My Book-ish Tour of Los Angeles

I spent a weekend in Los Angeles to visit one of my best friends and we had only three things on our agenda: books, books, and more books.

When my friend Zoe and I get together, it’s always with a literary agenda. We’re both writers (she’s way better) and spend the majority of the time we have together sitting at coffee shops and visiting book-ish locations. We had a fabulous time and found some prime hide-a-ways that must be highlighted.

First – Zoe and I stayed in what is quick possibly the cutest Airbnb ever. It was tucked away in the Topanga canyons. It was built in the 1920s with full amenities, fluffy white blankets, fireplace, and an incredible porch with amazing views. Never mind the somewhat near-death driving experience to get there. It was SO worth it.

It was such a lovely place to sit, enjoy tea and wine, and spend time on our laptops writing for NaNoWriMo.

Favorite Writing Spots

• Paradise Cove Beach Cafe Malibu – we stumbled upon this place on our way up to Ojai. We were hungry and made an abrupt turn off the PCH when we say the rather large street sign. We were a bit put off when we saw we had to pay for parking but didn’t regret it once we were inside. The food was excellent and they have both indoor and outdoor (on the sand) seating. After our meal, we took our laptops out to the beach and sat in the lounge chairs overlooking the water. It was very pleasant and a really easy spot to do some beach writing (which is no small feat!

• Bricks and Scones – I love this place so much I made Zoe come back twice (not that she minded). The food and drinks are excellent (loooove the blended chai!) and there is plenty of both indoor and outdoor seating. Being the midwesterner I am, I am in absolute heaven if I can sit outside in the sun with my laptop in November. Highly, highly recommend as the perfect cafe to hang out in for a while.

Favorite Book Store Visits

• The Ripped Bodice – Let’s face it, this might be my favorite book store in the whole world, not just LA. It’s filled with romance books as with lots of liberal and LGBTQ+ friendly materials as well. It’s a haven for gifts with all kinds of fun knick-knacks (I bought a “Kilty Pleasures” Calendar with muscular men in kilts for my book club’s white elephant gift. It was a riot!). It’s not huge, but it has a wonderful selection and does a great job of highlighting various items. So cute, I could have spent a lot more time there!

• Bart’s Books – While not really close to Los Angeles, Zoe and I decided we just had to made the trip up to Ojai to see the famous outdoor bookstore – and I’m so glad we did! It was heavenly with a wide variety of books and what seemed to be a maze of shelves. It was a lot bigger than I expected and even had lots of little tables to sit and read. We didn’t stay long enough to pull out our laptops but this could definitely be a relaxing place to write as well!

• The Last Bookstore – No tour of LA bookstores is complete without a visit the Last Bookstore. It’s not in the most desirable area of town (parking is a bit tricky) but it was worth a stop. It was quite busy while we were there and while there were some seating areas, it was noisy and not a place I would hang out. I’ll be honest – I didn’t love it. But I am still glad I went. It has some amazing book structures and it was also HUGE. Nice photo ops but I prefer a quieter place, myself.

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Our literary adventure in Los Angeles did not disappoint! Zoe has lived in LA for a number of years now so she had many more suggestions that we just didn’t get to in the time we had.

Zoe’s Honorable Mentions

• Book Stores – Book Soup, Chevalier’s Books,
• Coffee Shops (lingering allowed) – Frenz Coffee, Coffee + Food

Like any large city there are many nooks and crannies and I know we missed some amazing spots – I’d love to hear them!