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'Tis the season, as they say. Giving books as presents is always a good thing, and if your Christmas shopping list includes some books, you might like some guidance on what others are reading. Here are what is selling in independent local bookstores in Southern California — and for comparison, what's leading the bestseller lists across the country as a whole.
I always find the nuances of difference between the national and regional lists a little fascinating. For instance, the same four books top both of the fiction lists, but in different orders. Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch mystery to be set in Los Angeles, "The Burning Room," is in the #4 spot on both lists. In nonfiction, Tony Robbins outsells Amy Poehler here. She is #1 nationally.
On Saturday, many of the independent bookstores in Los Angeles and beyond are celebrating "Small Business Saturday," flagged as the day after "Black Friday" for readers to buy books in actual stores staffed by knowledgeable book lovers.
Anyway, have a look.
1. All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $27
2. Revival
Stephen King, Scribner, $30
3. Gray Mountain
John Grisham, Doubleday, $28.95
4. The Burning Room
Michael Connelly, Little Brown, $28
5. Prince Lestat
Anne Rice, Knopf, $28.95
6. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe
Alexander McCall Smith, Pantheon, $24.95
7. Let Me Be Frank With You
Richard Ford, Ecco, $27.99
8. The Escape
David Baldacci, Grand Central, $28
9. The Slow Regard of Silent Things
Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $18.95
10. Redeployment
Phil Klay, Penguin Press, $26.95
11. Family Furnishings
Alice Munro, Knopf, $30
12. The Peripheral
William Gibson, Putnam Adult, $28.95
13. The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt, Little Brown, $30
14. Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel, Knopf, $24.95
15. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Haruki Murakami, Knopf, $25.95
1. Revival
Stephen King, Scribner, $30
2. Gray Mountain
John Grisham, Doubleday, $28.95
3. All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $27
4. The Burning Room
Michael Connelly, Little Brown, $28
5. Let Me Be Frank With You
Richard Ford, Ecco, $27.99
6. Leaving Time
Jodi Picoult, Ballantine, $28
7. Lila
Marilynne Robinson, FSG, $26
8. Prince Lestat
Anne Rice, Knopf, $28.95
9. The Slow Regard of Silent Things
Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $18.95
10. The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Richard Flanagan, Knopf, $26.95
11. The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt, Little Brown, $30
12. Blue Horses
Mary Oliver, Penguin Press, $24.95
13. Edge of Eternity
Ken Follett, Dutton, $36
14. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Haruki Murakami, Knopf, $25.95
15. The Book of Strange New Things
Michel Faber, Hogarth, $28, 9780553418842
1. Money Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom
Tony Robbins, S&S, $28
2. Yes Please
Amy Poehler, Dey Street, $28.99
3. Being Mortal
Atul Gawande, Metropolitan, $26
4. Small Victories
Anne Lamott, Riverhead, $22.95
5. 41: A Portrait of My Father
George W. Bush, Crown, $28
6. As You Wish
Cary Elwes, Touchstone, $26
7. Make It Ahead
Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter, $35
8. Killing Patton
Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard, Holt, $30
9. What If?
Randall Munroe, Houghton Mifflin, $24
10. One Nation Under Taught: Solving America's Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Crisis
Dr. Vince M. Bertram, Beaufort Books, $21.95
11. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book
Diane Muldrow, Golden Books, $9.99
12. This Changes Everything
Naomi Klein, S&S, $30
13. There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me
Brooke Shields, Dutton Adult, $26.95
14. Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence
Karen Armstrong, Knopf, $30
15. Not That Kind of Girl
Lena Dunham, Random House, $28
1. Yes Please
Amy Poehler, Dey Street, $28.99
2. 41: A Portrait of My Father- Debut
George W. Bush, Crown, $28
3. Killing Patton
Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard, Holt, $30
4. Being Mortal
Atul Gawande, Metropolitan, $26
5. Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace- Debut
Anne Lamott, Riverhead, $22.95
6. Make It Ahead
Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter, $35
7. Not That Kind of Girl
Lena Dunham, Random House, $28
8. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book
Diane Muldrow, Golden Books, $9.99
9. What If?
Randall Munroe, Houghton Mifflin, $24
10. This Changes Everything
Naomi Klein, S&S, $30
11. Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned From a Little Golden Book
Diane Muldrow, Golden Books, $9.99
12. Plenty More
Yotam Ottolenghi, Ten Speed Press, $35
13. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Marie Kondo, Ten Speed Press, $16.99
14. Food: A Love Story
Jim Gaffigan, Crown Archetype, $26
15. The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year- Debut
Andy Cohen, Holt, $26
The SoCal indie bestseller lists are for the sales week that ended Sunday, November 23. The list is compiled by the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association and
IndieBound. The national lists from IndieBound are for the sales week ended Sunday, November 16.
