- Before you visit, pick up a copy of California: A History, by Kevin Starr, to get an overview of this great state’s background. Topics include its native people, the Mexican-American war, the gold rush and Hollywood’s entertainment industry.
- Joan Didion covers her native state in fiction and essay form. Her most recent book is the autobiographical The Year of Magical Thinking.
- Some of Beverly Cleary's children's books are set in California, including Dear Mr. Henshaw, Fifteen, and The Luckiest Girl. Cleary was a graduate of UC Berkeley.
Northern California
- Read Jack Kerouac's On the Road, to catch his infectious sense of wanderlust. Read the works of Beat poets, Allan Ginsburg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who put San Francisco's City Lights bookstore on the map.
- The Grapes of Wrath by native son and Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck chronicles hard times in California during the Depression.
- Hunger of Memory, by Mexican-American Sacramento native Richard Rodriguez, describes his childhood struggles as a bilingual minority.
Southern California
- City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles, by Mike Davis, is an immensely read-able book on Los Angeles history.
- Early Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, by Ryan Gierach, detail how much these cities have changed in the last hundred years.
- Fans of movies and celebrities may enjoy following the tips in Hollywood Remains to be Seen, by Mark J. Masek, a guide to the city’s cemeteries and the graves where stars are buried.
- California Crazy and beyond: Roadside Vernacular Architecture show some of the fun, whimsical buildings you can visit on your road trip.
- Pulp fiction written by Raymond Chandler inspired many famous film noir classics.
Guidebooks
- Adventurers should read Frommer’s Great Outdoor Guide to Northern California. This region has numerous hiking, skiing, rafting and biking opportunities, and this guide will be valuable in planning your ideal outing.
- Visitors going to California for wine tasting should have a copy of Napa Valley & Sonoma: Heart of the California Wine Country, by Virginie Boone. In addition to tips on wineries and vineyards, it also provides suggestions for lodging and dining.
- Finally, those visiting to enjoy a beach vacation on the Pacific Ocean should read Experience the California Coast: A Guide to Beaches and Parks in Northern California, or David Crowell’s Exploring Southern California Beaches.