alfred A. Knopf, $32
4. Heart the Lover, Lily King, Grove Press, $28
5. Vigil, George Saunders, Random House, $28

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
2. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
3. The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love, Alice Hoffman (editor), Scribner, $22
4. Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Gavin Newsom, Penguin Press, $30
5. You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir, Christina Applegate, Little, Brown and Company, $32

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22
2. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
3. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
4. Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $20. Watch the author speak at a California Book Club event.
5. I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman and Ros Schwartz (translator), Transit Books, $16.95

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. 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.
2. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron, TarcherPerigee, $24. Read Alta’s feature on the book and the author.
3. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Vintage, $21
4. I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy, Simon and Schuster, $19.99
5. All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
2. Vigil, George Saunders, Random House, $28
3. Brawler: Stories, Lauren Groff, Riverhead Books, $29
4. The Night We Met (indie exclusive edition), Abby Jimenez, Hachette Book Group, $30
5. Heart the Lover, Lily King, Grove Press, $28

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
2. The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love, Alice Hoffman (editor), Scribner, $22
3. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
4. Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Gavin Newsom, Penguin Press, $30
5. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad, Knopf, $28

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22
2. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
3. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99
5. The God of the Woods, Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $19

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
2. 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.
3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22
4. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, Erik Larson, Crown, $22
5. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann, Vintage, $21

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.