Alta Journal ’s California Bestsellers List (August 20, 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 August 16, 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 titles centered on journeys—those literal and figurative. From Matt Dinniman comes Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, the second installment of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. After being thrown into a video game–like dungeon in the first book, Carl must work his way through the game’s levels alongside Donut, a Persian cat. In Circe by Madeline Miller, the titular character is exiled to a deserted island, where she must choose whether to embrace her divine heritage or pursue a life in the mortal world.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Whistler, Ann Patchett, Harper, $30
2. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
3. The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $29
4. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28
5. The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

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. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
4. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden, the Dial Press, $30
5. Famesick: A Memoir, Lena Dunham, Random House, $32

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Theo of Golden, Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20
2. Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20
3. Circe, Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $19.99
4. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, Matt Dinniman, Ace, $2
5. Project Hail Mary (movie tie-in), Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

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. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain, Ecco, $18.99
4. Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $18
5. Just Kids, Patti Smith, Ecco, $18.99

Northern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Whistler, Ann Patchett, Harper, $30
2. Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke, Alfred A. Knopf, $30
3. The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35
4. The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $29
5. The Correspondent, Virginia Evans, Crown, $28

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

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. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35
5. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

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

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. A Marriage at Sea, Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $20
2. Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21
3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22
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. Is a River Alive?, Robert Macfarlane, W.W. Norton & Company, $19.99

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.