Best California Books

1.
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath 4.02 avg rating — 971,589 ratings
2.
Cannery Row (Cannery Row, #1)
Cannery Row (Cannery Row, #1) 4.06 avg rating — 149,642 ratings
3.
East of Eden
East of Eden 4.43 avg rating — 602,202 ratings
4.
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men 3.89 avg rating — 2,751,930 ratings
5.
The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club
by: Amy Tan
3.97 avg rating — 703,409 ratings
6.
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1) 3.94 avg rating — 165,232 ratings
7.
Ten Good Reasons (Sandy Cove, #2)
Ten Good Reasons (Sandy Cove, #2) 4.22 avg rating — 337 ratings
8.
The Day of the Locust
The Day of the Locust 3.70 avg rating — 23,730 ratings
9.
L.A. Confidential (L.A. Quartet, #3)
L.A. Confidential (L.A. Quartet, #3) 4.18 avg rating — 35,727 ratings
10.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Slouching Towards Bethlehem 4.19 avg rating — 78,748 ratings
11.
Rain of Gold
Rain of Gold 4.50 avg rating — 8,211 ratings
12.
The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks
The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks 4.01 avg rating — 7,051 ratings
13.
Less Than Zero
Less Than Zero 3.60 avg rating — 95,136 ratings
14.
Summer Hours
Summer Hours 3.83 avg rating — 2,787 ratings
15.
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Island of the Blue Dolphins 3.88 avg rating — 345,765 ratings
16.
Daughter of Fortune
Daughter of Fortune 3.94 avg rating — 138,055 ratings
17.
Tales of the City (Tales of the City #1)
Tales of the City (Tales of the City #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 46,895 ratings
18.
Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat 3.83 avg rating — 61,121 ratings
19.
White Oleander
White Oleander really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 363,346 ratings
20.
A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community
A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community 4.15 avg rating — 422 ratings
21.
Where I Was From
Where I Was From 3.86 avg rating — 6,197 ratings
22.
Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, #1)
Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, #1) 3.74 avg rating — 14,963 ratings
23.
The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon 3.87 avg rating — 113,191 ratings
24.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
by: Tom Wolfe
3.92 avg rating — 78,159 ratings
25.
Sorrow
Sorrow 4.41 avg rating — 990 ratings
26.
A Is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone #1)
A Is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone #1) 3.86 avg rating — 190,127 ratings
27.
Hell's Angels
Hell's Angels 3.98 avg rating — 53,566 ratings
28.
The Black Dahlia (L.A. Quartet, #1)
The Black Dahlia (L.A. Quartet, #1) 3.78 avg rating — 93,951 ratings
29.
The Onion Field
The Onion Field 4.11 avg rating — 21,240 ratings
30.
Postcards from the Edge
Postcards from the Edge 3.62 avg rating — 18,375 ratings
31.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner #1)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner #1) 4.09 avg rating — 495,975 ratings
32.
Lady Sunshine
Lady Sunshine 3.99 avg rating — 5,111 ratings
33.
Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love
Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love 4.31 avg rating — 6,694 ratings
34.
California Dreamin': Cass Elliot Before The Mamas & the Papas
California Dreamin': Cass Elliot Before The Mamas & the Papas 4.07 avg rating — 3,621 ratings
35.
The Galton Case (Lew Archer, #8)
The Galton Case (Lew Archer, #8) 4.07 avg rating — 4,130 ratings
35.
Ask the Dust (The Saga of Arturo Bandini, #3)
Ask the Dust (The Saga of Arturo Bandini, #3) 4.10 avg rating — 38,234 ratings
37.
Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm
Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm 3.98 avg rating — 1,336 ratings
38.
Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester Heiress to the Rifle Fortune
Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester Heiress to the Rifle Fortune 3.65 avg rating — 431 ratings
39.
The Octopus
The Octopus 3.81 avg rating — 2,015 ratings
40.
Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea
Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea 4.02 avg rating — 14,409 ratings
41.
A Crack in the Edge of the World
A Crack in the Edge of the World 3.79 avg rating — 7,186 ratings
42.
Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends
Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends 3.84 avg rating — 2,144 ratings
43.
The Dead Do Not Improve
The Dead Do Not Improve 2.76 avg rating — 980 ratings
43.
Money, Family, Murder
Money, Family, Murder 3.74 avg rating — 23 ratings
43.
My Dirty California
My Dirty California 3.94 avg rating — 315 ratings
46.
Clover Blue
Clover Blue 4.12 avg rating — 1,917 ratings
47.
The Choirboys
The Choirboys 4.04 avg rating — 6,349 ratings
48.
The Buddha in the Attic
The Buddha in the Attic 3.70 avg rating — 62,380 ratings
48.
The Red Bikini (Sandy Cove, #1)
The Red Bikini (Sandy Cove, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 325 ratings
50.
Fat City
Fat City really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4,615 ratings
51.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice 3.76 avg rating — 47,114 ratings
52.
Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas
Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas 4.26 avg rating — 1,255 ratings
52.
The Land of Little Rain
The Land of Little Rain 3.87 avg rating — 2,009 ratings
54.
