Gift Guide · Los Angeles
17 Los Angeles gifts from Book Soup, Mystery Pier Books, Burro, Topdrawer and Homage, each price checked on the shop's own page, from $11 up.
gifts · holiday · west hollywood
The gifts
Buy any of them online straight from the shop, or pick them up in person. Every price was checked on the shop's own page; prices and stock change, so the shop's page has the final word.
Books & paper
Book Soup · West Hollywood & Melrose
Mike Davis's history of Los Angeles in paperback, with photographs by Robert Morrow; Book Soup had four copies on its shelves when we checked.
Books & paper
Book Soup · West Hollywood & Melrose
Eve Babitz's book about Los Angeles, in paperback with an introduction by Matthew Specktor, on Book Soup's shelves now.
Books & paper
Book Soup · West Hollywood & Melrose
Michael Walker's story of the Los Angeles canyon and its rock-and-roll neighbors, in paperback, for the music fan.
Books & paper
Book Soup · West Hollywood & Melrose
Gregory Paul Williams's illustrated history of Hollywood in paperback, for the film buff.
Style
Book Soup · West Hollywood & Melrose
A black tote with the yellow Book Soup marquee that reads "Bookseller To The Great And Infamous Since 1975."
Home
Book Soup · West Hollywood & Melrose
A black mug with the white Book Soup logo from the Sunset Strip bookstore.
Home
Burro · Abbot Kinney
A 7.2-ounce Los Angeles-scented soy candle from P.F. Candle Co. that burns for 40 to 50 hours.
Home
Burro · Abbot Kinney
Fifteen sticks of P.F. Candle Co.'s Golden Coast incense, with notes of eucalyptus, sea salt, redwood and palo santo.
Kids
Burro · Abbot Kinney
A rhyming Christmas adventure picture book from Chronicle Books, a stocking pick for the kids.
Books & paper
Topdrawer · Abbot Kinney
An A5 notebook made with Midori's MD Paper, in blank or ruled.
Art
Homage · Old Pasadena
A framed 8.5-by-11-inch print, titled and signed by Cocoshalom, on paper made from 100% recycled content.
Books & paper
Topdrawer · Abbot Kinney
A vegetable-tanned leather sleeve sized for a Kolo Tino pen, in green, black or dark brown leather.
Home
Topdrawer · Abbot Kinney
A black cloth photo album that holds up to 300 4-by-6 prints.
Style
Topdrawer · Abbot Kinney
A padded case for laptops up to 14 inches, in olive plaid, black wax or navy wax.
Style
Homage · Old Pasadena
A recycled leather Baggu pochette with built-in card slots and an adjustable strap.
Books & paper
Mystery Pier Books · West Hollywood & Melrose
A 1983 Mysterious Press first edition, first printing hardback of James Ellroy's second Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins novel, in stock at the rare-book shop behind Book Soup.
Books & paper
Topdrawer · Abbot Kinney
Two Kolo Tino pens, inks and a Paper Republic Grand Voyageur XL journal in one set.
Every gift above comes from a shop in this guide, and each price was checked on the shop's own website on October 30, 2026. Prices and stock change through the season, so the shop's page always has the final word.
The picks are grouped by budget, under $50, $50 to $150, and a few splurges, and you can filter them by who you're shopping for. The Los Angeles stories are strongest on the Sunset Strip, where two bookshops sit side by side, and in Venice, where Burro sells an LA-scented candle. Topdrawer and Homage round things out with stationery, bags and prints.
Book Soup (8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA) is the independent bookstore on the Sunset Strip. For an LA reader there's Mike Davis's City of Quartz, Eve Babitz's Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, The Flesh, and L.A., Michael Walker's Laurel Canyon and Gregory Paul Williams's The Story of Hollywood, all on the shelves when we checked. The shop also sells its own tote and mug.
Next door, Mystery Pier Books (8826 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA) deals in collectible first editions. Our splurge is a 1983 first printing of James Ellroy's Because the Night.
Burro (1409 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA) is a gift shop for homewares, stationery and small presents. Pick up P.F. Candle Co.'s Los Angeles soy candle, Golden Coast incense and a holiday picture book for the kids.
A block up, Topdrawer (1504 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA) sells pens, notebooks, pouches and bags for people who like good stationery, from an $18 Midori notebook to a $395 writer's set. It also has a store at 17 N Fair Oaks Ave in Old Pasadena.
Homage (100 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA) is an independent gift and jewelry shop. It carries a deep run of Baggu, including a recycled leather pochette, plus framed, signed Cocoshalom prints.
For more ideas, see our West Hollywood, Abbot Kinney and Old Pasadena pages.
Good to know
LA books from Book Soup on the Sunset Strip, like City of Quartz ($21.95), Slow Days, Fast Company ($17.95) and Laurel Canyon ($20), or P.F. Candle Co.'s Los Angeles soy candle ($25) from Burro on Abbot Kinney, at the prices checked on October 30, 2026.
Book Soup at 8818 Sunset Blvd sells new books and its own merch, and Mystery Pier Books next door at 8826 Sunset Blvd sells collectible first editions.
Golden Coast incense from Burro ($11), a Midori MD notebook from Topdrawer ($18), a Book Soup mug ($18.99) or Eve Babitz's Slow Days, Fast Company from Book Soup ($17.95), at the prices checked on October 30, 2026.
A 1983 first edition, first printing of James Ellroy's Because the Night from Mystery Pier Books ($800), or Topdrawer's Writer's Set ($395), at the prices checked on October 30, 2026.
The places
Tap a place or a dot to see it.
An independent bookstore on the Sunset Strip with over 60,000 titles, strong in art, film, music and LA history, plus magazines and comics.
A small rare-book dealer tucked behind Book Soup, specializing in collectible first editions and signed copies.
Gift shop stocking homewares, stationery, clothing and small presents. A reliable stop on the boulevard for a host gift, card or birthday present.
Independent gift and jewelry shop focused on artisan studio wares and handmade goods, with gift wrapping offered at the counter.
Shop of well-made everyday work tools such as pens, notebooks, pouches, bags and desk accessories. Good for practical, design-minded gifts for people who like good stationery.
Nothing in that category here.
Keep reading
Oct 31, 6–11pm on Santa Monica Blvd: WeHo Carnaval bag rules, closures and the free shuttle, plus costume shops on Hollywood Blvd and dinner on Melrose.
Read guide →Hollywood Forever on Oct 24, Grand Park's 17 altars, nine nights on Olvera Street and the Muertos Market in Boyle Heights: LA's 2026 Día de los Muertos.
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Read guide →Stay in the loop
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