Literary Los Angeles
There’s a feeling I get when I look to the West… Although Robert Plant had hedgerows, May Queens, and stairways in mind when he sang that lyric, the history of Led Zeppelin does in fact contain a healthy dose of Los Angeles. So it’s fitting that Bret Easton Ellis chose that line as the epigraph for…
continue readingCracking Open a Hard Case
So I know this probably marks me as the un-hippest cat around. But, prior to last evening, I hadn’t read any of the Hard Case Crime books. As their website states, “Hard Case Crime brings you the best in hardboiled crime fiction, ranging from lost noir masterpieces to new novels by today’s most powerful…
continue readingAtwood to Appear in DC
Booker Award-winning Margaret Atwood discusses her new collection of stories, Moral Disorder, at the downtown Washington, DC location of Borders (18th and L Streets, Northwest DC) tonight at 7pm. Call 202-466-4999 for more information.
continue readingThe Heartless Stone
Over at Beatrice today, I posted a brief note about Tom Zoellner’s The Heartless Stone: A Journey Throught the World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire. This fascinating book will have you looking at those shiny trinkets in an entirely different way.
continue readingLearn the Lingo
Speaking of such illicit matters, do you know what a gaffus is? How about a schmecker? Soon-to-be author Mr. Escobar probably knows. And you would too, if you read Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures. This cool little book has more than 3,500 slang terms in the vernacular of everything from punk…
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