Adults - Books about California

Updated March 21, 2026
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The golden gate
Chua, Amy
Paper Book
Amy Chua's debut novel, The Golden Gate, is a sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the turbulent crosswinds of a world at war and a society about to undergo massive change. In Berkeley,...
Wild : From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Strayed, Cheryl
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe--and built her back up again. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century At...
East of Eden
Steinbeck, John
Paper Book
A masterpiece of Biblical scope, and the magnum opus of one of America's most enduring authors, in a deluxe Centennial edition In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden "the first book," and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of...
Automatic noodle
Newitz, Annalee
Paper Book
A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz. An instant USA Today and indie bestseller! Indie Next pick | Library Reads pick | Best of the Year at...
AfriCali : recipes from my Jikoni
Moju, Kiano
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Saveur, Food & Wine, Los Angeles Times, and Food Network Turn readily available ingredients and pantry staples into easy yet flavorful weeknight meals and dinner...
Daughter of fortune : a novel
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
An Oprah Book Club selection! "Allende has created a masterpiece of historical fiction that is passionate, adventurous, and brilliantly insightful. . . . suspenseful and surprising." --Denver Post From the revered New York Times bestselling author of The...
The Circle : a novel
Eggers, Dave.
Paper Book
A bestselling dystopian novel that tackles surveillance, privacy and the frightening intrusions of technology in our lives--a "compulsively readable parable for the 21st century" (Vanity Fair).  When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most...
The Maltese falcon
Hammett, Dashiell
Paper Book
FEATURING THE CHARACTER THAT INSPIRED THE AMC SERIES MONSIEUR SPADE STARRING CLIVE OWEN ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME Detective Sam Spade is a private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. When his...
The guncle : a novel
Rowley, Steven
Paper Book
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits. However, tragedy strikes and Patrick suddenly finds himself taking on the role of primary guardian....
The Joy Luck Club
Tan, Amy
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Amy Tan's modern classic that examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters--now with a new preface "For me, [The Joy Luck Club] was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading...
Properties of thirst : a novel
Wiggins, Marianne
Paper Book
A National Bestseller A New Yorker Best Book of 2022 Fifteen years after the publication of Evidence of Things Unseen, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist Marianne Wiggins returns with a novel destined to be an American classic: a...

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