Los Angeles Review of Books

This summer, we’re giving ourselves over—LARB Quarterly, no. 45: Submission is coming soon. With essays, fiction, and poetry from @talrosenberg, @koreanish, @emmelclein, and more, “Submission” parses the difference between giving in and giving up. lareviewofbooks.org/membership/

"Pinpointing the cause of trauma may be a necessary step toward moving past it, but discovery doesn’t guarantee resolution." Cory Oldweiler reviews Norwegian author Linn Ullmann’s novel “Girl, 1983.” lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-sh…

Join us for a 6-week workshop on "How to Not Write Film Criticism," led by film critic @hamrahrama. Starting Oct 5, students will discuss and write about new films that aim to reconnect the moviegoing experience to writing film criticism. Learn more at lareviewofbooks.org/event/how-not-…

"Michael is a fantasist grounded in the real, possessed of a clean line and crisp spatial ability, so he can begin with a truth, and soar into unexpected space." An excerpt of @pictureboxbooks's introduction to Michael McMillan's "Terminal Exposure." lareviewofbooks.org/article/intuit…

.@lisaskwon and @samkbloch talk his new book "Shade," Los Angeles’s rollbacks on solutions to extreme heat, challenging demonizing narratives about shade, and shade advocacy that isn’t rooted in volunteerism. lareviewofbooks.org/article/its-on…

I reviewed John Gregory Dunne’s funny memoir of a sad summer in Vegas @LAReviewofBooks @McNallyEditions lareviewofbooks.org/article/absolu…

"The city of this book is neither glamorous nor sexy; on the contrary, it’s a lonely place, isolated and isolating." @mca11imanopulos reviews the new edition of John Gregory Dunne’s classic “Vegas: A Memoir of a Dark Season.” lareviewofbooks.org/article/absolu…

"And let’s face it, people who die young have a certain fascination. It just seemed the time for me to take them on.” Michele Willens talks with film critic @KennethTuran about Hollywood Golden Age moguls Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer. lareviewofbooks.org/article/golden…

My debut for @LAReviewofBooks is a conversation w/Nate Jackson & Daniel Kohn on “Tearing Down the Orange Curtain: How Punk Rock Brought Orange County to the World” a rollicking look into the (up until now) untold history of SoCal’s punk scene. lareviewofbooks.org/article/they-c…

"Algospeak may serve as a form of brain-stimulating play, but as attention spans and literacy rates plummet, it’s hard to see the benefits," writes @helenarambles in her review of Adam Aleksic’s “Algospeak.” lareviewofbooks.org/article/viral-…

Domination, ownership, control: what happens when we willingly give in? This summer, we’re parsing the nuances in submitting yourself–when it’s giving up, or when it’s being free. Submission is here: get your issue now. lareviewofbooks.org/membership/

lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-hi… via @lareviewofbooks

"Is 'abundance' really the answer to what ails America?" @EnergyHistorian questions the validity of being able to "build" ourselves out of our national problems with technology in his review of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s "Abundance." lareviewofbooks.org/article/abunda…

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wrote about Eddingon, a post-woke stab at Do the Right Thing for the Covid era that ends up becoming a vacant thinkpiece-as-film without a thesis for @LAReviewofBooks lareviewofbooks.org/article/i-am-l…

reviewed adam aleksic’s new book about algorithms and internet slang for the @LAReviewofBooks. + why linguists should think about literature.

Check out amazing review of @wustl prof Patty Heyda’s book Radical Atlas Ferguson USA by Devin O’Shea! lareviewofbooks.org/article/kill-i… via @lareviewofbooks

My review of Abundance for @LAReviewofBooks. Short version: technocratic tweaks could be helpful, but to assume they can inspire a widespread political movement is mistaken. lareviewofbooks.org/article/abunda…

De-lighted to speak with noted palm tree hater @lisaskwon about shade for @LAReviewofBooks lareviewofbooks.org/article/its-on…

the great darkening has arrived. read my convo with @samkbloch about his new book Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource for @LAReviewofBooks and let us all get shade-pilled lareviewofbooks.org/article/its-on…

"At a certain point, there are going to be very serious quality-of-life impacts akin to the way that wildfire smoke already has a quality-of-life impact in LA." @lisaskwon talks with @samkbloch about his new book, "Shade." lareviewofbooks.org/article/its-on…