Category: Events

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6 Best Book Clubs in Los Angeles

If you long to discuss books you love — in real life, outside the confines of Amazon reviews and Goodreads comments — join a local book club. Here are six to check out:

Sweetbitter at The Edison Book Club

For diverse literary reads: PEN America Los Angeles Book Club

Formerly known as The Edison Book Club, the literary nonprofit PEN America used to hold this book club in a dark and cozy nook of The Edison in downtown L.A. over specialty cocktails inspired by the featured book! That’s changing in 2019. PEN America’s website has yet to be updated, but the series is making the move to Blu Elefant Café, with the January event featuring Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ Fruit of the Drunken Tree. The speakeasy vibe of The Edison will be no longer, but but there’ll still be food and drinks available for order — and good discussions led by a different member of the literary community in L.A. Cost: Free, BYOB (buy your own book).

More: The Edison Book Club: Bittersweet cocktails over Sweetbitter

For girls who brunch: L.A. Girly Book Club

With most of the regulars in their twenties and thirties, this book club usually reads novels by female authors, ranging from the more literary to chick-lit-ish to thrillers. The L.A. chapter’s organized by Allison, who picks out a different bar or restaurant for each meeting. Expect a lively conversation over appies and drinks, a raffle for a copy of the following month’s book, and lots of fun post-discussion socializing. Cost: $5 a month, BYOB.

More: L.A. Girly Book Club: Fiction, food, and fun excursions

For the deep-thinking activist: Current Events Reading Group

Hosted by Skylight Books, this club is for “reading and discussing works of nonfiction pertinent to the pressing issues of our day” — like race, gender, politics, and more. The conversation at this club are wide-ranging, passionate, and smart! And in fact, this book club doesn’t stop at just discussing things. Late last year, the group actually had a bake sale to benefit the Fronterizo Fianza Fund, dedicated to winning the release of detained migrants in far west Texas and New Mexico. Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 pm, and future books are selected by attendees’ vote. Cost: Free, BYOB.

More: Current Events Reading Group: Passionate discussions over complex books

For library-loving women: The West Hollywood Women’s Book Club

If you visit the West Hollywood Library, you’ll see flyers for this book club all over the place. Co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood’s Women’s Advisory Board, this book club meets at the library on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss books by local authors and internationally renowned author — while providing a space for women to connect with other women.

The crowd skews older — I’d say about half the women are at or past retirement age — but there are always younger women there too. A WeHo librarian keeps things organized, sending out polls on Meetup to determine the next group’s read. Cost: Free, BYOB.

More: West Hollywood Women’s Book Club: Women connect over books by women.

For themed reading: Book Clubs at The Last Bookstore

Last spring, The Last Bookstore started about a dozen different book clubs on different themes, ranging from poetry to true crime. These fun events featured snacks and libations, local writers and other literary figures as moderators, and other cool extras — The horror book club, for example, was held after hours under the light of one scary bare bulb!

The one holdback: You had to buy a ticket to get into these book clubs, and though the cost included the price of the book itself, not all readers were willing to pay to club. Thus, some clubs died out (goodbye L.A. Lit Fic!). But some are still going strong, including the Feminist Book Club, We’re All Gonna Die! (dystopian), The Thing in the Labyrinth (horror), and more. My writer friend Dan Lopez runs Ficción en Español if you’d like to improve your Spanish by talking about books! Cost: $31-42, depending on the club, including the book plus snacks and drinks.

For literary podcast fans: The TNB Book Club

Too lazy to go buy the book — or to make your way to a book club meeting? Then this is the club for you. TNB stands for The Nervous Breakdown (so yes, the book club is The The Nervous Breakdown Book Club), a literary website founded by L.A.-based Brad Listi, with a book club that for $9.99 a month, will send you a fantastic new book in the mail.

Book picks range from Jonathan Safron Foer’s much anticipated novel Here I Am to The Reactive by Masande Ntshanga, out of a small indie press called Two Dollar Radio. And though there’s no meeting to discuss the book, TNB features a book review on the website and Otherppl a podcast chat with the author. Cost: $9.99 a month for the book.

More: The TNB Book Club: Get literary gems delivered to your door for under $10

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This list is an incomplete and idiosyncratic one. There are many more open-to-the-public book clubs in town, as a casual peruse through Meetup will reveal. L.A.’s many indie bookstores also host additional book clubs, and many local libraries have their own too. There are also endless cool online ones, like Belletrist. And of course, you can always start your own.

Is there a great open-to-the-public book club you think I’d like? Let me know and I’ll drop by the next meeting.

Originally posted 12/23/16; Last updated 12/26/18

Second photo by Libby Flores

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See you at Book Soup 10/25

If you have a literary sweet tooth, come to Book Soup next Thursday for the launch of Tammy Lynne Stoner’s novel Sugar Land! I’ll be reading with her — as will Jillian Lauren, author of New York Times bestseller Some Girls: My Life in a Harem.

