Are you East Coast or West Coast?
Whether you thrive on the pulse of New York City or crave the hazy calm of California mornings, these books bring each coast to life in bold, immersive ways. From private estates tucked deep in New Hampshire woods to the glimmer of Hollywood and the fog-drenched edges of the Pacific Northwest, setting isn't just scenery here, it’s part of the story.
This list offers popular fiction set on each coast and a nonfiction and travel book to help you visit. So whether you’re a long time East Coaster, a West Coast wanderer, or someone dreaming of both, these books will take you there. All you need to do is pick a coast and pack accordingly.
East Coast Books
The New Hampsire Thriller: The Last One at the Wedding
by Jason Rekulak
From the author of the runaway hit, Hidden Pictures, comes a stunning new work of domestic suspense
"Part conspiracy thriller, part family drama, The Last One at the Wedding kept my heart racing and my mind reeling." ―Riley Sager
"The ultimate middle-class Dad battles the 1% for his daughter's soul in the best thriller I've read all year." ―Grady Hendrix
An edge-of-your-seat thriller that delves deep into the heart of one family, The Last One at the Wedding is a work of brilliant suspense from a true modern master.
New York Sisters: Blue Sisters: A Read with Jenna Pick
by Coco Mellors
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY - Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister's death in this "deeply nuanced and compelling" (Vogue) novel, from the acclaimed author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein.
"A beautiful portrait of grief and the world-shaping bond sisters share."--Real Simple
A VOGUE AND HARPER'S BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Imbued with Coco Mellors's signature combination of humor and heart, Blue Sisters is a story of what it takes to keep living after loss--and, ultimately, to fall in love with life again.
NYC Enemies to Lovers RomCom: Summer in the City
by Alex Aster
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Aster comes her adult debut novel Summer in the City--a swoony, fast-paced rom-com set in New York City in which a screenwriter and a sexy tech CEO go from lovers to enemies and back to lovers again…
Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It's all pretend. Promise.
Until it isn't.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail: Pack Light: A Journey to Find Myself
by Shilletha Curtis
A powerful and uplifting memoir by a woman who decides to confront the roots of her childhood traumas by hiking the Appalachian Trail.
After losing her job during the coronavirus pandemic, Shilletha Curtis was depressed, riddled with self-doubt, and yearning for something bigger when she met a hiker who introduced her to the Appalachian Trail. At first the idea of hiking 2,193 miles seemed impossible, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the forest was calling to her--an invisible yet powerful spiritual invitation to the wild. In 2021, Shilletha embarked on the daunting goal to hike the Appalachian Trail in its entirety.
Explore the East on the Road Less Traveled: Lonely Planet Eastern USA
by Lonely Planet and more
Lonely Planet Eastern USA is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Get active underwater in Florida Keys, hit the streets of New York City, or watch leaves change color in New England -all with your trusted travel companion. Begin your journey now!
Inside Lonely Planet Eastern USA Travel Guide:
- Color maps and images throughout
- Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests
- Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots
- Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices
- Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss
- Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience â history, arts, architecture, music, wildlife, landscapes, lifestyle, sports, cuisine
- Covers New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New England, Washington DC, Florida, the Great Lakes, North & South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and more
West Coast Books
Hollywood in Novel Form: Colored Television
by Danzy Senna
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
"A laugh-out-loud cultural comedy... This is the New Great American Novel, and Danzy Senna has set the standard." -LA Times
"Funny, foxy and fleet...The jokes are good, the punches land, the dialogue is tart." -Dwight Garner, The New York Times
A brilliant take on love and ambition, failure and reinvention, and the racial-identity-industrial complex from the bestselling author of Caucasia
Funny, piercing, and page turning, Colored Television is Senna's most on-the-pulse, ambitious, and rewarding novel yet.
A Mystery in Washington State: What Comes After
by Joanne Tompkins
Edgar Prize Finalist for Best Debut Novel by an American Author
"Nail-biting wallop of a debut . . . a thoughtful, unexpectedly optimistic tale." --The New York Times
"If you enjoyed The Searcher by Tana French, read What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins. . . . a mystery--and a gritty meditation on loss and redemption, drenched in stillness and grief." --The Washington Post
After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys' families--a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection.
Bound for Love in LA: The Rom-Commers
by Katherine Center
The New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center's next laugh out loud, feel good rom-com about writing your own story.
She's rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?
What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they're writing breaks all Emma's rules--and comes true?
A Story from the Pacific Northwest: Heart Berries: A Memoir
by Terese Marie Mailhot
A powerful, poetic memoir of an Indigenous woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Band in the Pacific Northwest--this New York Times bestseller and Emma Watson Book Club pick is "an illuminating account of grief, abuse and the complex nature of the Native experience . . . at once raw and achingly beautiful" (NPR)
Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder, Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries. As she writes, she discovers her own true voice, seizes control of her story, and, in so doing, reestablishes her connection to her family, to her people, and to her place in the world.
All Aboard for a West Coast Road Trip: The Best Coast: A Road Trip Atlas: Illustrated Adventures Along the West Coasts Historic Highways
by Chandler O'Leary
Take the ultimate West Coast road trip this summer with The Best Coast--a full-color illustrated travel guide to all the must-visit roadside attractions, beloved landmarks, hidden histories, and offbeat delights on Washington, Oregon, and California's historic highways, include the Pacific Coast Highway!
From San Diego, California, all the way up to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, you'll find unusual facts, hidden history, epic Americana, and off-the-beaten-path adventures up and down the coast.
This Road Trip Atlas Includes:
- Route Maps - the coastal route via historic Highways 101 and 1 (the PCH) and an inland route up Highway 99
- City Guides - San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle
- 30+ Itineraries and Side Trips - Catalina Island, Joshua Tree National Park, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, wine country, Crater Lake National Park, the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Rainier National Park, the San Juan Islands, and Vancouver, BC.
- Travel Tips - safety, rules of the road, wise planning, and packing lists (for the traveler and for the car)
- Wildlife Checklists
- Index of places, parks and attractions
- Resources - navigational aids, travel information, passes and permits, books, websites and films
Hit the road with this one-of-a-kind road trip travel guide through California, Oregon, and Washington that tells the story of the diversity and depth that created the West Coast we know and love today!