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 July 19, 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.

As you make your summer plans, set aside some time to reconnect with nature through these two nonfiction picks. In Braiding Sweetgrass, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer applies scientific knowledge and indigenous wisdom to provide ways in which we can deepen our relationship with the environment. In Is a River Alive?, naturalist Robert MacFarlane takes readers from Ecuador to India to Canada via waterways, showing them how much of their lives are entwined with these bodies of water.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, hardcover fiction, july 23 2026, whistler, yesteryear, land, the calamity club, the correspondent
Alta

  1. Whistler, Ann Patchett, Harper, $30
  2. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
  3. Land, Maggie O’Farrell, Alfred A. Knopf, $32
  4. The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35
  5. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, hardcover nonfiction, july 23 2026, regime change the land and its people, strangers, famesick, london falling
Alta

  1. Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Simon & Schuster, $34
  2. The Land and Its People: Essays, David Sedaris, Little, Brown and Company, $30
  3. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
  4. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32
  5. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, trade paperback fiction, july 23 2026, the odyssey, theo of golden, project hail mary, dungeon crawler carl, atmosphere.
Alta

  1. The Odyssey, Homer and Emily Wilson (translator), Norton, $18.95
  2. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
  3. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
  4. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
  5. Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine Books, $20

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, trade paperback nonfiction, july 23 2026, marriage at sea, art thief, braiding sweetgrass, on tyranney, raising hare
Alta

  1. A Marriage at Sea, Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $20
  2. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18
  3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22
  4. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder, Crown, $14
  5. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, hardcover fiction, july 23 2026, whistler, yesteryear, the correspondent, land, the calamity club
Alta

  1. Whistler, Ann Patchett, Harper, $30
  2. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
  3. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
  4. Land, Maggie O’Farrell, Alfred A. Knopf, $32
  5. The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, hardcover nonfiction, july 23 2026, maggie haberman, david sedaris, brian tyler cohen, patrick radden keefe, and lena dunham.
Alta

  1. Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Simon & Schuster, $34
  2. The Land and Its People: Essays, David Sedaris, Little, Brown and Company, $30
  3. The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World, Brian Tyler Cohen, Harper, $28.99
  4. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
  5. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, trade paperback fiction, july 23 2026, theo of golden, the odyssey, dungeon crawler carl, project hail mary, atmosphere
Alta

  1. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
  2. The Odyssey, Homer and Emily Wilson (translator), Norton, $18.95
  3. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
  4. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
  5. Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine Books, $20

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, trade paperback nonfiction, july 23 2026, a marriage at sea, the reverse centaur's guide to life after ai, raising hare, is a river alive?, all about love
Alta

  1. A Marriage at Sea, Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $20
  2. The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence—Before It’s Too Late, Cory Doctorow, MCD, $18. Watch the Alta event with the author.
  3. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
  4. Is a River Alive?, Robert Macfarlane, W. W. Norton & Company, $19.99
  5. All About Love: New Visions, bell hooks, William Morrow, $17.99

Source: California Independent Booksellers Alliance

Headshot of Elizabeth Casillas
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.