READING L.A.

David Zeidberg, director, Huntington Library:

“Underworld,” by Don DeLillo (Simon & Schuster).

“DeLillo weaves his fictional characters with historical ones--Bobby Thompson (and the provenance of his baseball), J. Edgar Hoover, Brueghel and Lenny Bruce--and he does so with wonderful imagination. It is his language, however, that sets this novel above others and makes one savor it.”

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Maria Ott, superintendent, Little Lake City School District:

“Migrant Song” by Teresa McKenna (University of Texas Press).

“This study of such writers as Richard Rodriguez and Rolando Hinojosa adds an important perspective to the Chicano experience. McKenna’s consideration of women writers is especially provocative.”

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Andrew Wetzler, attorney:

“City of Quartz,” by Mike Davis (Vintage).

“One of the best books of urban history I’ve ever read. It also offers a perspective on Los Angeles--namely cultural and historical--that most people lack.”

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Shaunda Zed, writer:

“The Fountainhead,” by Ayn Rand (NAL Dutton).

“I like the character Roark, a self-proclaimed egoist and individualist who operates by himself and for himself. I find it interesting how threatening society can be for people who use their own brains to decide and act for themselves.”