The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association Bestsellers List for the week ended Oct. 4 is based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association. For an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.org.
HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Threshing Day (Wing and Claw Collection) (The Empyrean): Rebecca Yarros
2. Exit Party: Emily St. John Mandel
3. American Hagwon: Min Jin Lee
4. Hollywood, Ending: John Green
5. The Disappearers: Marlon James
6. Switzy: Emma Cline
7. The French Illusion (The French Illusion Series): John Grisham
8. Whistler: Ann Patchett
9. Taipei Story (Deluxe Limited Edition): R. F. Kuang
10. The Radiance: Ayad Akhtar
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. Roll the Calls: A Memoir: Ari Emanuel
2. An Unexpected Life: A Memoir: Gloria Steinem
3. Fictional Selves: A Memoir: Kyle MacLachlan
4. The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic: Malcolm Gladwell
5. End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World: Naomi Klein, Astra Taylor
6. Swan Song: Diana, my sister: Charles Spencer
7. Rock*: A Mainstream Alternative History of Alternative Mainstream Music: Chuck Klosterman
8. The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East: Simon Sebag Montefiore
9. The Steps: A Memoir: Sylvester Stallone
10. California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the University of California: Miriam Pawel
PAPERBACK FICTION
1. Dungeon Crawler Carl: Matt Dinniman
2. East of Eden: John Steinbeck
3. Theo of Golden: Allen Levi
4. I Who Have Never Known Men: Jacqueline Harpman
5. May We Feed the King: Rebecca Perry
6. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2): Matt Dinniman
7. The Best Short Stories 2026: The O. Henry Prize Winners: Tommy Orange (Ed.)
8. Circe: Madeline Miller
9. Wild Dark Shore: Charlotte McConaghy
10. Stoner: John Williams
PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. Bread of Angels: A Memoir: Patti Smith
2. All About Love: New Visions: bell hooks
3. The Artist’s Way: 30th Anniversary Edition: Julia Cameron
4. Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature: Emily Wilson
5. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession: Michael Finkel
6. Raising Hare: A Memoir: Chloe Dalton
7. Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype: Clarissa Pinkola Estés
8. I’m Glad My Mom Died: Jennette McCurdy
9. Mother Mary Comes to Me: Arundhati Roy
10. The Fire Next Time: James Baldwin