I've started a new (possibly sporadic) series at LAist called Books On Our Radar. I'm hoping this will allow me to mention the many books I've got my eye on, but that I may not necessarily read before they are out and the authors are in town. I am only one woman and simply cannot read every book (in a timely fashion) that might interest Angelenos, but that shouldn't mean that potentially great books go unnoticed, unmentioned, un-touted.
The first post in the series focuses on Fictional LA. This will no doubt be a regular category, as there's a new novel just about every month that features LA as character, not including crime fiction...which I'll need several posts to cover adequately. This month, I've focused on four books:
- Lationos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature edited by Daniel A. Olivas
- Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey
- Girl Factory by Jim Krusoe
- All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown
Yes, it can be argued that not all of these are properly about LA...but I wanted to offer up a broad range of books. This is a new-ish thing for me - focusing on what others may want to read, rather than simply what I want to read. We'll see how it goes.
If you're eagerly awaiting any novels that feature LA prominently (or less so), let me know so I can get them "on my radar."
