Books Set in California

39,331 members

666 reviews

3.9

6 Members: hipdeep, sturlington, ahef1963, elia1168, janeet, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: sturlington: Salinas River Valley

4

The Grapes of Wrath

34,506 members

478 reviews

4.1

5 Members: aulsmith, sturlington, dylan555, elia1168, NinieB,janeet
Explanations: sturlington: Hooverville

5

East of Eden

23,550 members

425 reviews

½ 4.4

5 Members: aulsmith, sturlington, elia1168, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: sturlington: Salinas River Valley

6

Tales of the City

Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

4,998 members

109 reviews

3.9

5 Members: aulsmith, ahef1963, NinieB, janeet, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: aulsmith: San Francisco

7

Angle of Repose

by Wallace Stegner

5,487 members

183 reviews

½ 4.3

4 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, NinieB, janeet

8

by Robin Sloan

8,350 members

725 reviews

3.8

4 Members: merrystar, sturlington, ahef1963, janeet
Explanations: sturlington: San Francisco and Silicon Valley

9

Practical Demonkeeping

by Christopher Moore

4,078 members

107 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: hipdeep, sturlington, dylan555, janeet

10

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick

19,429 members

476 reviews

4

4 Members: hipdeep, sturlington, janeet, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: sturlington: San Francisco

11

Cannery Row

9,947 members

186 reviews

4

3 Members: hipdeep, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

12

Frog Music

by Emma Donoghue

1,518 members

96 reviews

½ 3.3

3 Members: KimarieBee, sturlington, janeet
Explanations: sturlington: San Francisco

13

Daughter of Fortune

by Isabel Allende

8,770 members

192 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: KimarieBee, sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations: sturlington: Gold Rush

14

The Wayward Bus

Tea with the Black Dragon

2,109 members

42 reviews

3.8

3 Members: aulsmith, elia1168, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: Central Valley

15

Telegraph Avenue

by Michael Chabon

2,289 members

90 reviews

½ 3.5

3 Members: aulsmith, sturlington, janeet
Explanations: sturlington: Oakland and Berkeley

16

by R. A. MacAvoy

1,485 members

37 reviews

3.9

3 Members: merrystar, sturlington, ahef1963

17

Gun, With Occasional Music

by Jonathan Lethem

2,333 members

65 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: sturlington, dylan555, janeet

18

More Tales of the City

2,644 members

25 reviews

3.9

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: San Franciso

19

The Drowning Pool

Already Dead: A California Gothic

825 members

15 reviews

3.8

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

20

by Denis Johnson

685 members

12 reviews

½ 3.5

2 Members: drenglish, dylan555

21

The Gold Coast

by Kim Stanley Robinson

793 members

20 reviews

½ 3.5

3 Members: aulsmith, sturlington, janeet

22

A Dirty Job

by Christopher Moore

6,865 members

269 reviews

4

3 Members: sturlington, dylan555, ManWithAnAgenda

23

Further Tales of the City

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

2,368 members

24 reviews

3.9

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: San Francisco

24

You Don't Love Me Yet

by Jonathan Lethem

895 members

31 reviews

2.9

3 Members: sturlington, dylan555, ManWithAnAgenda

25

California Girl

by T. Jefferson Parker

547 members

12 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: dara85, NinieB

26

by Cheryl Strayed

8,788 members

518 reviews

3.9

3 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, janeet
Explanations: sturlington: Sierra Nevada mountains

27

Babycakes

2,010 members

20 reviews

3.8

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: San Francisco

28

Parable of the Sower

by Octavia E. Butler

8,204 members

239 reviews

4.1

3 Members: sturlington, janeet, ManWithAnAgenda

29

Fadeout

467 members

21 reviews

3.9

2 Members: aulsmith, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

30

Significant Others

1,849 members

16 reviews

3.8

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: San Francisco

31

Sure of You

The Postman Always Rings Twice

1,832 members

16 reviews

3.8

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: San Francisco

32

by James M. Cain

3,487 members

133 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

33

The Joy Luck Club

by Amy Tan

17,671 members

199 reviews

3.9

3 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: sturlington: San Francisco

34

The Jane Austen Book Club

by Karen Joy Fowler

6,439 members

194 reviews

3

3 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, janeet

35

The Goodbye Look

553 members

9 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: aulsmith, NinieB, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

36

Parable of the Talents

by Octavia E. Butler

3,605 members

96 reviews

4.1

3 Members: sturlington, janeet, ManWithAnAgenda

37

Death Claims

289 members

12 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aulsmith, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

38

1st to Die

by James Patterson

8,194 members

222 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: dara85, janeet

39

Sandman Slim

by Richard Kadrey

2,492 members

178 reviews

3.8

2 Members: hipdeep, janeet

40

Gravedigger

209 members

2 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: aulsmith, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

41

The Wild Shore

by Kim Stanley Robinson

1,118 members

23 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aulsmith, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: Alternate Orange County

