Reading Around the World is a feature that combines my love of travelling with my love of reading. Each month I plan to spotlight either a city I have visited, or a city I plan to visit in the near future, and recommend some of my favourite books set there. After all even if you can’t visit these cities yourself the next best thing has to be reading about them and living the experience through the eyes of the characters.
Los Angeles was the middle stop in mine and my sister’s tour of the West Coast, after Las Vegas but before San Francisco, and there was a lot we had to pack into the few days we were there. First stop was, of course, Universal Studios. After that we spent time exploring Hollywood β travelling up into the hills to get a closer look at the Hollywood sign β and the city of LA itself, before travelling to Santa Monica which was a little out of our way but a destination we couldn’t say no to.
The Last Bookstore is one of the places I insisted me and my sister go to while we were in Los Angeles. It’s full of used books and I loved exploring it, wandering around the Labyrinth of Books and what books I could find on the shelves. Basically if you’re a book lover you need to visit The Last Bookstore.
The Mediator series by Meg Cabot defined my teenage years so when it comes to books set in Los Angeles this is the first, and in my opinion the best, choice. Suze moves to Los Angeles with her mother and her new step-family, and as well as fighting ghosts her priorities are spending time on the beach which having seen Santa Monica beach I can definitely identify with.
I haven’t got to The Dark Artifices trilogy yet, I’m waiting for all three books to be released because I’ve heard about the cliffhangers endings Clare leaves her books on, but I know these books are set in Los Angeles. Where The Mortal Instruments tells the story of the New York Institute and The Infernal Devices the London Institute, The Dark Artifices follows Emma and Julian in the Los Angeles Institute.
Another book I haven’t read but know is set in Los Angeles is Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour. I’ve heard good things about her books, and I featured another one in my Reading Around the World: San Francisco post, so one day I will get around to them.
Have you ever been to Los Angeles before; what was your favourite part of the city to see and explore? Also what are some of the amazing books you’ve read set in Los Angeles, or America, that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments.
What a brilliant idea! I absolutely adored your post , the photographs were fantastic and although LA is on my travel bucket list but now itβs the Last Bookstore that has captured my imagination. Itβs my kind of heaven.
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Thanks so much, I’m really glad you like this post I always love coming up with them. π
The Last Bookstore is incredible, it’s worth going to LA to see that alone in my opinion! π
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Your pics from LA are so cool π Especially the ones from the bookstore! Wow! Mediator is a really great pick! And that was clever to choose Dark Artifices- I wouldn’t have thought of it, but it’s perfect for this list π That’s a good call about waiting- the cliffhanger ending is intense. I definitely want to read everything leads to you as well. Great list!
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Thanks so much. Yeah the second I discovered that bookstore I knew I needed to go there! π
The Mediator was one of my favourite series growing up, I needed to feature it, and I still havenβt read The Dark Artifices but I know itβs set at the LA institute (at least partly) so it made my list. Not long until the last book comes out though, I still need to get around to the other half of the Mortal Instruments series but once I have itβs straight onto TDA! π
Thanks so much. β€οΈ
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Awesome!! π You’re welcome β€
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The Last Bookstore!!! I’ve actually been to L.A. and I’m actually happy to finally have been to one place you’ve featured in this “feature” hahaha I haven’t however been to Universal Studios, and your pictures are making me want to revisit L.A. just for that!!! Okay, maybe just for everything else too! π Thanks for sharing, Beth!
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Oh The Last Bookstore is a must for bookworms. I discovered it before I went to LA so it was too on my list to visit while I was there. I loved Universal Studios, but now my aim is to go to the one in Florida so I can go to the Harry Potter wizarding world there! π
Thatβs all right, Iβm glad you enjoyed this post Lashaan. π β€οΈ
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Lovely photos Beth! The Universal Studios in LA looks pretty much the same as the one in Florida! I really would love to go to LA, the Last Bookstore looks amazing! It’s on my Bucketlist.
Gahh you need to read Everything Leads to You it’s so cute! π I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it! π β€οΈ
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Thanks so much Meghan. Yeah I imagine Universal Studios is similar no matter which you go to, but I would love to go to the Florida one just for the HP world! π The Last Bookstore needs to be on everyoneβs bucket list, itβs incredible, and yeah that book sounds like my kind of YA contemporary; cute and fluffy. π
Thanks Meghan. π β€οΈ
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You’re welcome! Oh the California one does have the HP world? I didn’t know that. I thought it did!
I agree! One day I’ll get there…. like a million other places! π β€οΈ
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I donβt think the California one has, itβs just the Florida one which is why I need to go there next.
Yep, too many places not enough time to visit them all. π β€οΈ
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Well then! Yes you do! It’s a lot of fun! Mind you, when I went 5 years ago it was still under construction and wasn’t finished! I desperately want to go back so that I can see it completed! π
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Oh that sucks, but yeah it just means you need to go back and see if fully up and running. I reckon itβll be worth the trip! π
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Oh most definitely! π
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Amazing post Beth! π I have never been to Los Angeles and I don’t know if I’ll ever go there. Don’t get me wrong, I would like to visit America, I just don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to. But who knows what might happen in the future! π
I really want to read The Dark Artifices and I’m waiting for all the books to be released before I start the series. I have heard that the cliffhangers are really bad in that series and I do like to read Cassandra Clare books one after another. I’m most likely going to be reading that series next year. π
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Thanks so much Anna. π Oh that’s a shame, but if you ever do make it to America there are so many amazing states to visit. Los Angeles is great and while it’s not my favourite it’s up there for sure. π
The Dark Artifices is high on my TBR list too, I need to get through the rest of Cassandra Clare’s TMI books because I’ve heard incredible things about this trilogy, but yeah terrible things about the cliffhangers! π
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Lovely post, Beth! I really want to visit Los Angeles someday and your pictures make me even more eager to do so. The Last Bookstore looks incredible, too, these pile of books, ahhh, making me so dreamy haha π
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Thanks so much Marie. π Oh Los Angeles is incredible, and that’s good to hear. My aim with these posts is to inspire everyone else’s wanderlust. The Last Bookstore is amazing, a must-visit for people visiting Los Angeles and for any bookworms. π β€
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Great post, Beth! I love all of your pictures from Universal Studios, Santa Monica, and the Last Bookstore!! π I’ve been to both Universal and Santa Monica, but I really want to go to the Last Bookstore!! It looks absolutely incredible, especially for bookworms like us. π
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Thanks so much Dezzy. π Oh Universal Studios was so much fun, I want to go to the one in Florida though so I can visit the Harry Potter world there. Also the Last Bookstore is incredible, it’s a must-visit for any bookworms for sure! π
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