The Golden State

California is known world round for Hollywood and its huge global tech companies, but there is a lot more to the state and its people. Should you read John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath to understand it? Some who have submitted books to United Books of America think so. Considering it won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and is considered the great American novel, this is no surprise. For more contemporary works, take a look at the list below.

If you think one of the books below doesn’t belong here, let me know your thoughts. Or if you’d like to add a book of your own, submit your suggestion. The book doesn’t need to be explicitly about the state, only clearly set in it and written by someone who actually lived there — ideally someone still living so we get a feel for the contemporary state of things.

Books are in no order of preference. That they are on this list is not a reflection of my personal taste or even that I’ve read them — I want you to find what works for you.