Alta Journal ’s California Bestsellers List (May 7, 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 May 3, 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’s list features a new noir and a retelling of a classic. In Jordan Harper’s latest release A Violent Masterpiece, a street lawyer, a nightcrawler, and a concierge to the rich come together to unravel a tangled crime against the backdrop of a volatile Los Angeles. In James, Percival Everett reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, retelling the classic story from the perspective of the enslaved Jim.

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. A Violent Masterpiece, Jordan Harper, Mulholland Books, $29. Read the Alta review.

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
2. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
3. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32
4. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
5. Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life, Emma Grede, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, $30

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. The Lion Women of Tehran, Marjan Kamali, Gallery Books, $18.99
4. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
5. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea, St. Martin's Griffin, $20
2. All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
3. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron, TarcherPerigee, $24. Read Alta’s feature on the book and the author.
4. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
5. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
2. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
3. The Keeper, Tana French, Viking, $32
4. Go Gentle, Maria Semple, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $30
5. Transcription, Ben Lerner, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $25

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
2. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32
3. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
4. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32
5. Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About: A Memoir, Isabel Klee, William Morrow, $28

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
2. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99
4. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
5. James, Percival Everett, Vintage, $20. Read Alta’s feature on the book and the author.

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
2. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan, Alfred A. Knopf, $36. Read a recap of the California Book Club event.
3. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, Erik Larson, Crown, $22
4. 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.
5. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22

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.