What: Tammy Lynne Stoner, with Jillian Lauren and Siel Ju (Facebook event page)
When: Thursday, October 25, 2018, 7 pm
Where: Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, Calif.

Sugar Land tells the story of Dara, a Southern girl in the 1920s who has a brief love affair with her girlfriend Rhodie — then decides to hide her lesbianism by exiling herself as a cook in a men’s prison. The beginning’s pretty grim but overall the novel tells a funny and exuberant tale of a woman’s long coming of age story.

Come hear Tammy read it in person — and say hi to me too! There will be an after-party at the Grafton hotel —

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Fallbrook Writers’ Conference: Free one-day event in San Diego County

Finally, a writing conference even starving writers can afford!

Make a day trip to North San Diego County this fall for the Fallbrook Writer’s Conference, and you’ll get to attend craft presentations, learn about the business aspects of writing, pitch your book to an agent, and have lunch with an author — all for free.

Falbrook Writer’s Conference
Sunday, September 16, 2018, 9 am to 4:30 pm
Fallbrook Library, 124 S. Mission Rd., Fallbrook, Calif.

I’m really looking forward to this event because I’ll be one of the presenting and lunching writers — along with Deanne Stillman, Sara Marchant, Laura McNeal, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin, Suzy Fincham-Gray, and Joye Johnson.

Plus, a handful of agents will be at the event  — as will the intrepid organizer, Kit-Bacon Gressitt.

Check out the full schedule here (PDF). Registration’s open until September 15, but if you’d like to go, get your free ticket now — The intimate conference is capped at 100 attendees.

Hope to see you in Fallbrook —

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Come say hi at the LA Times Festival of Books 4/21!

The LA Times Festival of Books happens this weekend — and I’d love to see you at a couple events on Saturday, April 21 —

First, a signing: I’ll be at the Red Hen Press Booth (Booth #182 by the Poetry Stage) from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm signing copies of Cake Time!

Then, the reading: I’ll be at the Smoking Hot Indie Lit Lounge (Booth #377) from 3 pm to 4:30 pm for a reading by USC PhD in Literature and Creative writing people. It’ll be me, Diana Arterian, Doug Manuel, Catherine Theis, and Liz Johnson reading from our newish publications.

Hope to see you at one or both events!

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See you at Hollywood Hotel and the Last Bookstore

Just a reminder that I’d love to see you at a couple literary events coming up this month:

The Table Presents: Redemption
Sunday, April 15, 2018, 2:30 pm to 5 pm
Hollywood Hotel, 1160 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles
Free and open to the public!

L.A. Lit Fic – a book club with Siel Ju
(Facebook event page)
*We’ll discuss Scott O’Connor’s A Perfect Universe — and Scott will drop by at the end to answer Qs & sign books!*
Tuesday, April 17, 7:30 pm
The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles.
Tickets: $35.95 (includes book, libations, snacks)

In other news:

I was interviewed on the Read More Podcast, and the episode is now out!

I judged the fiction contest for Prism Review, the literary journal at University of La Verne. Thanks for the honor and congrats to all the winners!

I said some nice things about Vermin on the Mount for an article at Fear No Lit. Read it — The interview with Vermin host Jim Ruland is both informative and funny — and go to the next Vermin!

Hope to see you IRL soon —

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The Table: A Reading series that mentors would-be lit event hosts

So you’d like to start a reading series — but don’t know where to start. Well, now there’s a reading series to help you with that!

The Table Reading Series pairs would-be lit event hosts in need of guidance with more seasoned mentors who have lit event organizing experience under their belt. From planning the reader line-up to budgeting to promoting the event, the newbies get the help they need planning one event for the series, while mentors get to pass on their knowledge and know-how. The idea is that organizing one event for The Table will empower the new hosts with the experience and confidence they need to plan more events on their own.

Dreamed up by Natashia Deon, author of Grace and organizer of the (now sadly defunct) Dirty Laundry Lit reading series, The Table held its first event July 2017, with an event curated by Zoe Ruiz. Since then, there’s been one event a month at the Hollywood Hotel, with a new host or few for each event — and new mentors.

“It’s a one time experience for all, unless a mentee chooses to become a mentor,” Natashia says.

I finally made it to my first The Table reading in February. Themed Writing of Exploration, the event was put together by writers Rachael Warecki and Ashley Perez. There were spirited readings, a short panel discussion, a full bar, and free chocolate on the tables —

Make sure to come to the next The Table event — because I’ll be reading! Also in the lineup are memoirist Patrick O’Neil, poet Julayne Lee, Carl Kemp, and Erika Ayon. The event’s organized by Ramona Pilar and Anita Gill, with Women Who Submit cofounder and poet Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo serving as mentor.

The Table Presents: Redemption
April 15, 2018, 2:30 pm to 5 pm
Hollywood Hotel, 1160 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles

Want to be the next host for The Table — or want to mentor a new host? Just email Natashia at info@tablelit.com to get started. Or  go to an event! “The best way to be involved is to come to the event and find me,” Natashia says. “Let’s chat.”