California

17 best coffee-table books for Angelenos

Published

2 years ago

November 3, 2024

17 best coffee-table books for Angelenos

The City of Angels, La La Land, Tinseltown, the Big Orange — whatever you call this city and however you’ve made a life in it, you probably have an obsession or three about Los Angeles and our great state. We’ve put together a lush array of coffee-table books covering at least some of those interests, making your year-end gifting as easy as a trip to your favorite bookstore. And hey, books are easy to wrap!

In these 2024 selections, you can consider the lemon and its versatility. Celebrate Pride and its Hollywood community. Cook with the flavors and techniques of Mexico, Africa, Latin America and Vietnam, homages to the melting pot that Southern California has long been. Visit laid-back mansions or an icon’s personal gallery, or marvel at the region’s natural landscapes and glamorous history.

A word of caution: If you head out to buy one or more of these titles for people on your list, you might just wind up buying some for yourself. After all, there’s a lot to love.

If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated.

A white book cover featuring a single lemon with a few leaves and a branch still attached.

The Gourmand’s Lemon: A Collection of Stories and Recipes

Pucker up, buttercup: The team behind the London journal the Gourmand has partnered with uber-luxe Taschen on a 272-page book about the humble yet versatile lemon, offering history, design, anecdotes and even recipes, all with citrus vibes. Try your hand at a tart sorbet, a creamy (and surprisingly easy) curd or a rich tagine garnished with preserved fruit; you’ll come away with a renewed appreciation for the lemons languishing in your fridge. The Gourmand also has a Taschen tome on the egg. Watch for others soon.

$50 from Taschen

A pink book with Margot Robbie as Barbie surrounded by various clothing accessories.

Barbie: The World Tour

When the movie “Barbie” was released last year, not even the doll’s creator Ruth Handler could have predicted the subsequent fashion fervor. Star Margot Robbie collaborated with her stylist Andrew Mukamal to recreate some of the Barbie doll’s best looks over the decades for last summer’s hit film. Spreads in their 160-page book show some outfits knolled from hat to scarf to shoes to handbag, alongside sketches from the Mattel archives and drawings by the film’s costume designers. Don’t miss the Hervé Léger “bandage dress” version of Barbie’s first black-and-white-striped dress from 1959.

$55 from Rizzoli

A book cover featuring a white living room that has a wooden cover table and a fireplace.

City of Dreams: Los Angeles Interiors

If, after flipping through this gorgeous tome you find yourself ready to sell everything you own and start from scratch as a high-end minimalist, who could blame you? Author Annie Kelly and photographer Tim Street-Porter have chosen homes featuring both high design and high livability. In this 256-page book, you’ll find an abalone-shell chandelier, an all-orange bedroom, and Art Deco and Arts & Crafts elements. You’ll also peek into Sir Elton John’s apartment and Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s Brody House in Holmby Hills and travel from Laguna Beach to Silver Lake.

$65 from Rizzoli

A black book cover with four faces highlighted by rainbow lights.

Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film

Esteemed film critic Alonso Duralde’s cover has Tab Hunter, Divine, Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong and Laverne Cox ablaze with a rainbow spotlight that emphasizes the importance of LGBTQ+ actors from different eras — but in this 336-page book, the author also includes stories and photos of queer writers, directors, producers, choreographers and more. Their work, expertise and talents so often led to box-office brilliance while personal lives were forced into the shadows, often at great cost. They blazed trails for new generations that now, we hope, can hold their heads — and Pride flags — high.

$40 from Running Press

A book cover showing the Santa Monica Pier over the Pacific Ocean

Santa Monica Pier: America’s Last Great Pleasure Pier

While shooting the 1973 movie “The Sting,” Robert Redford and Paul Newman would toss a football around on the Santa Monica Pier, which led Redford to write an introduction to this 176-page tribute by James Harris, the official pier historian; there’s also an afterword from Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose affinity for the pier dates back to his strongman days at Muscle Beach. With more than 100 images of everything from the carousel to the coaster to cafes, this book will charm any Angeleno who has ever walked, surfed, swam, eaten, flirted or gazed at the pier. As Redford writes: “The pier reminds me of our youth, our innocence. Such places are hard to find.”

$30 from Angel City Press

A book cover with a photo of the Los Angeles skyline.