Blue Willow
Blue Willow 3.88 avg rating — 3,863 ratings
55.
My First Summer in the Sierra
My First Summer in the Sierra
by: John Muir
4.06 avg rating — 7,229 ratings
56.
The Pastures of Heaven
The Pastures of Heaven 4.08 avg rating — 10,781 ratings
57.
The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Short Stories
The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Short Stories 3.66 avg rating — 265 ratings
57.
Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal
Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal 4.22 avg rating — 1,493 ratings
59.
Ramona
Ramona 3.76 avg rating — 2,471 ratings
60.
Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles
Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles 3.86 avg rating — 861 ratings
61.
The Chinatown War: Chinese Los Angeles and the Massacre of 1871
The Chinatown War: Chinese Los Angeles and the Massacre of 1871 4.01 avg rating — 67 ratings
62.
What We Do Is Secret: A Novel
What We Do Is Secret: A Novel 3.86 avg rating — 205 ratings
62.
The Girl with Ghost Eyes
The Girl with Ghost Eyes 3.86 avg rating — 4,419 ratings
62.
The Promise of Fate
The Promise of Fate 4.58 avg rating — 19 ratings
62.
The Middle Ground: Stories
The Middle Ground: Stories 4.03 avg rating — 75 ratings
62.
The Urban Mystique: Notes on California, Los Angeles, and Beyond
The Urban Mystique: Notes on California, Los Angeles, and Beyond 4.82 avg rating — 11 ratings
62.
I've Been Walking
I've Been Walking 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
62.
Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire
Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire 4.33 avg rating — 2,605 ratings
69.
The Valley of the Moon
The Valley of the Moon 3.99 avg rating — 1,892 ratings
69.
True West
True West 3.68 avg rating — 11,364 ratings
69.
All's Fair and Other California Stories
All's Fair and Other California Stories 3.64 avg rating — 39 ratings
72.
Feedback
Feedback 3.97 avg rating — 61 ratings
72.
A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West: The Reminiscences of Mary Hallock Foote
A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West: The Reminiscences of Mary Hallock Foote 3.64 avg rating — 78 ratings
74.
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles 4.21 avg rating — 4,679 ratings
74.
Lunch Bucket Paradise: A True - Life Novel
Lunch Bucket Paradise: A True - Life Novel 3.76 avg rating — 37 ratings
74.
Desert Gardens
Desert Gardens 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings
77.
McTeague: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions)
McTeague: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions) 3.68 avg rating — 6,731 ratings
77.
The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge
The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge 3.78 avg rating — 345 ratings
79.
Trees in Paradise: A California History
Trees in Paradise: A California History 4.18 avg rating — 284 ratings
80.
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring 4.12 avg rating — 8,852 ratings
81.
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873 (The Lamar Series in Western History)
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873 (The Lamar Series in Western History) 4.32 avg rating — 475 ratings
82.
The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County
The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County 3.70 avg rating — 294 ratings
82.
Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco
Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco 4.25 avg rating — 2,246 ratings
84.
The William Saroyan Reader
The William Saroyan Reader 4.42 avg rating — 211 ratings
84.
The Kept Girl
The Kept Girl 3.58 avg rating — 119 ratings
86.
Elizabeth the First Wife
Elizabeth the First Wife 3.82 avg rating — 1,556 ratings
86.
Murder Off Mike (Talk Radio Mystery #1)
Murder Off Mike (Talk Radio Mystery #1) 3.54 avg rating — 61 ratings
86.
The Dain Curse (The Continental Op #2)
The Dain Curse (The Continental Op #2) 3.79 avg rating — 8,313 ratings
89.
More Tales of the City (Tales of the City, #2)
More Tales of the City (Tales of the City, #2) 4.21 avg rating — 18,323 ratings
90.
Forever, Interrupted
Forever, Interrupted 3.64 avg rating — 196,023 ratings
91.
The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream 4.05 avg rating — 1,630 ratings
91.
We Got the Neutron Bomb : The Untold Story of L.A. Punk
We Got the Neutron Bomb : The Untold Story of L.A. Punk 3.97 avg rating — 2,738 ratings
91.
Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest 3.67 avg rating — 11,365 ratings
94.
The Drowning Pool (Lew Archer, #2)
The Drowning Pool (Lew Archer, #2) 3.93 avg rating — 7,421 ratings
94.
Flora Segunda (Flora Trilogy #1)
Flora Segunda (Flora Trilogy #1) 3.69 avg rating — 4,318 ratings
94.
The Tortilla Curtain
The Tortilla Curtain 3.66 avg rating — 34,023 ratings
94.
The Beach Boys and the California Myth
The Beach Boys and the California Myth 4.21 avg rating — 56 ratings
98.
Farewell, My Lovely (Philip Marlowe, #2)
Farewell, My Lovely (Philip Marlowe, #2) 4.09 avg rating — 41,873 ratings
98.
Lightning
Lightning 4.09 avg rating — 64,648 ratings
100.
Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs
Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs 4.08 avg rating — 1,438 ratings
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