THE LATEST FROM ALTA
Don't miss this week's upcoming events and new stories.
PRIDE MONTH
Billionaires and Bison
American Prairie aims to build a 3.2-million-acre wildlife reserve in Montana. Ranchers say it threatens their way of life. Who gets to shape the American West?
27 min
Alta Journal ’s California Bestsellers List (May 28, 2026)
Discover what Californians are reading this week. See the top fiction and nonfiction bestsellers at independent bookstores across NorCal and SoCal.
5 min
Issue 35: We Love Book Clubs
A look inside Alta Journal’s Issue 35.
6 minLatest from the California Book Club
Join the West Coast literary conversation every month.
The Habit Jane Smiley Could Not Get Rid Of
From A Thousand Acres to Horse Heaven and her forthcoming novel Lidie, Jane Smiley reflects on racehorses, genre, and the restless curiosity that drives her fiction.
13 min
The California Novel No One Can Find
Collectors have been tracking an 1854 outlaw tale from gold rush San Francisco to the alleys of Mexico City—and beyond. We join the hunt.
29 minTHE MONDAY BOOK REVIEW
Sign-up for our weekly book review email.
How one #booktoker built a following around her favorite titles
5 minTHE WEEKLY ALTA NEWSLETTER
New stories from California and the West sent to your inbox every Thursday.
Atomic Blonde
Why was Marilyn Monroe lounging around a pool owned by a silent film star, saying the same cryptic phrase over and over? In the interest of nuclear-era propaganda, naturally. A Hollywood mystery finally is solved.
The Latest
The Fairy Godmothers of Head Lice
7 min
Ask a Californian: The Caffeinated Column
Coming Soon: Family Portraits
5 min
The Struggle Continues
Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #11 Issue 35
15 New Books for June
California Bestsellers List (May 28, 2026)
5 min
Riding the Alameda Corridor
11 min
Excerpt: ‘Mecca’
5 min
Butterfly’s Wings
7 min
Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #10 Issue 35
Event Recap: Dagoberto Gilb’s ‘The Flowers’
5 min