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 August 9, 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 two compelling fiction titles which balance heartwarming story lines with heavier topics. Set in 1933 during the Great Depression, The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett portrays the budding relationship between Meg, an 11-year-old girl in an orphanage, and Birdie, a woman seeking help for her struggling family. And in The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout, high school teacher Artie Dam worries about the country’s political state while navigating his own mental health struggles.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, hardcover fiction, yesteryear, whistler, the calamity club, cool machine, the things we never say
Alta

  1. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
  2. Whistler, Ann Patchett, Harper, $30
  3. The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35
  4. Cool Machine, Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $30
  5. The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $29

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, hardcover nonfiction, regime change, land and its people, strangers, biological war, inner propaganda
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. Biological War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen, Dutton, $33
  5. Inner Propaganda: Leading Hearts and Minds Through Turbulent Times, Owen Fitzpatrick, Ideapress Publishing, $28.95

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, trade paperback fiction, project hail mary, dungeon cralwer carl, wedding people, i who have never known men, theo of golden
Alta

  1. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
  2. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
  3. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
  4. I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman and Ros Schwartz (translator), Transit Books, $16.95
  5. The Wedding People, Alison Espach, Holt Paperbacks, $18.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

books, southern california bestsellers, trade paperback nonfiction, the reverse centaur's guide to life after ai, the wisdom of the odyssey, braiding sweetgrass, the four agreements, a walk in the park
Alta

  1. 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.
  2. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22
  3. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills, Tarcher, $18
  4. The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-Four Life Lessons from Homer’s Epic, Phil Cousineau, New World Library, $19.95
  5. A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon, Kevin Fedarko, Scribner, $22

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, hardcover fiction, whistler, yesteryear, calamity club, things we never say, land
Alta

  1. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
  2. Whistler, Ann Patchett, Harper, $30
  3. The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35
  4. The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $29
  5. Land, Maggie O’Farrell, Alfred A. Knopf, $32

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, trade hardcover nonfiction, regime change, london falling, land and its people, strangers, famesick
Alta

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

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, trade paperback fiction, theo of golden, dungeon crawler carl, wedding people, project hail mary, the odyssey
Alta

  1. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
  2. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
  3. The Wedding People, Alison Espach, Holt Paperbacks, $18.99
  4. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22
  5. The Odyssey, Homer and Emily Wilson (translator), W.W. Norton & Company, $18.95

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

books, northern california bestsellers, trade paperback nonfiction, empire of ai, marriage at sea, reverse centaur's guide to life after ai, raising hare, the odyssey.
Alta

  1. Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, Karen Hao, Penguin Books, $20
  2. A Marriage at Sea, Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $20
  3. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
  4. 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.
  5. The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-Four Life Lessons from Homer’s Epic, Phil Cousineau, New World Library, $19.95

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.