Indie Bookstore Discoveries – Village Well + Now Serving LA

Village Well Books and Coffee

Culver City has a terrific new bookstore, run by Jennifer Casper (profiled HERE in the LA Times). Casper started this venture during Covid and certainly struggled to stay afloat. But her instincts for community paid …

12.21.22
A PICK OF                 THE MONTH

Bookshelf 2022

Of all that I read this year, these are the ones I can recommend… a little of everything from non-fiction to poetry to investigations into the worlds of well-known authors. Someone really has to invent the word that describers the …

12.20.22
A PICK OF                 THE MONTH

2 Literary Inspired Adventures

In 2022, I devoured two terrific novels that feature Los Angeles and California prominently. Both are on Best of 2022 lists and are worth your time over the holidays. Each prompted me to take an adventure – I hope you …

12.15.22

The 57 Bus is a YA Novel about Big Issues

I have fond memories of re-reading titles such as “The Scarlet Letter” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” alongside my kids during their high-school English classes. Going back to investigate the classics is a satisfying pastime but most of all, it’s …

1.12.22

Start Your Year with Lonesome Dove

I’ve led my book club down many risky reading paths over the past twenty years. Sometimes, my choices arouse vociferous resistance and when I’ve led the group astray, I readily beg forgiveness. But more often than not, trying something out …

1.5.22

Control the Scroll: Managing Social Media and Mental Health – A Common Sense webinar

In my new role as a consultant, I organized a conversation for Common Sense titled “Control the Scroll: Managing Social Media and Mental Health” with two LA resources — influencer and athlete Victoria Garrick and Dr. Dolly Klock (of Adolessons

11.23.21

How Many Books Can You Read Before September?

I’m sharing three picks for August – the first was written 30 years old, the second is a brand new book from a beloved author, and the third is an important bit of journalism that reads like a novel. The …

8.2.21

Beach Reading – Fiction that’s Fun and Some Light Learning, Too

If you’re searching for a book or two for your beach bag, here are a few titles that are being widely discussed as page-turners for this summer.

The first is “Great Circle” by Maggie Shipstead – Ron Charles, who writes …

6.9.21

May Reading List

Ron Brownstein’s “Rock Me on the Water: 1974 – The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics” is a book that I’ve already given as a gift three times, teeing it up as a first choice …

5.19.21