— L.A.'S Oldest Independent Bookstore, Est. 1940 —
July 29 at 7PM pt | Tommy Swerdlow discusses STRAIGHT DOPE with David Ritz. Tune in on Zoom here.
Online! Thursday, July 29 at 7PM pt
STRAIGHT DOPE
by TOMMY SWERDLOW
in conversation with DAVID RITZ
Sharp, fast-paced, and deftly observant, STRAIGHT DOPE is 21st century noir straddling two L.A. worlds: The panic and desperation of addiction, and the even more desperate ambitions of Hollywood!
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PICK OF THE WEEK
by Dr. Arik Kershenbaum
Now that the government admits that there are aliens, there are more questions to ponder about life on other planets. This book does just that by using what we already know about biology on our planet!
- MYKAYLA
ONLINE events
Missed an event? Never fear—the internet never forgets. Find recordings of our past events on Youtube account. Click here.
Everything Now by Rosecrans Baldwin
in conversation with Jeff Weiss
virtual event
Monday, July 19
at 7:00PM pt
America is obsessed with Los Angeles. And America has been thinking about Los Angeles all wrong, for decades, on repeat. Los Angeles is not just the place where the American dream hits the Pacific. (It has its own dreams.) Not just the vanishing point of America's western drive. (It has its own compass.) Functionally, aesthetically, mythologically, even technologically, an independent territory, defined less by distinct borders than by an aura of autonomy and a sense of unfurling destiny--this is the city-state of Los Angeles.
Give My Love to the Savages by Chris Stuck
in conversation with Dana Johnson
virtual event
Wednesday, July 21
at 7:00PM pt
The nine tales in Give My Love to the Savages illuminate the multifaceted Black experience, exploring the thorny intersections of race, identity, and Black life through an extraordinary cast of characters. From the absurd to the starkly realistic, these stories take aim at the ironies and contradictions of the American racial experience. Chris Stuck traverses the dividing lines, and attempts to create meaning from them in unique and unusual ways.
The Magic Years by Jonathan Taplin
in conversation with Darryl Holter
in-store event
Wednesday, July 28
at 7:00PM pt
Jonathan Taplin’s extraordinary journey has put him at the crest of every major cultural wave in the past half century: he was tour manager for Bob Dylan and the Band in the ’60s, producer of major films in the ’70s, an executive at Merrill Lynch in the ’80s, creator of the Internet’s first video-on-demand service in the ’90s, and a cultural critic and author writing about technology in the new millennium. His is a lifetime marked not only by good timing but by impeccable instincts—from the folk scene to Woodstock, Hollywood’s rebellious film movement, and beyond. Taplin is not just a witness but a lifelong producer, the right-hand man to some of the greatest talents of both pop culture and the underground.
Straight Dope by Tommy Swerdlow
in conversation with David Ritz
virtual event
Thursday, July 29
at 7:00PM pt
Sharp, fast-paced, and deftly observant, STRAIGHT DOPE is 21st century noir straddling two L.A. worlds: The panic and desperation of addiction, and the even more desperate ambitions of Hollywood!
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
in conversation with Julia Claiborne Johnson
virtual event
Thursday, August 5
at 7:00PM pt
Little River, New York, 1994: April Sawicki is living in a motorless motorhome that her father won in a poker game. Failing out of school, picking up shifts at Margo's diner, she's left fending for herself in a town where she's never quite felt at home. When she "borrows" her neighbor's car to perform at an open mic night, she realizes her life could be much bigger than where she came from. After a fight with her dad, April packs her stuff and leaves for good, setting off on a journey to find a life that's all hers.
Republic of Detours by Scott Borchert
in conversation with David Kipen
virtual event
Wednesday, Aug. 11
at 7:00PM pt
The plan was as idealistic as it was audacious--and utterly unprecedented. Take thousands of hard-up writers and put them to work charting a country on the brink of social and economic collapse, with the aim of producing a series of guidebooks to the then forty-eight states--along with hundreds of other publications dedicated to cities, regions, and towns--while also gathering reams of folklore, narratives of formerly enslaved people, and even recipes, all of varying quality, each revealing distinct sensibilities.
Bugsy Siegel by Michael Shnayerson
in conversation with WR Wilkerson III
virtual event
Thursday, August 12
at 7:00PM pt
In this captivating portrait, author Michael Shnayerson sets out not to absolve Bugsy Siegel but rather to understand him in all his complexity. Through the 1920s, 1930s, and most of the 1940s, Bugsy Siegel and his longtime partner in crime Meyer Lansky engaged in innumerable acts of violence. As World War II came to an end, Siegel saw the potential for a huge, elegant casino resort in the sands of Las Vegas. Jewish gangsters built nearly all of the Vegas casinos that followed. Then, one by one, they disappeared.