The Reading Passport: Books set in California

Photo by Corey Agopian on Unsplash

California boasts the highest (Mt. Whitney - 14,505 ft) and lowest (Badwater Basin - 282 ft below sea level) points in the continental US. Interestingly, there is a connection between this states' name and literature. This land reminded Spanish settlers of a paradisiac island, named California, full of jewels and female warriors featured in the novel Las Sergas de Esplandian (The Labors of the Very Great Knight Esplandian). California is still linked to literature in the present, inspiring books like the ones below. Hopefully they all will be high points during your armchair travels.  

Boarding Pass

Itinerary

📚 East of Eden by John Steinbeck - Literary Fiction

📚 The Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West - Literary Fiction

📚 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (Philip Marlow #1) - Mystery/Thriller

📚 The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy (L.A. Quartet #1) - Mystery/Thriller

📚 A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore (The Grim Reaper #1) - Humor/Fantasy

📚 Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City #1) - Contemporary Fiction

📚 There There by Tommy Orange - Contemporary Fiction

📚 Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion - Autobiography/Memoir

📚 Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (Tales from Alcatraz #1) - YA

📚 Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Historical Fiction/Romance

📚 Bound for Gold by William Martin (Peter Fallon #6) - Historical Fiction

📚 How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang - Historical Fiction 

Map

Timeline

Visit our Shop to purchase our Reading Passport Journals and keep track of all your literary travels.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.