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From Kathryn Stockett’s return to David Sedaris’ latest essays, these are some of the 10 most highly anticipated reads hitting shelves this May.
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Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf
Your ultimate L.A. Bookshelf is here — a guide to the 110 essential L.A. books, plus essays, supporting quotes and a ranked list of the best of the best.
Best Hollywood books
In advance of this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, we’re unveiling our Ultimate Hollywood Bookshelf. Find out which novels, memoirs and more made our list.
Literary L.A.
A guide to the literary geography of Los Angeles: A comprehensive bookstore map, writers’ meetups, place histories, an author survey, essays and more.
More on Books
Gal Beckerman discusses his new book, ‘How to Be a Dissident,’ collector books sell for five figures and more.
Battle rapper Dumbfoundead’s memoir ‘Spit’ documents his rise from age 14 through the L.A. hip-hop underground, capturing the transformative experience that shaped his identity as an Asian-American artist.
Octavia E. Butler publicly denounced ‘Survivor,’ the third novel published in her ‘Patternist’ series. Here’s why it’s being reprinted anyway.
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, April 26, 2026, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin has written a book about her son, Hersh, who was kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and killed in a Gaza tunnel.
‘The Rolling Stones: The Biography’ by Bob Spitz is a magisterial work that charts the 60-year journey of ‘the greatest rock and roll band in the world.’
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books returns April 18 and 19 to USC. Here are the must-see panels and conversations with literary luminaries.
Three Latina poets -- Yesika Salgado, Celia Martínez and Vianney Harelly -- use Instagram and TikTok to connect with a growing audience of young poetry readers.
Author Jazmine Ulloa’s “El Paso” traces the complex history of the U.S. border city and re-centers the Texas town as a microcosm of the country.
Los Feliz gem Skylight Books is opening a 6,000-square-foot location in Eagle Rock this fall. It will house more books, a cafe and perhaps even beer and wine, the owner says.
In 2025, 422 new bookstores opened in the U.S., a 31% jump from the year before. Why? Because amid frustration and anger, booksellers support learning, organizing and respite.
A new era of ‘bookish’ events has arrived in Los Angeles, featuring playful book crawls, low-pressure walking book clubs and more.
Weekly hardcover fiction and nonfiction lists.