ReadMeL.A. Format: Hardback

A colorful, lively, and informed celebration of all things bookish in L.A. past and present, including interviews with current L.A. writers; day trips in search of favorite fictional characters, from Marlowe to Weetzie Bat; author quotes galore; curated lists of the must-read L.A. books; a look at where writers have lived and worked in the City of Angels; and insight into the city's book festivals, bookstores, publishers, literacy nonprofits, libraries, and more. Rich with photographs, book images, and vintage maps.

Katie Orphan was the long-time manager of The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles, where she worked for a decade. The co-author of The Last Bookstore's guide to downtown L.A. and the author of the recurring feature "Drinking with the Ghost" for the Los Angeles Review of Books, she's been a longtime literary explorer. She earned a BA in English literature from Whitworth University and an MA in literature and history from the University of Sheffield, where she studied with experts in literary tourism. Now the manager at Libreria Bookshop in Hollywood, Orphan lives in Los Angeles.