Book Searching for travel in California

Grapes of Wrath. Any Steinbeck novel actually.

Like Chris says. Specifically Cannery Row. Now it's a tourist trap in Monterey. The buildings are there but there's no canning going on.

How about some recent movies? "Bottle Shock" is set in the Napa/Sonoma wine country and chronicles in an entertaining way how California wines became known abroad by winning a blind taste test contest in France with French judges.

Then there's "Sideways", set in the Santa Ynes valley. Two men (losers or borderline losers) and their girlfriends on a wine tasting spree. Sales of Pinot Noir went up after the movie came out and sales of Merlot dropped. You have to see the movie to find out why. The critics gave this movie very high marks.

You'll probably visit Hearst Castle. Rewatch "Citizen Kane" before you do.

There is a great book about old San Francisco called Champagne Days of Old San Francisco by Evelyn Wells. It givers such a great flavor of what it used to be like in the old days. A very fun, yet poignant read. It ends just after the Great Quake. You may be able to find it in the library but you can still get it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Champagne-Days-Francisco-Evelyn-Wells/dp/B000867O4G/ref=sr_1_19?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323895243&sr=1-19

We stumbled upon it in a used bookstore. The author has quite a few books about old San Francisco. This one, on Abe, is much cheaper, but I have not read it.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=4628288050&searchurl=an%3Develyn%2Bwells%26sts%3Dt%26x%3D0%26y%3D0

Since I had knee surgery at the beginning of summer, we were kind of stuck in L.A. -- venturing only so far as Catalina and a few nights in Long Beach. So we did a family-themed summer reading of a host of Raymond Chandler books (Lady in the Lake, Farewell My Lovely, Playback) then exchanging, followed by Chandler quoted monument searches -- places mentioned in the books in and around L.A.

Only problem with reading his stuff is that I start talking and writing like I've morphed into Philip Marlowe. Which is not a bad place to be.

I recommend "The Land of Little Rain" by Mary Austin;

Thank-you for the suggestions. I was rather hoping for some more contemporary books ie. modern living authors.
However I have downloaded The land of little Rain for $0.00 on my Kindle which is a pretty good bargain! And I will re-read some Steinbeck and Chandler. Couldn't find Champagne Days on European Amazon but maybe that's one I can buy when I'm out there. Thanks for the movie suggestions too - have seen Sideways and enjoyed it and will definitely see Citizen kane again - it's been a while!
Do send more ...I will need at least 6 books just for the flights!

Recent authors: Books by Amy Tan are often set in SF (The Joy Luck Club); there is a fairly recent book called the Golden State set during the recall election of Arhnold; Tapping the Source set in LA/Orange County surf culture; there are not a great many novels set on the coast i.e. Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur except for Steinbeck and maybe newer authors don't want to be seen as imitating him.

These days most novels set in CA seems to be rooted in specific cultures i.e. Latino, Chinese.

One of my favorite stories set in California is "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell. Although it's written for younger readers, it's a great read for all ages and based on a true story of a native girl abandoned on San Nicholas Island in the early 19th C.

But my latest addiction is the Michael Connelly series of murder mysteries set (mostly) in L.A.

I thought of another contemporary book. "The Barbarian Nurseries" by Hector Tobar. Here's a review:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/books/review/the-barbarian-nurseries-by-hector-tobar-book-review.html?_r=1&ref=bookreviews

Thank-you everyone - I also looked up suggestions on The Rough Guide to California and this is the list of books I have ordered, in case anyone else is interested:

California Gold , John Jakes
Ramona – Helen H Jackson
The Silverado Squatters ,Robert Louis Stevenson
Blue Movie, Terry Southern
Mildred Pierce, James M. Cain
McTeague, Frank Norris
The Land of Little Rain, Mary Hunter Austin
Roughing it – Mark Twain
Tales of the City , Armistead Maupin
The Big Sleep ,Raymond Chandler
Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion
LA Confidential , James Ellroy
The Kid Stays in the Picture: A Hollywood Life, Robert Evans
Tapping the Source, Kem Nunn
The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar

These should keep me busy - though I have already finished the short RL Stevenson which is brilliant on the Napa Valley wineries in the 1880's - strongly reccommend!
Thanks again and merry Christmas

Tales of the City: LOL. Was living there when that was really more of a column in the SF Chronicle/Examiner. Hey - before that - my favorite were the Herb Caen columns - may he RIP.

"Blue Movie"? Definitely funny, but you'd better not be prudish.

Kind of a strange list, IMO. I would read synopses on Amazon before ordering because not all may appeal. FWIW, I couldn't get through "The Land of Little Rain."