Book picks similar to
The Flutter of an Eyelid by Myron Brinig


fiction
los-angeles
californiana
not-translated-yet

Be Not Content: A Subterranean Journal


William J. Craddock - 1970
    This 50th Anniversary edition contains a new foreword by his publisher and friend, Jay Shore, and an introduction by his sister, Diane Craddock, as well as a selection of photos, drawings and other writings by Craddock."Superb in the tradition of Kerouac’s On The Road, with overtones of Ken Kesey and Hunter Thompson’s Hell’s Angels, but Craddock’s style is all his own." — Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times"The definitive book of the acid-freak movement. A psychedelic pilgrim’s progress of beauty, intelligence, sensitivity." — Joseph Haas, Chicago Daily News"An astounding book, so good it defies praise. The writing is superb. Craddock is a born writer with an iceberg of talent." — Shane Stevens, Chicago Sun Times"Willam J. Craddock’s masterpiece, legendary to those in the know, is as exhilarating now as ever." — Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen, long listed for the 2016 National Book AwardMostly autobiographical, Be Not Content begins with the 16-year-old Craddock riding his beloved Harley Davidson with the Hells Angels, the outlaw motorcycle club, and getting into brawls and being chased by the cops. It’s an unexpected anomaly for this bright, middle-class kid from Los Gatos, California. Craddock then takes us through his college days publishing an underground newspaper, attending poetry readings with Alan Ginsberg, tripping at one of the first acid tests, and taking for days on end the strongest, most pure doses LSD. All of it done for the purpose of Craddock discovering the meaning of life.Barely 21 when he finished writing it, Doubleday bought the book in 1968 but held up publication until 1970. The first edition sold out with collectors prizing the few copies available, and copies going for as much as $950 on the Internet. Be Not Content is a powerful literary coming of age narrative that millions of Americans can personally identify with – an unforgettable time in the cultural and sociological history of America.

Squandering the Blue: Stories


Kate Braverman - 1990
    Long a celebrated West Coast cult figure, Kate Braverman now gives voice to Squandering the Blues, a distinctive and uncompromising collection of characters living out urban fairy tales and nightmares in the highly atmospheric landscape of Los Angeles.

The Whipping Boy


Beth Holmes - 1978
    Hardcover

Eustace Chisholm and the Works


James Purdy - 1967
    A seedy Depression-era boardinghouse in Chicago plays host to a game of emotional chairs (Guardian) in a novel initially condemned for its frank depiction of abortion, homosexuality, and life on the margins of American society."

Beach Music Unabridged Part One (Part One)


Pat Conroy - 1995
    

The Tight White Collar


Grace Metalious - 1960
    These people live in Cooper Station, U.S.A.Anthony Cooper, nephew of the owners of Cooper's Mills, who found his summer's amusement in a violent and illicit love affair...Chris Pappas, the guy from the wrong side of the tracks, who might lose his job for a "mistake" he made in high school...Doris Palmer,wife of a wealthy manufacturer, who used her money to hide a secret that only the town doctor--and perhaps Chris--knew for a fact...David Strong, the music teacher, who hated women but couldn't admit--even to himself--the reason why...Beneath the semmingly calm surface of this smug New England community, their turbulent passions and fears begin to boil, exploding the hypocrisy hidden behind the guise of the respectable Tight White Collar.

Misadventures in the 213


Dennis Hensley - 1998
    in this audacious, satirical tale of a struggling screenwriter, his media-whore best friend, and their circle of celebrity-seeking pals."(213)?" you'll likely ask.Well, the area code, of course."Misadventures?"Just the high jinks underemployed Tinseltown wannabes are usually up to. Like making off with fish from Tina Louise's koi pond. Or harassing Alicia Silverstone with tales of watermelon-loving porn stars. Or auctioning off Andrew Shue's chicken wing and Heather Locklear's lip print for charity. You know.Packed with Hollywood life lessons and more B-level celebs than you can shake a casting sheet at, Misadventures in the (213) is a brilliantly witty dagger straight through the heart of the L.A. entertainment machine.

Trio


Cath Staincliffe - 2002
    The women meet up in a home for unmarried mothers to await the births of their babies. "Trio" follows the lives of the mothers and daughters over the ensuing years.