42

Coyote Blue

by Christopher Moore

3,025 members

57 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: sturlington, dylan555

43

The Underground Man

723 members

19 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: aulsmith, NinieB
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

44

Pacific Edge

by Kim Stanley Robinson

671 members

15 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aulsmith, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: Alternate Orange County

45

The Chill

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

740 members

23 reviews

4

2 Members: aulsmith, NinieB
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

46

by Vincent Bugliosi

5,042 members

90 reviews

4

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

47

Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas

2,001 members

69 reviews

4.2

Member: aspirit
Explanations: aspirit: Los Angeles

48

Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir

by D. J. Waldie

216 members

1 review

3.9

Member: drenglish

49

Postcards from the Edge

by Carrie Fisher

1,554 members

32 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

50

The Sisters Brothers

by Patrick deWitt

4,289 members

315 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

51

Michael Tolliver Lives

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

1,394 members

51 reviews

3.8

2 Members: aulsmith, janeet
Explanations: aulsmith: San Francisco

52

by Aimee Bender

3,423 members

275 reviews

½ 3.3

2 Members: dylan555, ManWithAnAgenda

53

The Galton Case

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

693 members

18 reviews

4

2 Members: NinieB, janeet

54

by Jack Finney

1,283 members

54 reviews

3.8

2 Members: sturlington, janeet

55

Devil House

by John Darnielle

680 members

22 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: sturlington, ManWithAnAgenda

56

Into the Forest

by Jean Hegland

1,540 members

49 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, janeet

57

A Single Man

by Christopher Isherwood

2,239 members

85 reviews

4

2 Members: aulsmith, janeet

58

Always Coming Home

by Ursula K. Le Guin

2,150 members

22 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, janeet

59

I'll Give You the Sun

by Jandy Nelson

3,581 members

165 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: aspirit

60

The Velvet Room

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

500 members

11 reviews

4.2

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

61

The City, Not Long After

by Pat Murphy

493 members

21 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, janeet

62

Bride of the Rat God

by Barbara Hambly

532 members

20 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, janeet

63

Inherent Vice

by Thomas Pynchon

3,018 members

92 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: drenglish

64

Birdie and Me

by J. M. M. Nuanez

73 members

4 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: aspirit

65

The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland

by Walter Thompson-Hernandez

90 members

2 reviews

3.8

Member: aspirit
Explanations: aspirit: Compton, Los Angeles County

66

The Loved One

by Evelyn Waugh

3,585 members

75 reviews

3.8

Member: hipdeep

67

The Moon Within

by Aida Salazar

214 members

8 reviews

4.1

Member: aspirit
Explanations: aspirit: Oakland

68

Ghosts: A Graphic Novel

by Raina Telgemeier

2,922 members

82 reviews

4

Member: aspirit
Explanations: aspirit: Northern California (fictional city); graphic novel

69

The Black Kids

by Christina Hammonds Reed

416 members

18 reviews

3.9

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

70

Less Than Zero

by Bret Easton Ellis

5,807 members

91 reviews

½ 3.4

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

71

Redwoods

by Jason Chin

701 members

61 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: aspirit
Explanations: aspirit: Picture book

72

Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son

by Michael Chabon

1,370 members

59 reviews

3.8

Member: dylan555

73

Picture Us In The Light

by Kelly Loy Gilbert

346 members

21 reviews

4.1

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

74

America for Beginners

by Leah Franqui

337 members

52 reviews

3.8

Member: dylan555

75

American Woman

by Susan Choi

400 members

10 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: dylan555

76

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

by Thi Bui

1,210 members

67 reviews

4.2

Member: dylan555

77

The Trespassers

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

292 members

7 reviews

½ 3.3

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

78

All the Birds in the Sky

by Charlie Jane Anders

2,886 members

179 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: dylan555

79

How Town

by Michael Nava

217 members

7 reviews

3.8

Member: aulsmith
Explanations: aulsmith: Central Valley

80

Barbie and the Ghost Town Mystery

by Eleanor K. Woolvin

5 members

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

81

Be Frank With Me

by Julia Claiborne Johnson

783 members

83 reviews

3.9

Member: dylan555

82

The Burning Plain

by Michael Nava

200 members

4 reviews

4.1

Member: aulsmith

83

Creatures

by Crissy Van Meter

186 members

16 reviews

½ 3.4

Member: dylan555

84

The Last Thing He Told Me

by Laura Dave

3,804 members

144 reviews

3.8

Member: ahef1963

85

Falling: A Novel

by T. J. Newman

1,035 members

78 reviews

3.8

Member: dylan555

86

The Future of Another Timeline

by Annalee Newitz

792 members

24 reviews

3.9

Member: dylan555

87

Godshot

by Chelsea Bieker

265 members

8 reviews

3.8

Member: dylan555

88

A Country of Old Men

223 members

1 review

4

Member: aulsmith
Explanations: aulsmith: Los Angeles

89

The Wycherly Woman