The Making of Modern Los Angeles

This is a personal take on the city’s zoning and infrastructure from Nick Patsaouras, a Greek immigrant who gave years of service to Los Angeles institutions in various capacities, including board president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and president of the Board of Water and Power. His 624-page book, full of stunning photographs, documents five decades of urban change that included the restoration of the Angels Flight Railway, the construction of the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and the establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

$30 from Oro Editions

A green book cover with a black and white photo of a human holding grapes and a gardening tool.

A Year in the Vineyard

Recently the movie “Widow Clicquot” included cinematography of Champagne vines to illustrate how climate affects each year’s output. Authors Sophie Menin and Bob Chaplin go further, showing that vintners’ observation of annual and seasonal weather shifts can teach everyone to pay more attention. Chaplin’s vivid yet restrained photos (from vineyards in Napa Valley, France’s Burgundy region, Lebanon and elsewhere) pair with Menin’s clear explanations about how and why wine grapes respond to climate changes. Even if this book doesn’t inspire a trip north to California wine country or get you to attend the next Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, its 160 pages will definitely up your game when it comes to small talk over wine.

$60 from Cultureshock

A set of two books poking out from a sleeve featuring a drive-in movie theater.

Life: Hollywood

This sumptuous two-volume set, totaling 708 pages, from Taschen (with an introduction from photography critic Lucy Sante and captions from film historian Justin Humphreys) has an Old Hollywood look and feel, given its heft and cover-image wrap of a packed drive-in movie — but that’s just the Life magazine flavor, appropriate given the publication’s mid-20th-century heyday. The first book, covering 1936 to 1950 or so, showcases glamorous stars as well as the work that went into keeping their glamour mysterious; the second book focuses on the 1950s through 1972, when cultural shifts heralded more independence and diversity. Can we hope for another two-volume set to follow?

$250 from Taschen

An orange book cover featuring a woman eating a pepper at a marble table.

Di An: The Salty, Sour, Sweet and Spicy Flavors of Vietnamese Cooking With TwayDaBae

Tue Nguyen, a.k.a. TwayDaBae, learned English by watching “SpongeBob SquarePants” and Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” and learned how to cook because she missed her mother’s food. Now her social-media videos garner hundreds of thousands of views as she prepares Vietnamese egg coffee, pandan-flavored desserts and spicy clam curry. Eat before reading this 256-page book, as your mouth will start watering the minute you see the glorious photos of this chef’s work, which you can make at home — because that’s where she makes them, too.

$35 from Simon Element

A cookbook with a orange cover and a red-sauce dish

AfriCali: Recipes From My Jikoni

Kenyan-Nigerian American chef Kiano Moju uses the Swahili word jikoni, or kitchen, to celebrate her origins in Oakland and Africa. But while she has plenty of recipes in this 272-page book that are purely African, such as Kenyan chapatis (flatbread) and sukuma wiki (sautéed collard greens), Moju includes lots of fusion ideas, too, such as jollof risotto with suya-spiced shrimp or coriander katsu with cherry tomato kachumbari (tomato and onion salad). The irrepressible chef even offers Buffalo chicken totchos (tater tot nachos).

$35 from Simon Element

A cookbook featuring a stone floor and a plated dish with three slices of lime.

Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country

Chef Rogelio Garcia runs the Michelin-starred Auro restaurant in Napa Valley; he’s been shortlisted for a James Beard Award. This cookbook’s title means “to live together,” and it refers not just to a melding of cuisines but also to a melding of ingredients. Garcia takes Mexican standards including tacos, carnitas and sopes and reinvents them with local produce as well as flavors from other cultures, such as pesto, pate sucrée and hazelnuts. Experienced cooks will delight in the new combinations in Garcia and Andréa Lawson Gray’s 288-page book, which was beautifully photographed by John Troxell.

$50 from Abrams Books

Barbra

The one-time Funny Girl whose golden voice has made standards of songs like “Woman in Love” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade” takes her proper center stage in this collection of photographs by Lawrence Schiller and Steve Schapiro, who have had her in their sights since the 1960s. Some images are as beloved as Barbra Streisand’s song catalog, but half of the photos in this 336-page book haven’t been widely seen before, documenting Streisand’s importance as an actor, singer, director, writer and dancer who has worked with the best in the business while maintaining her own sensibility and standards. (The book is co-authored by Lawrence Grobel and Patt Morrison, a journalist at The Times.)

$70 from Taschen

A book cover featuring a yellow lighthouse and mountains in the distance.

