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Fiction

author ross macdonald, book jackets

Light in the Lew Archer Novels

shadow ticket, thomas pynchon

Conspiracy Theory

angela flournoy seated on a park bench wearing a mustard shawl, holding a small notebook and pen, surrounded by trees and dappled light.

Writer’s Room: Friendship As a Prism

a different kind of tension by jonathan lethem, book review

Life Writing

illustration of flapper style woman with dark bob haircut, red lips, and diamond jewelry—depicting lorelei lee, protagonist of gentlemen prefer blondes.

‘A Diamond and Safire Bracelet Lasts Forever’

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cover of rabih alameddine’s novel "the true true story of raja the gullible," featuring a turquoise background with red thread loops. portrait of rabih alameddine wearing a black cap and glasses, standing against a gray wall.

Time After Time

the martian chronicles by rad bradbury, book review

Rocket Man

cover of peter orner’s novel the gossip columnist’s daughter, featuring a matchbook and typewriter on a green background. author peter orner photographed outdoors with ocean in background.

Unsolved Homicide

moderation by elaine castillo, book review

What Reality Is This?

nolan knight, the gorgon of los feliz, book review

Grifter’s Paradise

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which walks by laura moriarty, book review

Oblique Strategies

cover of typewriter beach by meg waite clayton, showing a woman in a black dress framed by a grand arched window overlooking the california coast.

American Fantasy

a bomb placed close to the heart by nishant batsha, book review

Inventing History

michelle huneven, bug hollow

The Adult in the Room

crown, evanthia bromiley

Writer’s Room: Evanthia Bromiley

illustration of edward abbey

The Origin of ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang’

the giveaway by owen hill, clay backburn novels

Down These Mean Streets

awake in the floating city, susanna kwan, book review

Yesterday’s Weather

sky daddy by kate folk, book review

Don’t Ask Why

our beautiful boys, sameer pandya

Young Man Down

stacy nathaniel jackson, the ephemera collection

The Memory Palace

25 books that define california, chowder, musso and frank

Writers’ Haunts

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methodology icon

The Methodology

ask a bookseller

Ask a Bookseller

25 books that define california, chowder, natalia molina

What Makes a California Novel?

the big sleep by raymond chandler

The Big Sleep

the mars room by rachel kushner

The Mars Room

25 books that define california, chowder

Overlooked Evocations

under the feet of jesus by helena maria viramontes

Under the Feet of Jesus

the sellout by paul beatty

The Sellout

interior chinatown by charles yu

Interior Chinatown

less than zero by bret easton ellis

Less Than Zero

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the maltese falcon novel by dashiell hammett

The Maltese Falcon

if he hollers let him go by chester himes

If He Hollers Let Him Go

the tortilla curtain by tc boyle

The Tortilla Curtain

the barbarian nurseries by hector tobar

The Barbarian Nurseries

parable of the sower by octavia e butler

The Parable of the Sower

alta journal issue 31, 25 books that define california, illustration

25 Books That Define California

the sympathizer by viet thanh nguyen

The Sympathizer

25 books that define california, chowder, james dean

From Page to Screen

25 books that define california

A Novel Challenge

fat city, leonard gardner

Fat City

devil in a blue dress, walter mosley

Devil in a Blue Dress

ask the dust, john fante

Ask the Dust

city of nigh, john rechy

City of Night

the joy luck club, amy tan

25 Books that Define California: The Joy Luck Club

there there, tommy orange

There There

angle of repose, wallace stegner

Angle of Repose

book titled play it as it lays by joan didion displayed in an opened position

Play It As It Lays

east of eden, john steinbeck

East of Eden

25 books that define california, chowder, tod golberg

What Makes a California Writer?

the day of the locust, nathanael west

The Day of the Locust

mecca, susan straight

Mecca

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the dharma bums, jack kerouac

The Dharma Bums

golden days, carolyn see

Golden Days

there there, tommy orange

There There

the buffalo hunter hunter, stephen graham jones

19th-Century Nightmare

review of the dream hotel by laila lalami, fiction, novelist

Encroaching on Dreams

saint the terrifying by joshua mohr, novel, book review

Punk-Rock Art in the ‘Death Rattle of Capitalism’

aben kandel, rabbi burns, book review

City of God

little mysteries by sara gran, book review

The Fine Line Between Before and After

book review of vantage point a novel by sara sligar

Uncanny Island

cover of the novel dream city by douglas unger

What Happens in Vegas

anita felicelli, how we know our time travelers, short stories, fiction, book review

Past, Present, and Future

george r stewart, fire, novel, book review

Past Is Prologue