Alta Journal ’s California Bestsellers List (April 30, 2026)

With reporting from the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Alta Journal highlights the bestselling books at independent bookstores across Northern and Southern California for the week ending April 26, 2026. This list includes bestselling fiction, nonfiction, and new releases, offering a snapshot of current book trends, popular authors, and must-read titles across California’s literary scene.

This week, we're focusing on the mechanics of book making and selling. In Good Writing, authors Neal Allen and Anne Lamott draw on decades of writing experience to deliver 36 practical tips for crafting more compelling sentences. In The Bookshop, Evan Friss takes readers on a journey through the history of American bookstores, starting with Benjamin Franklin’s Library Company of Philadelphia, and ending with popular contemporary retailers.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
2. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
3. Go Gentle, Maria Semple, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $30
4. Transcription, Ben Lerner, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $25
5. Heart the Lover, Lily King, Grove Press, $28

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
2. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
3. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad, Alfred A. Knopf, $28
4. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32
5. Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, Gavin Newsom, Penguin Press, $30. Read the Alta review.

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
2. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
3. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
4. The God of the Woods, Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $19
5. Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $20. Watch the author speak at a California Book Club event.

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, Erik Larson, Crown, $22
2. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
3. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18
4. Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir, Ina Garten, Crown, $22
5. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
2. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
3. The Keeper, Tana French, Viking, $32
4. Heart the Lover, Lily King, Grove Press, $28
5. Go Gentle, Maria Semple, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $30

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
2. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
3. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
4. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32
5. Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences, Neal Allen and Anne Lamott, Avery, $27

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
2. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
3. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
4. The God of the Woods, Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $19
5. The Lion Women of Tehran, Marjan Kamali, Gallery Books, $18.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
2. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, Erik Larson, Crown, $22
3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22
4. The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore, Evan Friss, Penguin Books, $20
5. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18

Source: California Independent Booksellers Alliance

Elizabeth Casillas

Elizabeth Casillas is an associate editor at Alta Journal. A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, she has previously written for the Poly Post and Enspire Magazine.