Accidentally Wes Anderson: Adventures

The idea behind the 2020 book “Accidentally Wes Anderson” was to highlight places around the world that look as if they could appear in one of the iconic movies by the acclaimed director, even though he hasn’t used any of those places in his films. The 2024 follow-up by Wally and Amanda Koval (with a forward by Anderson) continues this eccentric endeavor in its 368 pages, sharing scores of buildings, rooms, vehicles, walls, gardens, shops, lighthouses, museums, libraries, restaurants, vistas and festivals that capture Anderson’s whimsical, colorful, retro aesthetic. Even Anderson himself wants to visit a few.

$45 from Voracious

A book cover featuring a black and white photograph of a woman resting on a stool.

The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories from This Marvelous Lifetime

She’s held hands with the Dalai Lama, won a Kennedy Center Honor and adores her brother, Warren Beatty. Elizabeth Taylor was her best friend. Shirley MacLaine, a longtime star in the movie-world firmament, opens up her personal photo gallery to the world. Many of these pictures in this 272-page book have graced her “Wall of Life” arrangements in her various homes, including snapshots with Frank Sinatra, Bill Clinton (with whom she took a “long, long beach walk”), Indira Gandhi and her beloveds: daughter Sachi, Sachi’s husband and their children.

$35 from Crown

A book cover featuring a black and white photo of a woman wearing a fur coat.

Moxie: The Daring Women of Classic Hollywood

Ira M. Resnick, founder of the Motion Picture Arts Gallery, and Raissa Bretaña, a historian specializing in film fashion, take close-up looks at a few dozen of the dames whose self-possession and hard work helped them develop the “moxie” to succeed in an industry dominated by men and iron-clad contracts that seldom allowed for individuality and artistic growth. But as the authors show in this 240-page book, women like Louise Brooks, Ida Lupino and Katharine Hepburn blew through the celluloid ceiling and lifted up generations of women in the movies.

$49.95 from Abbeville Press

A cookbook featuring a series of fancy plates, pink desserts and cups of tea.

The Official Bridgerton Cookbook

When it comes to “Bridgerton,” the immensely popular Netflix series, you know that the Bridgertons are named in alphabetical order. You know that gadfly Lady Whistledown’s voice is none other than that of Dame Julie Andrews. But you might not know the recipe for the perfect citrus libation to keep you sated as you cue up the next episode — and that’s where this 256-page official recipe guide by Regula Ysewijn comes in. Savory or sweet, spicy or safe, these delicious and terribly tempting treats will give you delicious ideas … just like the show does.

$35 from Random House Worlds

A yellow cookbook featuring a photo of Eva Longoria in a kitchen.

My Mexican Kitchen: 100 Recipes Rich With Tradition, Flavor, and Spice

Actor, director and entrepreneur Eva Longoria has pursued cookbook writing for nearly 15 years, and along the way also earned a master’s degree in Chicano studies and political science. Her latest compilation derives from her CNN show “Searching for Mexico,” so although it’s about the dishes she still cooks at home, the recipes in this 256-page book reflect Mexico’s many regions and specialties. Tacos and taquitos and tamales, yes; but also Yucatán-based fish and seafood, urban cocktails and snacks, and longtime family favorites.

$35 from Clarkson Potter

Prices and availability of experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.

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California

California man charged with bringing explosives to Sacramento airport after repeatedly calling FBI tip line | CNN

Published

8 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

California man charged with bringing explosives to Sacramento airport after repeatedly calling FBI tip line | CNN

A California man was charged Tuesday after authorities say he brought an explosive device and other weapons through a security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport.

Kimani Osayande Jones, who also uses the last name Jackson, attempted to bring an improvised explosive device, a knife and other bladed weapons, a torch lighter and zip ties through a TSA security checkpoint on May 30, according to court documents filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of California.

Officials believe Jones, 49, repeatedly called the FBI tip line to report he was being threatened and intimidated in the months leading up to the incident.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office bomb technicians safely removed the explosive device and tested its powder and fuse, both of which were determined to be “viable and energetic,” officials say.

Investigators said the device had the potential to damage an aircraft and cause a loss of cabin pressure.

Jones’ other luggage, which had already been through security and loaded onto an American Airlines flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, was hand-searched and examined by a canine unit upon arrival, and investigators said nothing “illegal or concerning” was found.

Jones has been charged in federal court with unlawful possession of explosive material at an airport. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

His attorney, Meghan McLoughlin, told CNN in a statement: “There is often more to these cases than the government’s allegations, and that the criminal process will reveal Mr. Jones’ story as well.”

