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Ask a Bookseller

These California booksellers are always happy to help you find the right book—including their picks for favorite Golden State titles.

By Alta Editors

Karen Finlay at Alibi Bookshop, Vallejo

25 books that define california, chowder, karen finlay
karen finlay
  • Favorite California novel: The Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West
  • Favorite California sci-fi: Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler
  • Favorite California noir: Tapping the Source, by Kem Nunn

John Evans at Camino Books, San Diego

25 books that define california, chowder, john evans
John Evans
  • Favorite California novel: The Barbarian Nurseries, by Héctor Tobar
  • Favorite California sci-fi: Ubik, by Philip K. Dick
  • Favorite California noir: Inherent Vice, by Thomas Pynchon
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Fiction

marriage at sea, sarah stone

Lives We Perform

writer josh wheeler

Writer’s Room: Joshua Wheeler

jan kerouac, bathtub

A Kind of Sublimity

author jane smiley visits her mare, perestroika, right, at a salinas barn, on the left is another owner’s horse, rhu

The Habit Jane Smiley Could Not Get Rid Of

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crown city by naomi hirahara, book review

City of Kings

james sallis, lew griffin novels, books, writer

“Endings Are Seldom Pretty”

humboldt cut by allison mick, book review

The Forest Remembers

how to commit a postcolonial murder by nina mcconigley, book review

Split Self, Split Sisters

author gabriel tallent poses beside the cover of his novel crux, the subject of a critical review examining risk, genius, and obsession.

Love Me Like a Rock

scavengers by kathleen boland, book review

Let’s Have Some Fun

television by lauren rothery, book review

Lights, Camera…Screen Time

annalee newitz standing in a plaid jumpsuit before a packed bookshelf, smiling and leaning against the shelves—capturing the playful, creative tone behind automatic noodle.

Writer’s Room: After the War

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