Here Are Current Bestsellers at Southern California’s Independent Bookstores – Pasadena Weekendr

Number One in Hardcover Fiction The Emperor of Gladness:,by Ocean Vuong,
published by Penguin Press.

Here is the SoCal Indie Bestsellers List, brought to you by IndieBound and the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, for the sales week ending Sunday,August 17, 2025. This list is based on reporting from the independent booksellers of Southern California, the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.org.

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HARDCOVER FICTION

The Emperor of Gladness – Ocean Vuong, Penguin Press, $30, 9780593831878

Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine Books, $30, 9780593158715

James – Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28, 9780385550369

The Wedding People – Alison Espach, Henry Holt and Co., $28.99, 9781250899576

My Friends – Fredrik Backman, Atria Books, $29.99, 9781982112820

Not Quite Dead Yet – Holly Jackson, Bantam, $28, 9780593977057

Wild Dark Shore – Charlotte McConaghy, Flatiron Books, $28.99, 9781250827951

The Bewitching – Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Rey, $29, 9780593874325

An Inside Job – Daniel Silva, Harper, $32, 9780063384217

Culpability – Bruce Holsinger, Spiegel & Grau, $30, 9781954118966

Automatic Noodle – Annalee Newitz, Tordotcom, $24.99, 9781250357465

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – V. E. Schwab, Tor Books, $29.99, 9781250320520

The God of the Woods – Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $30, 9780593418918

My Name Is Emilia del Valle – Isabel Allende, Ballantine Books, $30, 9780593975091

The Magician of Tiger Castle – Louis Sachar, Ace, $30, 9780593952306

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About – Mel Robbins, Sawyer Robbins, Hay House LLC, $29.99, 9781401971366

Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America – Robert B. Reich, Knopf, $30, 9780593803288

The Creative Act: A Way of Being – Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32, 9780593652886

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection – John Green, Crash Course Books, $28, 9780525556572

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck – Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780593854280

Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an American Awakening – Jim Newton, Random House, $32, 9780593447055

King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation – Scott Anderson, Doubleday, $35, 9780385548076

Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run – Peter Ames Carlin, Doubleday, $30, 9780385551533

Ready for My Close-Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream – David M. Lubin, Grand Central Publishing, $30, 9781538739297

I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir – Keith McNally, Gallery Books, $29.99, 9781668017647

Me, My Customer, and AI: The New Rules of Entrepreneurship – Henrik Werdelin, Nicholas Thorne, Lasega Books, $26, 9781637634547

The Multiply Method: Simple Systems for Building a Solid, Sustainable Network Marketing Team – Sarah Robbins, Mission Driven Press, $26, 9781637634509

Abundance – Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781668023488

Raising Hare: A Memoir – Chloe Dalton, Pantheon, $27, 9780593701843

It’s Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground – David Litt, Gallery Books, $29.99, 9781668035351

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $18, 9780593685778

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22, 9780593135228

Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99, 9780063204164

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho, HarperOne, $17.99, 9780062315007

I Who Have Never Known Men – Jacqueline Harpman, Transit Books, $16.95, 9781945492600

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store – James McBride, Riverhead Books, $19, 9780593422953

Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout, Random House Trade Paperbacks, $18, 9780593446119

The Lion Women of Tehran – Marjan Kamali, Gallery Books, $18.99, 9781668036594

All Fours – Miranda July, Riverhead Books, $19, 9780593190272

The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman, Penguin, $18, 9781984880987

All the Colors of the Dark – Chris Whitaker, Crown, $19, 9780593798898

Alchemy and a Cup of Tea – Rebecca Thorne, Bramble, $19.99, 9781250333278

The Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, $18.99, 9781668034354

The Paris Novel – Ruth Reichl, Random House Trade Paperbacks, $19, 9780812986372

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology – Shane Hawk (Ed.), Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Ed.), Vintage, $17, 9780593468463