Multiple cell phones and repeated FBI tip line calls

The Sacramento resident went through security on May 30 wearing a face covering and blue latex gloves, court documents say.

When officers found the explosive device and other items in Jones’ carry-on bag, he told them he was unaware the items were in his possession and said “he would be okay with just discarding them.” When authorities informed him that explosive material could not simply be thrown away, he denied ownership of the backpack.

Jones also had five mobile phones in his possession. The cameras on each phone had been covered with painter’s tape, which authorities believe was intended to prevent his surroundings from being recorded.

One phone contained a 15-minute timer ready to start and another had a message from an unknown number on the screen stating, “we will be awaiting your call,” according to court documents.

An individual police believe to be Jones made approximately 13 calls to the FBI tip line leading up to the incident, beginning in March.

On May 24, the caller reported being followed to and from a doctor’s appointment and described what he said were threats and intimidation by another individual.

He said he was “being coerced in sleep to say certain phrases through digital media” and described “hearing sounds coming through walls, window panes, or even outside, attributing the outside sounds to drones,” court documents say. The call was ultimately terminated because of its “nonsensical nature.”

On the day of the incident, the same caller again contacted the FBI tip line, alleging that several individuals were threatening him throughout the past year through “cyber means.” He also referenced exercising his Second Amendment rights while denying any intention to harm others.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office also noted it had prior contact with Jones, “wherein he had a history of being paranoid.”

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California

California may take weeks to finalize primary results. ‘This is normal’

Published

18 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

California may take weeks to finalize primary results. ‘This is normal’

Although results from California’s primary election began rolling in on Tuesday, June 2, it could take days or even weeks before the final counts are certified.

“This is normal … We have a process that by law ensures both voting rights and the integrity of elections, so I would call on all Californians to be patient,” Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said in a June 2 news release.

The Golden State’s lengthy vote-counting process has “become a national narrative about California elections,” according to Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.

“In California, it takes a long time to certify votes, to verify the signatures, to then count the ballots; all of that process takes a while,” Kousser said in an interview last week. “It may take a while for us to learn who the top candidates who emerge are.”

Here are some factors behind California’s lengthy vote-counting process.

Mail-in ballots come with added verification step

With each mail-in ballot cast, elections officials must compare the signature on a returned vote-by-mail envelope to the voter’s signature on their voter registration card. Various factors go into determining whether the signatures match, including the slant of the signature, whether it is printed or written in cursive, and the size, proportions, or scale.

Vote-by-mail ballots were Californians’ preferred voting method in both the 2024 primary and general elections, with drop-off locations — such as ballot drop boxes and voting centers — the most popular way to return mail-in ballots.

During California’s 2024 primary, more than 7.7 million votes were cast statewide, and 90 percent of those were mail-in ballots. This means election officials had to verify the signatures on more than 6.8 million ballots before they could be counted. For the November 2024 general election, 80% of cast ballots, or about 13 million, were vote-by-mail.

Reviewing conditional voter and provisional ballots

California also allows for same-day voter registration, also known as conditional voter registration. Voters who need to register, or re-register, within 14 days of an election can do so at their county elections office, polling place, or vote center. These ballots will be processed and counted after the county elections office has completed the voter registration process.

In addition to conditional voter ballots, there are provisional ballots that must be verified before they are counted. Voters cast provisional ballots for a wide array of reasons, including if their name does not appear at a polling place or if they’ve made a mistake on their ballot. After a voter casts a provisional ballot, it will not be counted until election officials have confirmed that the voter is registered to vote in that county and has not already voted in that election.

Vote-by-mail ballots can be sent on Election Day

Though state officials recommend voters mail their ballots sooner rather than later, state law allows vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within a specified window afterward, thereby extending the tallying process.

For the primary, ballots needed to be postmarked on or before June 2 and received by county elections office no later than June 10.

California is, well, big

California is the most populous state in the nation. And, as of May 18, a record total of 23,155,447 Californians were registered to vote.

While not all registered voters are expected to have voted, county election officials estimate that more than 5 million ballots were cast statewide.

When to expect final results

Under state law, county elections officials are required to report the results for most ballots by June 15, or 13 days after the election, according to Weber. However, some ballots can take counties up to 30 days to count every ballot and then conduct a post-election audit.

State law requires county elections officials to report final official results to state officials July 3. State officials then have until July 10 to certify the results of the election.

