Alta Journal’s California Bestsellers List (January 25, 2023)

With reporting from the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Alta Journal brings you a list of the bestselling titles at independent bookstores across Northern and Southern California for the week ending January 22, 2023.

Two suspenseful novels appear on the list this week. The first is The shards by Bret Easton Ellis, reviewed by Alta. Ellis’s narrative reveals the evil lurking beneath a privileged lifestyle in 1980s Los Angeles. The second is Alex Michaelides’ debut. The Silent Patient. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, Michaelides explores the connection between patient and doctor, and the lengths a person will go to uncover the truth.

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

Southern California

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
2. Lessons in ChemistryBonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29
3. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrowGabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
4. How to sell a haunted houseGrady Hendrix, Berkley, $28
5. The shardsBret Easton Ellis, Knopf, $30. Read the Alta review

HARDCOVER NONFICTION



Alta

1. SparePrince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Random House, $36
2. The Creative Act: A Way of BeingRick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
3. The Half Known Life: In Search of ParadisePico Iyer, Riverhead Books, $26
4. I’m Glad My Mom DiedJennette McCurdy, Simon & Schuster, $27.99
5. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain TimesMichelle Obama, Crown Publishing Group, $32.50

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION



Alta

1. The MaidNita Prose, Ballantine Books, $18
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoTaylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
3. CirceMadeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99
4. The Silent PatientAlex Michaelides, Celadon Books, $17.99
5. It Ends with UsColleen Hoover, Atria Books, $16.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION



Alta

1. All About Love: New Visionsbell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
2. Slouching Towards Bethlehem: EssaysJoan Didion, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17
3. The January 6th ReportSelect Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, et al., Celadon Books, $17.99
4. All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show BusinessMel Brooks, Ballantine, $20
5. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of TraumaBessel van der Kolk, MD, Penguin Books, $19

Northern California

---

HARDCOVER FICTION



Alta

1. Lessons in ChemistryBonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29
2. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrowGabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28
3. Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50
4. Hell BentLeigh Bardugo, Flatiron Books, $29.99
5. BabelRF Kuang, Harper Voyager, $27.99

HARDCOVER NONFICTION



Alta

1. SparePrince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Random House, $36
2. The Creative Act: A Way of BeingRick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
3. I’m Glad My Mom DiedJennette McCurdy, Simon & Schuster, $27.99
4. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain TimesMichelle Obama, Crown Publishing Group, $32.50
5. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around UsEd Yong, Random House, $30

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION



Alta

1. The MaidNita Prose, Ballantine Books, $18
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoTaylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17
3. The Song of AchillesMadeline Miller, Ecco, $17.99
4. It Starts with UsColleen Hoover, Atria Books, $17.99
5. It Ends with UsColleen Hoover, Atria Books, $16.99

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION



Alta

1. All About Love: New Visionsbell hooks, William Morrow, $16.99
2. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of TraumaBessel van der Kolk, MD, Penguin Books, $19
3. The January 6th ReportSelect Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, et al., Celadon Books, $17.99
4. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of PlantsRobin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20
5. All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western MushroomsDavid Arora, Ten Speed ​​Press, $17.99

Source: California Independent Booksellers Alliance