Archer Sisters of Goldrush 3 Book Box set


Faye Sonja - 2015
    Adeline Archer is twenty-five and she is DESPERATE!She needs to run from the luxury she's known in New York.Their affluent lifestyle is at an abrupt end! Now her father has taken his own life, leaving either Adeline or her younger sisters commanded to marry to Lex Baxtor- the man they hated most!Well . . . so she needs an ESCAPE PLAN - to become a Mail order Bride with a strict no-love policy. Perfect!Gold Rush . . . and James Blair, are her ONLY option.What will happen in a marriage when two hearts committed to a strict-no-love policy?Will they go through with the annulment they think they want?AMELIA - The Idealistic Bride for Her Insecure Rancher ~ Book 2Amelia Archer is almost twenty - a romantic artist and DREAMER by nature...As a matter of fact, she's imagined her wedding day for as long as she can remember.Along with a wonderful wedding, her thoughts had often to be with her one true love. The touching and poetic letters from Jack Blair have had Amelia's heart in a spin and she knows he's the perfect husband for her.Everything had worked out perfectly well......well... until reality struck...What will happen when Amelia comes crashing down to earth on a ranch which is more rustic than she expected and nowhere near as romantic as she imagined?Dashing Jack Blair loves the ranch but hates ranching. He's insecure about his future and maybe a bride can help give him hope for the future.Will he choose his own bride for love and not for her ability to further the family empire?AVERILL- The Careful Bride for Her Impulsive Sheriff ~ Book 3Averill Archer is eighteen, an intellect, careful and YEARNING for a NEW FUTURE to fulfill all her ambitions . . . and at the same time to fulfill her sister's escape plan.If she must marry, she will do so with a man to match her bright and active mind. When well-written letters arrive from Jacob Blair,. she's EXCITED and absolutely POSITIVE he's the one for her.But there's a problem . . . . .Averill Archer hates liars and drinkers!What will happen if her future husband - Jacob Blair is both a liar and a drinker?Jacob can't read or write and doesn't believe he can ever learn.Being impulsive and hot-headed, his main answer to problems is a bottle of booze.Will Averill's discovery about Jacob's lies and deceit over the letters that captured her heart and his pig-headedness be the end of budding young love?The Big Feisty Bride tamed by Her Scarred Banker ~ BONUS STORY: Book 1 in

An Old Man's Game: An Amos Parisman Mystery


Andy Weinberger - 2019
    As he looks into what seems to be a simple, tragic accident, the ante is raised when more people start to die or disappear, and Amos uncovers a world of treachery and hurt that shakes a large L.A. Jewish community to its core.

The Trail: a novel


Ethan Gallogly - 2021
    Woven in is a back story detailing the origins of the John Muir Trail: a 211-mile trail spanning the rooftop of the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States.The tale begins with Gil, who In the wake of his father’s death and recently fired from his job, agrees to accompany his father’s old hiking partner Syd on a monthlong trek on the John Muir Trail. There’s just one problem: Gil hates camping and is woefully unprepared for the rigors of the journey. Moreover, he soon learns Syd may not survive the hike...Former Sierra Club leader Ethan Gallogly takes you on a wild tour across the Range of Light, describing its glorious scenery in vivid detail while introducing you to a diverse cast of characters drawn from his own personal experiences as a hiker.It’s a beautifully crafted book, with 43 maps and sketches by acclaimed mountain illustrator Jeremy Ashcroft, showing the topography of each section in clear three-dimensional renderings and peppered with drawings of the trail’s iconic scenery, like the Muir Hut, the Rock Monster, and Evolution Lake.Whether you’re planning your own John Muir Trail trek, have walked the trail before, or are simply an armchair explorer looking for a compelling story—this book is for you.Praise for The Trail“The author shines in his descriptions of the natural world... A subtle and vivid tale of finding peace in the great outdoors.” —Kirkus Reviews “It’s a fantastic book. Everything rings true. I already have several people I plan to give copies to.” —Elizabeth Wenk, author of the best-selling guidebook John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America’s Most Famous Trail“A Walk in the Woods meets Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” —Peter Snow Cao, Bike China Adventures“Ethan Gallogly has created a wonderful blend of High Sierra history, eloquent descriptions of the range’s glorious scenery, and fascinating vignettes of the diverse characters who roam the John Muir Trail.” —Steve Roper, Sierra historian, mountaineer, and author of Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country“The Trail leaves the reader with a poignant picture of how nature can heal and reconstruct us.” —Alyssa Matesic, ASM EditorialAbout the AuthorEthan Gallogly, PhD (“Po”) has been a leader in the Sierra Club, the Cal Hiking and Outdoors Society (CHAOS) at UC Berkeley, and the Outdoors Club of Southern California. His boots have covered countless miles, including the John Muir Trail, the High Sierra Trail, the Oregon Section of the Pacific Crest Trail, the Tahoe–Yosemite Trail, and the Theodore Solomons Trail. He was a reviewer for the Wilderness Press guides: Sierra North, Sierra South, and Yosemite National Park and has read nearly every book on the history of the Sierra Nevada.Fans of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, Ben Montgomery’s Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, and Eric Blehm’s The Last Season will love this new outdoors novel selected by Amazon as a Hot New Release.

