It’s officially fall, so we asked a local author for SoCal-based book recs

It’s the first day of fall, which means pumpkin is back on the menu, spooky movie season is in full effect and bookworms everywhere are getting under their blankets and scouting for their next — perhaps local — read. So we turned to local Margo’s Got Money Troubles author Rufi Thorpe to get her recommendations for books that take place in Southern California.

Joan Didion’s 'Play It as It Lays' (1970)

Joan Didion’s novel takes place in 1960s Los Angeles and follows an unemployed Hollywood actress in her 30s as she battles through a failing marriage, an abortion and institutionalization.

The book is featured on Time’s top 100 English-language novels list from 1923-2005 and was a seminal book in Thorpe’s career.

“When I think about Southern California writers, I think about Joan Didion,” Thorpe said. “Play It as It Lays was put into my hands as an impressionable 17-year-old, and it is part of what made me a writer.”

Ryka Aoki’s 'Light from Uncommon Stars' (2021)

Ryka Aoki’s science fiction novel is about an acclaimed violin teacher, who has to deliver seven souls to the devil to escape her own fate. Meanwhile a trans, teenage violinist escapes her abusive home and travels to Los Angeles. The music teacher catches wind of the violinist and targets the teenager as her next victim. The novel also features some iconic L.A. spots.

“There's a donut shop reference that has the big donut, like Randy's Donuts,” Thorpe said. “And there's an alien that runs this donut store. And it's so rad and so fun and so Southern California."

Kashana Cauley’s “The Payback” (2025)

Thorpe shouted out a new book, Kashana Cauley’s second novel, which explores what life would be like if student loan police existed and beat up people who were late to their payments.

The story follows a retail salesperson — working at the Glendale Galleria — and her heist plan to erase student debt.

Walter Mosley’s ‘Easy Rawlins’ Mysteries (1990 - current)

Thorpe also shouted out Walter Mosley as “an important element of L.A. fiction.”

Mosley’s mystery series began with the 1990 novel Devil in a Blue Dress. The series is set mostly between the 1940s and 1960s and follows the adventures of a Black private investigator living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Watch the full interview with “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” author Rufi Thorpe: