Welcome to the L.A. Times Book Club, an opportunity to see, hear and interact with world-class authors and newsmakers as they discuss their books and tell their stories.
Get the latest news, events and more from the Los Angeles Times Book Club, and help us get L.A. reading and talking.
Every month, we share book club selections, publish stories exploring the topic and invite you to read along. Then we host a community event with the authors and invite you to join that, too. Our focus is on stories and storytellers relevant to Southern California and the West, and our mission is to make your newspaper something not just to read but to experience — something that brings us together.
I’m your host and editor Donna Wares, and my goal is to get L.A. reading and talking. So tell me: What stories do you want to share with the city? What authors would you most like to meet? Here’s your chance to help us build something amazing.
Update: The L.A. Times Book Club reboots with virtual events: Join us on March 30 for an evening of new L.A. Noir. Authors Steph Cha and Joe Ide will be in conversation at 7 p.m. with Times reporter Maria L. La Ganga.
Cha is the author of the bestselling 2019 thriller “Your House Will Pay.” Ide’s new mystery is “Hi Five,” the fourth book in his “IQ” series set in East Long Beach.
The book club conversation will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.
This spring we’ll be reading “Always Home: A Daughter’s Recipes & Stories,” the upcoming memoir by Fanny Singer about growing up at the epicenter of California cuisine.
Singer is the daughter of Alice Waters, the well-known chef behind Chez Panisse Café in Berkeley and the founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project, which teaches kids how to grow and eat healthful foods.
Singer and Waters will join the L.A. Times Book Club on May 8 to discuss food and family with Times arts and entertainment editor Laurie Ochoa. Ticket information will be coming soon.
On Saturday, Feb. 15, author and former Los Angeles poet laureate Luis J. Rodriguez discussed “From Our Land to Our Land,” a new collection about race, culture and identity, with Times reporter Daniel Hernandez at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.
More: Does Poetry Matter? L.A.'s former poet laureate explains why it’s life changing. Read an author interview.
On Jan. 27, author Ocean Vuong discussed his debut novel, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” with Times arts and culture reporter Carolina A. Miranda at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood.
On Dec. 16, the book club welcomed Homeboy Industries founder Gregory Boyle for a breakfast conversation with author Héctor Tobar about “Barking to the Choir.” Read our interview with Boyle and five things to know about his book and his work. For school groups and book clubs, here’s a discussion guide to “Barking to the Choir.”
On Nov. 18, Julie Andrews discussed “Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years” in a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning Times columnist Mary McNamara at the Orpheum Theatre. Read The Times’ interview with Andrews and review of her new memoir, plus film critic Justin Chang’s commentary.
On Oct. 22, Ronan Farrow discussed surveillance, counter-surveillance and the stories behind “Catch and Kill,” his new book detailing sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other powerful men. Read The Times’ interview with Farrow.
On Oct. 21, best-selling crime writer Michael Connelly talked about “The Night Fire,” two upcoming books and living with the same character for 27 years. Here’s a look at 15 iconic Harry Bosch haunts across L.A., plus 20 essential L.A. crime books, and don’t miss why L.A. is the perpetual dark heart of crime writing.
On Sept. 10, actor and author George Takei talked about “They Called Us Enemy,” a graphic memoir about his childhood years in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. Watch a segment from the event on LA Times Today. For book clubs and school groups, here is a discussion guide.
Author Laila Lalami joined Times reporter Lorraine Ali for a conversation about “The Other Americans, ”a mystery and family saga set in the Southern California desert. Here’s an interview with Lalami and five things to know about “The Other Americans.”
Earlier, we read “The Library Book” by bestselling author Susan Orlean and hosted a community forum where Orlean and readers shared library stories. We also took a deep dive to explore what L.A. is reading right now and showed book lovers how to read for free with library apps.
The L.A. Times Book Club builds on the success of America’s largest literary event, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which attracts 150,000 people every April. We want to keep the conversation going year-round.
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Want to share an idea? On Twitter, you can reach us @latimesbooks. Or send an email to bookclub@latimes.com.
The L.A. Times Book Club Facebook group is a chance to share your thoughts and compare notes with fellow book lovers. Please join the discussion there too.
