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Fiction

rachel khong, my dear you

Everyday Magic

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marriage at sea, sarah stone

Lives We Perform

writer josh wheeler

Writer’s Room: Joshua Wheeler

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jan kerouac, bathtub

A Kind of Sublimity

author jane smiley visits her mare, perestroika, right, at a salinas barn, on the left is another owner’s horse, rhu

The Habit Jane Smiley Could Not Get Rid Of

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crown city by naomi hirahara, book review

City of Kings

james sallis, lew griffin novels, books, writer

“Endings Are Seldom Pretty”

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humboldt cut by allison mick, book review

The Forest Remembers

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how to commit a postcolonial murder by nina mcconigley, book review

Split Self, Split Sisters

author gabriel tallent poses beside the cover of his novel crux, the subject of a critical review examining risk, genius, and obsession.

Love Me Like a Rock

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scavengers by kathleen boland, book review

Let’s Have Some Fun

television by lauren rothery, book review

Lights, Camera…Screen Time

annalee newitz standing in a plaid jumpsuit before a packed bookshelf, smiling and leaning against the shelves—capturing the playful, creative tone behind automatic noodle.

Writer’s Room: After the War

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illustration of a washoe man hiding behind a tree in a snowy forest, staring in shock as a giant skull looms overhead—evoking the horror and historical trauma depicted in rabbit boss.

What the Washoe Saw

a long game, elizabeth mccracken

Permission for Writers

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only way out by tod goldberg, book review

Long Con in the New West

the pelican child, joy williams

Time and Tide

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lightbreakers, aja gabel

The Physics of Grief: Aja Gabel’s ‘Lightbreakers’

susan straight, sacrament

Nurses and Lowriders

at last, marisa silver

Writer’s Room: Form and Function

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joyride by susan orlean, book review

Golden Run

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a wooded shore by thomas mcguane, book review

When Things Go Very Wrong

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beings by ilana masad, book review

Out of the Archives

author ross macdonald, book jackets

Light in the Lew Archer Novels

shadow ticket, thomas pynchon

Conspiracy Theory

angela flournoy seated on a park bench wearing a mustard shawl, holding a small notebook and pen, surrounded by trees and dappled light.

Writer’s Room: Friendship As a Prism

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a different kind of tension by jonathan lethem, book review

Life Writing

illustration of flapper style woman with dark bob haircut, red lips, and diamond jewelry—depicting lorelei lee, protagonist of gentlemen prefer blondes.

‘A Diamond and Safire Bracelet Lasts Forever’

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cover of rabih alameddine’s novel "the true true story of raja the gullible," featuring a turquoise background with red thread loops. portrait of rabih alameddine wearing a black cap and glasses, standing against a gray wall.

Time After Time

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the martian chronicles by rad bradbury, book review

Rocket Man

cover of peter orner’s novel the gossip columnist’s daughter, featuring a matchbook and typewriter on a green background. author peter orner photographed outdoors with ocean in background.

Unsolved Homicide

moderation by elaine castillo, book review

What Reality Is This?

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nolan knight, the gorgon of los feliz, book review

Grifter’s Paradise

which walks by laura moriarty, book review

Oblique Strategies

cover of typewriter beach by meg waite clayton, showing a woman in a black dress framed by a grand arched window overlooking the california coast.

American Fantasy

a bomb placed close to the heart by nishant batsha, book review

Inventing History

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michelle huneven, bug hollow

The Adult in the Room

crown, evanthia bromiley

Writer’s Room: Evanthia Bromiley

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illustration of edward abbey

The Origin of ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang’

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the giveaway by owen hill, clay backburn novels

Down These Mean Streets

awake in the floating city, susanna kwan, book review

Yesterday’s Weather

sky daddy by kate folk, book review

Don’t Ask Why

our beautiful boys, sameer pandya

Young Man Down

stacy nathaniel jackson, the ephemera collection

The Memory Palace

25 books that define california, chowder, musso and frank

Writers’ Haunts

methodology icon

The Methodology

ask a bookseller

Ask a Bookseller

25 books that define california, chowder, natalia molina

What Makes a California Novel?

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the big sleep by raymond chandler

The Big Sleep

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25 books that define california, chowder

Overlooked Evocations

the mars room by rachel kushner

The Mars Room

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under the feet of jesus by helena maria viramontes

Under the Feet of Jesus

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the sellout by paul beatty

The Sellout

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less than zero by bret easton ellis

Less Than Zero

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interior chinatown by charles yu

Interior Chinatown

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the tortilla curtain by tc boyle

The Tortilla Curtain

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if he hollers let him go by chester himes

If He Hollers Let Him Go

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the maltese falcon novel by dashiell hammett

The Maltese Falcon

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the barbarian nurseries by hector tobar

The Barbarian Nurseries

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the sympathizer by viet thanh nguyen

The Sympathizer

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alta journal issue 31, 25 books that define california, illustration

25 Books That Define California

parable of the sower by octavia e butler

The Parable of the Sower

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25 books that define california, chowder, james dean

From Page to Screen

25 books that define california

A Novel Challenge

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there there, tommy orange

There There

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