Youngmi Mayer wants you to laugh while crying over her memoir
Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.Hello, fellow readers. I’m culture critic and fervent bookworm Chris Vognar. This week we speak with comedian and…
Kremlin says reports that Trump spoke to Putin are ‘pure fiction’ | Russia-Ukraine war News
The Kremlin has denied reports that claimed the US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the American leader reportedly urged Putin…
How Taylor Swift reinvented pop music
Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.Hello, fellow readers. I’m culture critic and fervent bookworm Chris Vognar. This week we speak with Rolling Stone…
I hope reality is catching up to my fiction about a female president
When I was 19 years old, in the early 1980s, I started writing a novel about the daughter of the first female United States president.…
Hanif Abdurraqib’s new book shows basketball can be poetry
Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.Hello, fellow readers. I’m culture critic, fervent bookworm and hoops head Chris Vognar.This week we speak with poet…
‘Woman of the Hour’: Fact vs. fiction in ‘Dating Game’ killer tale
It’s one of the strangest moments in television history: A notorious serial killer went on ABC’s “The Dating Game” and won a date with Cheryl…
Inside the first ‘SNL’: Fact vs. fiction in ‘Saturday Night’
“Saturday Night” is a fly-on-the-wall dramatization of the tense, chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live.” Directed by Jason…
How a new book honors Emmett Till
Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.Hello, fellow readers. I’m culture critic and fervent bookworm Chris Vognar.This week I spoke with Wright Thompson, a…
Trump spoke to Putin since leaving office, Bob Woodward says in book
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has had as many as seven private phone calls with Vladimir Putin since leaving office and secretly sent the Russian president COVID-19…
How L.A. drives Rachel Kushner, author of ‘Creation Lake’
Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.Hello, fellow readers. I’m culture critic and fervent bookworm Chris Vognar.This week we speak with novelist and Los…
Pedro Almodóvar’s first book blends reality and fiction
Fall Preview Books The Last Dream By Pedro Almodóvar, translated by Frank WynneHarperVia: 240 pages, $26If you buy books linked on our site, The Times…
Why Comic-Con hasn’t outgrown its comic book origins
Good morning and welcome back to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter!I’m novelist and punk historian Jim Ruland, and some of my earliest obsessions with…
Attica Locke left Hollywood for fiction writing. Now she’s bringing her book to the screen
A great crime novel doesn’t just tell a story of wrongdoers being forced to answer for their misdeeds. It doesn’t stop at the whodunit aspect…
A Clayton Kershaw biography and more baseball book recommendations
Good morning and welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter. I’m novelist and punk historian Jim Ruland, and this week we’re celebrating America’s pastime.…
Meet the writer translating Alejandro Zambra, José Donoso and more
Good morning and welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter. I’m Jim Ruland, a novelist and punk historian, and although I’m currently on vacation…
Tananarive Due talks ‘The Reformatory’ and Gracetown’s importance
Welcome back to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter. I’m Jim Ruland, a novelist and punk historian, and in today’s newsletter I’m going to take…
Blurry lines between fact and fiction, such as in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, often leads to lawsuits
"Based on a true story …"Five little words.When they appear on a television screen, viewers know they're in for a treat. Limited series and movies based…
StokerCon guest of honor Paul Tremblay discusses the appeal of horror
Good morning and thanks for reading the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter. I’m Jim Ruland, a novelist and punk historian, and today we’re going to…
German author wins International Booker Prize for ‘Kairos’
LONDON — German author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the International Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for “Kairos,” the story of a tangled love…
6 essential collections to celebrate short story month
Good morning and welcome back to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter. I’m Jim Ruland, a fiction writer, punk historian and a longtime contributor to…