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California

California’s race for governor and other key primaries remain unsettled as vote count continues

Published

1 day ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

California’s race for governor and other key primaries remain unsettled as vote count continues

California’s crowded, protracted gubernatorial primary is going to take a little more time to settle.

The race remained too early to call Wednesday morning with 50% of the expected vote counted, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk. Three main candidates — former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and two Democrats, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and billionaire activist Tom Steyer — are competing for two spots in the general election, with the candidate in fourth place, Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, running well behind.

Hilton had 27% support in the all-party primary with about half of votes still left to count, while Becerra had 26% and Steyer had 20%. Bianco was the only other candidate in double digits, at 11%.

In California, all candidates run on the same primary ballot in the primary and the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, move on to the general election.

It’s difficult to say when it will be clear which two candidates advance to the November general election, however, due to the state’s protracted vote counting.

And with millions of ballots left to count, other key races in California remain uncalled as well, including the second runoff spot to face Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass one on one in November, several House races that could help determine the majority next year, and more.

In the governor’s race, all three candidates rallied supporters around the state as the evening drew on.

“We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good,” Hilton told allies. “It looks very much as if Californians really will have the chance to vote for change in November and take our state in a new direction, a fresh start for our state, which is long overdue.”

But while Hilton was narrowly in first place when he spoke, Democratic candidates were capturing the majority of the votes.

Becerra looked back at his own “underdog story,” from his immigrant relatives to his bid for governor, which took some time to catch fire.

“Almost immediately, he’s counted out, an afterthought, overlooked by many, outspent by a ton, even called along the way to drop out and save us the trouble,” Becerra recounted to his supporters. “Well, guess what? The underdog stayed in the fight. Like my parents, I never gave up.”

Steyer struck a hopeful note in his election night speech despite a deficit in the vote count.

“It might take some time to figure out where this is going, we’re going to wait till every ballot is counted, we’re going to give democracy a time to work, and we know we finished really strong,” Steyer said.

Major battleground districts

GOP Rep. David Valadao’s district has been one of Democrats’ top targets for years, but two Democrats are locked in a close race for the second spot in the November general election against the incumbent.

School board member Randy Villegas, who won support from national progressives, has a slight lead over state legislator Jasmeet Bains, 30% to 26%, with less than half of the expected vote tallied in the 22nd District. Valadao is comfortably in first place.

And in Northern California’s 6th District, Rep. Kevin Kiley — who was elected as a Republican and switched to become an independent this election cycle, as he runs in another newly redrawn district — is bunched up in a tight race that includes Democrat Richard Pan, a former state legislator, and Republican Michael Stansfield. Currently, Stansfield is running ahead of Pan; they spent much of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning trading the lead, which could have significant general election implications.

Meanwhile, outside California, Democrats think they might be able to challenge for one of Montana’s red-tinted congressional districts this fall, after Rep. Ryan Zinke decided to retire. But less than 2 percentage points separate Democrats Sam Forstag and Ryan Busse with more than 85% of the expected vote tallied in their primary in Montana’s 1st District.

Read more about Tuesday’s House primaries here.

A safe seat battle to watch

Plenty of other House districts in California — and a few elsewhere — still have unsettled primaries, but one attracted particular attention due to how nasty the campaign got.

In Southern California, where two Republican incumbents are facing off in one district due to redistricting, Rep. Ken Calvert has advanced to the general election, but Rep. Young Kim is still battling for the second spot. She leads Democrat Esther Kim-Varet in the race for second, 22% to 16%, with about half of the vote in.

Who will face Bass in Los Angeles?

While Bass is projected to advance to a November runoff in Los Angeles, it’s not yet clear whether she’ll face Republican Spencer Pratt or Democrat Nithya Raman.

Bass has about 37% of the vote to 29% for Pratt and 21% for Raman so far, with approximately half of the expected vote tallied.

Speaking to supporters on election night, Raman, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, said that “tonight may not give us a final answer on this race.”

“Many thousands of votes will be counted in the days ahead, and we may not get an answer we like, but regardless of what happens next, nobody, nobody can take away what all of us have built together,” she continued.

Pratt, meanwhile, was looking ahead to a potential matchup with Bass when he spoke to reporters.

“Now I have five months to get deep into every community that hasn’t heard my message to make them safe,” said Pratt, a former reality TV star. “So I’m actually very excited, because I felt very rushed. It’s a big city, and I was not able to talk to as many people as I look forward to talking to.”

Bass also projected optimism, telling her backers, “We got a lot more to go, but so far it’s looking good.”

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