22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
We asked readers to share their favorite California books. Here's how they responded
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Here's what you need to know:
We weren't expecting such a huge response when we asked Essential California readers to recommend your favorite California books. But respond you did! How y'all have the time for all this reading, we'll never know.
But with longer days ahead, it's time to build up your outdoor reading list.
Below you'll find some of our favorite reader recommendations, and a few from the team. We know how hard it is to narrow it down to one or a few of your favorite California books. Maria L. La Ganga, The Times' deputy managing editor for California and Metro, put it best: 'Our amazing country-within-a-state has inspired so many gifted writers in every genre. John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Amy Tan, John Muir, Joan Didion, Raymond Chandler, Carolyn See, Tommy Orange, and the list goes on and on.'
Additionally, every month, the Los Angeles Times publishes a list of titles to consider. This month's list includes a debut novel about womanhood and a cookbook celebrating California's bounty.
Now back to your recommendations:
Responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity.
''Less Than Zero' by Bret Easton Ellis portrays a version of 1980s L.A. dominated by wealth, excess and emotional detachment, capturing both the allure and emptiness of the city's culture.' — Tyler Jackson
'I just finished reading 'Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles' by John Mack Faragher. It focuses on the period from 1830-1870 when California changed hands several times. The book is named after the street now called North Broadway. During this period, it was called Eternity Street and had a cemetery at the end of the road.' — Jake Johnson
'Two novels that really struck me are 'The House of Sand and Fog' by Andre Dubus III and 'IQ' by Joe Ide. 'The House of Sand and Fog' is beautifully written, heartbreaking and incredibly topical, even though it came out 25 years ago. It's about immigration and addiction and love and dignity — and real estate. 'IQ' is the first in a series of detective novels. It's the nickname of one Isaiah Quintabe, a brilliant young Black man and kind of modern day Sherlock Holmes. He has a singular, tragic backstory, is a one-of-a kind protagonist and the novels play out in an unusual place: the gritty streets of East Long Beach.' — Maria L. La Ganga, L.A. Times deputy managing editor for California and Metro
'John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden' is one of those books that always comes up in conversation after a few drinks with my fellow book nerds. I can still see Steinbeck's Salinas Valley in my mind even though I read it many summers ago on a beach. And those chapters about Cathy.' — Hunter Clauss, L.A. Times multiplatform editor, newsletters. (Several of you recommended this book.)
'My two favorite California books for two different reasons are 'Parable of the Sower' by Octavia Butler and 'Inherent Vice' by Thomas Pynchon. Butler creates a post-apocalyptic California that feels closer to reality with each passing year, and Pynchon answers a burning literary question in his detective novel: What if Hercule Poirot was a California stoner?' — Christian Orozco, L.A. Times assistant editor, newsletters. (Several of you recommended 'Parable of the Sower.')
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
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