David L. Ulin
David L Ulin is a contributing editor to Alta Journal.
Sex and the City
In Lovers XXX, Allie Rowbottom imagines a porn industry pas de deux.
The Three-Hander
In No Way Home, T.C. Boyle invigorates a classic form.
‘The Long Goodbye’ Is Worth a Rewatch
Robert Altman’s offbeat noir returns to the big screen this weekend for the American Cinematheque’s Noir City festival.
The Common Reader
In his forthcoming volume, A Third Commonness, the California Book Club’s April author, Robert Hass, connects the dots between writing and reading.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Mecca’
Susan Straight’s novel is the California Book Club’s June 2026 pick.
Why You Should Read This: ‘The Flowers’
Dagoberto Gilb’s novel is the California Book Club’s May 2026 pick.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Praise’
Robert Hass’s novel is the California Book Club’s April 2026 pick.
Dream of Life
In The Glorians, Terry Tempest Williams speaks truth among the ruins.
Lives of the Poet
Swirl & Vortex brings Larry Levis back to prominence.
James Sallis and the Art of Crime Fiction
A close reading of James Sallis’s novels and the existential vision that reshaped American crime fiction.
Love Me Like a Rock
Gabriel Tallent’s second novel, Crux, looks for the line.
Why You Should Read This: ‘White Oleander’
Janet Fitch’s novel is the California Book Club’s March 2026 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Grand Avenue’
Greg Sarris’s novel in stories is the California Book Club’s February 2026 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Tosh’
Tosh Berman’s memoir is the California Book Club’s January 2026 selection.
Memory Book
In This Year, John Darnielle (de)mystifies the song.
Time and Tide
In The Pelican Child, Joy Williams offers 12 takes on the weirdness of the world.
The Penny Saved My Life
As the coin fades out, David L. Ulin reflects on its invaluable magic.
Writer’s Room: Form and Function
In At Last, Marisa Silver portrays a family from the inside out.
Conspiracy Theory
In Shadow Ticket, Thomas Pynchon comes full circle—and then some.
Life Writing
In A Different Kind of Tension: New and Selected Stories, Jonathan Lethem takes us back and forth in time.
Why You Should Read This: ‘On Gold Mountain’
David L. Ulin revisits Lisa See’s family history On Gold Mountain, a vivid narrative of immigration, resilience, and identity that speaks to our present moment.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Startlement’
David L. Ulin explores how Ada Limón’s Startlement gathers new and selected poems that balance despair with joy, identity with nature, and grief with wonder.
Why You Should Read This: ‘California Rewritten’
David L. Ulin reflects on John Freeman’s California Rewritten, a collection of essays that not only revisits California Book Club favorites but also reimagines the Golden State’s future through its writers.
Time After Time
In The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), Rabih Alameddine spins a tale within a tale within a tale.
Rocket Man
Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles turns 75 this year. How does it hold up?
Oblique Strategies
In Which Walks, Laura Moriarty navigates the fallen world.
A Book of One’s Own
Critic and author David L. Ulin recounts crafting a work of private literature for an exhibit.
Why You Should Read This: ‘The Backyard Bird Chronicles’
David L. Ulin explores how Amy Tan’s illustrated journal reveals the healing power of nature, curiosity, and close observation of the world around us.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Shortcomings’
David L. Ulin explores how Adrian Tomine’s Shortcomings uses race, identity, and flawed characters to reflect the complexity of being human.
5 Literary Gems That Put You in the Driver’s Seat
David L. Ulin highlights five classic books that chart California’s restless spirit through stories of travel, identity, and transformation.
Why You Should Read This: ‘California Against the Sea’
David L. Ulin urges readers to engage with Rosanna Xia’s urgent, empathetic look at California’s climate crisis and rising sea levels.
Down These Mean Streets
Owen Hill’s The Giveaway collects the complete Clay Blackburn tetralogy…at last.
Redemption Song
In Sister, Sinner, Claire Hoffman brings Aimee Semple McPherson back to life.
Writer’s Room: Emma Pattee
The author of Tilt discusses writing, parenting, and what it means to go for broke.
Play It As It Lays
In the posthumous Notes to John, Joan Didion sets the record straight.
The Memory Palace
Stacy Nathaniel Jackson’s debut novel, The Ephemera Collector, is an ambitious work of Afrofuturism.
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep shaped California noir, blending sharp voice, hard-earned knowledge, and the moral ambiguity of Philip Marlowe.
Inside Didion and Dunne’s Private Archive
The New York Public Library will soon open the couple’s papers to the public. David L. Ulin got an early look.
Ask the Dust
Discover how John Fante’s Ask the Dust captures 1930s Los Angeles—its grit, beauty, and complexity—through the eyes of aspiring writer Arturo Bandini.
Golden Days
Carolyn See’s Golden Days uses conversational storytelling to explore women’s resilience amid nuclear catastrophe.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Gold Fame Citrus’
Claire Vaye Watkins’s Gold Fame Citrus is the California Book Club’s May 2025 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘The Last Fire Season’
Manjula Martin’s The Last Fire Season is the California Book Club’s June 2025 selection.
The Dharma Bums
Explore Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, a lyrical, California-set Beat classic inspired by Gary Snyder and Zen Buddhism.
City of Night
John Rechy’s City of Night explores queer life, loneliness, and repression across America’s dark cities, from Times Square to Los Angeles.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Mumbo Jumbo’
Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo is the California Book Club’s April 2025 pick.
City of God
In Aben Kandel’s reissued novel Rabbi Burns, faith is just another trapping.
The Art of Sitting Still
In Aflame: Learning from Silence, Pico Iyer lets the moment make the most of him.
The Old, Weird America
Henry Miller’s The Air-Conditioned Nightmare reminds us of our dystopian roots.
Poetry: ‘Peculiar Hotel’
David L. Ulin finds unexpected joy in caring for his aging parents.
A Conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer is the California Book Club’s January 2025 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘The Consequences’
Manuel Muñoz’s The Consequences is the California Book Club’s February 2025 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Headshot’
Rita Bullwinkel’s first novel, Headshot, is the California Book Club’s March selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘The Sympathizer’
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel is the California Book Club’s January 2025 selection.
Harlan Ellison’s Unfinished Business
In 1973, the legendary science fiction author announced The Last Dangerous Visions. Fifty-one years later, it has finally appeared.
Whales and Other Big-Brained Mammals
With Big Breath In, John Straley turns the detective novel inside out.
The Elemental State
Gary Griggs’s California Catastrophes is a daybook of disaster.
The Neverending Story
In Mojave Ghost, Forrest Gander rewrites the world.
My Canine Teacher
In life, Milo was a friend; in death, he was a guide.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Goodbye, Vitamin’
Rachel Khong’s novel is the California Book Club’s December 2024 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘Violent Spring’
Gary Phillips’s crime novel is the California Book Club’s November 2024 selection.
Q&A: A Conversation with Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life is the California Book Club’s October 2024 selection.
Why You Should Read This: ‘This Boy’s Life’
Tobias Wolff’s memoir is the California Book Club’s October 2024 selection.
Moving Pictures
In The Devil Raises His Own, Scott Phillips reimagines early Hollywood.
The Devil’s Helpmate
Joy Williams’s Concerning the Future of Souls is a cosmic breviary.