The Wraith's Story


Natalie K. French - 2015
     THIS BOOK CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT DANGEROUS BEAUTY... This first novella in an exciting new series will take you to a future unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The world of BRIGAND is as beautiful as it is cruel - a landscape of sharp edges and sharper characters. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes harsh, always sexy, it's a world filled with people who play power games that span multiple planets and the life of a scut can be bought for a few ounces of fresh water. Genetically modified and cybernetically augmented before she even left the womb, Subject 11 was to be one of the Mandate of St. Nicolo's most potent tools of statecraft. With her contract bid out to one of the great families of Marajo Lift, she would become a crucial wheel within the many thousands of wheels that formed the Mandate's legendary engine of intrigue. But 11 had other plans... NOTE: The cover illustration for this novella has been changed to more accurately reflect the main character. DO NOT buy it if you have already purchased The Wraith's Story. ~22,000 words

The Coming of the Night


John Rechy - 1999
    It is 1981, a summer night, and an unscripted ritual is about to take place. Young, beautiful Jesse is celebrating one year on the dazzling gay scene and plans to lose himself completely in its transient pleasures. He is joined by Dave, a leatherman bent on testing limits. A young hustler, an opera lover lost in fantasies of youth, a gang of teenagers looking for trouble -- as the Santa Ana winds breathe fire down the hills of Los Angeles, stirring up desires and violence, these men circle ever closer to a confrontation as devastating as it is inevitable. Lyrical, humorous, and compassionate, The Coming of the Night proves again that as a novelist and chronicler of gay life John Rechy has no equal. "The question Rechy asks is still potent: Would you die for sex? Rechy's sizzling literary response, The Coming of Night is as exciting as it is chilling." -- Pamela Warrick, Los Angeles Times; "[Rechy] very nearly touches greatness . . . feeling his way toward that place within each of us where the ecstatic teeters on the edge of psychic abyss. . . . A substantial artist." -- Frank Browning, Salon.

Song of the Loon


Richard Amory - 1966
    . . a happy amalgam of James Fenimore Cooper, Jean Genet and Hudson’s Green Mansions.”—from the cover copy of the 1969 editionPublished well ahead of its time, in 1966 by Greenleaf Classics, Song of the Loon is a romantic novel that tells the story of Ephraim MacIver and his travels through the wilderness. Along his journey, he meets a number of characters who share with him stories, wisdom and homosexual encounters. The most popular erotic gay book of the 1960s and 1970s, Song of the Loon was the inspiration for two sequels, a 1970 film of the same name, at least one porn movie and a parody novel called Fruit of the Loon. Unique among pulp novels of the time, the gay characters in Song of the Loon are strong and romantically drawn, which has earned the book a place in the canon of gay American literature.With an introduction by Michael Bronski, editor of Pulp Friction and author of The Pleasure Principle.Little Sister’s Classics is a new series of books from Arsenal Pulp Press, reviving lost and out-of-print gay and lesbian classic books, both fiction and nonfiction. The books in the series are produced in conjunction with Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium, the heroic Vancouver bookstore well-known for its anti-censorship efforts.

Snow Country


Kristin Neva - 2016
     JILTED THREE WEEKS BEFORE HER WEDDING, Beth Dawson escapes sunny California for the snowy Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where a young State Trooper challenges her to let go of her rules for Christian courtship. Her domineering mother chides her to stay single and wants her to talk her ailing grandmother into moving to Los Angeles. COPPER ISLAND averages over 200 inches of snow annually. The fictional towns of Douglass and Quincy mirror the actual towns of Houghton and Hancock, and although the names of businesses and persons are imaginary, the history, landmarks, and spirit of the region described in the novel are real. Reader praise for Snow Country: “Her novels—and the characters that live in them—are endearing and wholesome. But they’re also so real, full of healthy grit, humor, flaws and appetites. She creates an authentic Yooper world that I think other readers, including those who don’t know anything about life in da UP, will find as fascinating as I do.” (Cyndi P.) "Kristin Neva’s fiction invites the reader to consider the weightier questions of life and offers wise insights to ponder. It’s not just entertainment – it’s worth your time. Snow Country offers a fascinating look into the local culture of an isolated part of the United States. With surprising, yet believable characters and storyline twists, it is at once captivating, suspenseful, funny, and reflective. The light-hearted scenes balance some very intense – but real-life – drama. (It may be more believable to those of us who have lived in the unique cultural landscape. Outsiders beware: truth IS stranger than fiction!) More than a romance novel, it is a story of life in its many complexities: family loyalties and secrets, faith, vocation, AND love.” (Alexandra L.) “Fun book, and with a message or two! The characters and conflicts feel real.” (Dan R.) About the Author: KRISTIN NEVA grew up in an old farmhouse on Copper Island in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula where the hard-working, rugged residents persevere through harsh winter weather, sustained by friendship and family, surrounded by natural beauty. As an adult, she lived in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas for seventeen years before returning to her hometown with her husband and two children. Kristin’s first book, Heavy, co-authored with her husband, Todd, journeys through the first year after Todd’s ALS diagnosis as the Nevas struggle to find meaning, hold on to faith, and discover joy in the midst of pain. It is this life experience that brings authenticity to Kristin’s fictional works as she explores themes of love, loss, and faith on Copper Island. Learn more about Kristin and explore Copper Island at KristinNeva.com.