[contextly_auto_sidebar] YOUR humble blogger has been a fan of Lloyd Cole since songs like Lost Weekend and Why I Love Country Music showed up on "alternative" radio in the mid-'80s. I've seen him perform and interviewed him numerous times since then, and have been struck by what a fine storyteller as well as what an intellectually curious and overall literary (whatever that means) cat he … [Read more...]
Cory Doctorow’s Post-Apocalyptic Utopia
[contextly_auto_sidebar] THE other day I hung out with Burbank resident and globe-trotter Cory Doctorow, who is a cult figure with a very large cult. We talked mostly about his new novel, Walkaway, which is intellectually fascinating and really moves. Will try to fill in this post a bit for now, but here is my LA Times profile. I will point out that obvious that I find him a bit … [Read more...]
Colm Toibin/ CultureCrash in Santa Monica
[contextly_auto_sidebar] FOLKS, I'll be interviewing the great Irish novelist -- known for The Master and Brooklyn -- onstage at Live TalksLA on Monday night. Be there or be square. Fancy tickets will get you a copy of his new Greek tragedy-inspired House of Names and an admission to the pre-show reception. Come over and say hi. Here's the announcement. UPDATE: Here's a video of our … [Read more...]
“Best Books of the Last 20 Years,” and the Canon
[contextly_auto_sidebar] It sounds like a great idea, or at least a revealing one: Assemble a list of the most important books of the last two decades, in any genre, from poetry to the novel. Find accomplished writers in a variety or genres — Rebecca Solnit, Jonathan Lethem, Roxane Gay, Ann Padgett, Patti Smith, and so on — and ask them for their favorites since 1997. “The end of December is a … [Read more...]
Lit Crawl L.A./ North Hollywood
[contextly_auto_sidebar] THE other night I ventured out to Los Angeles's North Hollywood neighborhood for the latest installment of Lit Crawl L.A. This annual night out has been going since 2013, but for various reasons I've missed it every time, even though NoHo is one of my favorite L.A. 'hoods. The idea of Lit Crawl is to arrange readings, conversations, rants, and various kinds of … [Read more...]