What’s on your reading list? Indulge in a good read from an author that lives right here in LA.

To Shake Thy Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins

My favorite thought-provoking travel writer and Instagram personality Jedidiah Jenkins bikes 14,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia and documents his journey in this book. But more than a travel book (although I was inspired to visit many little towns he ends up in Mexico), Jedidiah takes us through the painstaking lessons of self-growth while traveling – coming to terms with his own sexuality entwined with religion and family beliefs.

Jenkins chronicled the trip on Instagram, where his photos and profound reflections on life attracted hundreds of thousands of followers and got him featured by National Geographic and The Paris Review. Read about his adventures as he recounts his freeing life away from corporate America with no rigid schedules. The wanderer in all of us will appreciate his candor and quest to live a life without regret. His words make me feel like he is the Steinbeck of our time.

This Is (Not) L.A. by Jen Bilik 

The Forward by Jonathan Gold may make you shed a tear, but this fabulous read is perfect for someone moving to LA or who has lived in LA for a while and loves it. Learn tidbits about Los Angeles through a beautifully photographed coffee table book chock-full of fascinating facts, quotes, and the story of LA. The book attempts to squash the LA cliches and crush the haters of our city. If you don’t live here, you will wish you did.

Hype by Dr. Nina Shapiro

Don’t believe the HYPE! Dr. mom Nina Shapiro has more than 20 years of experience in both clinical and academic medicine at Harvard and UCLA. You may have seen her on CBS’s The Doctors. In the book Hype, she divulges what is real and what’s not real in the medical world since Dr. Google may not lead you down the path of good advice. Learn about medical myths and exaggerated claims from a real medical doctor. Chapters on how to filter out the noise on juicing, gluten-free, detoxing, superfoods and GMO’s are especially enlightening for the LA world. Chapter 12 shares How to Age Gracefully without Really Trying. Hot topics are addressed like, “Do vaccines introduce toxins into the body?” This extremely useful and easy to digest book may surprise you with the facts. It is a must for every home.

How to Keep your Marriage from Sucking by Greg Behrendt and Amiira Ruotola

New York Times best-selling authors you may know from their other popular reads, He’s Just Not That Into You (made into a movie), It’s Called a Breakup Because It’s Broken, and It’s Just a F***ing Date, are still the sexy cool couple, but now have been married for over 20 years and raised two daughters. This easy-to-read book is comical but informative as they present a lot of truths (along with perspectives from both sides) to navigate engagements, wedding planning, families, a first fight, heartache, disappointment, and early years of marriage. After 20+ years of marriage, watching Games of Thrones may seem like a better idea than sex = real life truth. I highly recommend this book for men. Some key tips include how to fight fair and how not to mess up an engagement (guy pointers) because it can basically dictate the rest of your relationship. Read this for #relationshipgoals