DAVE EGGERS’ PRIZES AND QUIRKS ON LAT BOOK PRIZE NIGHT

As most of you know, the LA Times Book Awards were this past Friday night, and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books took place on Saturday and Sunday at UCLA. 125,000 people were expected at the LATFOB and judging from the crowds I saw both days, it is likely that the book fest hit its mark or more.

But first the awards: the full list of the winners may be found here. (For those of you looking for a good reading list, the lists of winners and finalists are a great place to start. I’ve already downloaded on to my iPod the audible version of the First Fiction winner, Phillipp Meyer’s American Rust)

I was a judge for the category of Current Interest—along with my wonderful and wise colleagues Henry Weinstein and Bill Boyarsky, The three of us read a preposterous number of books, many of which were very deserving. (A few, not so much.)

We finally narrowed it down to the five below, all of which featured excellent writing and reporting and dealt topics of consequence.

“Columbine” by Dave Cullen
“Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers
“Strength in What Remains” by Tracy Kidder
“Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sharon WuDunn
“The Healing of America: The Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Healthcare” by T.R. Reid

The winner was Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun-–my personal favorite and a book I can recommend unhesitatingly to any of you. It’s a great story, meticulously reported, and possessed of the grace and velocity of a good novel.

Eggers also got a newly created Innovator’s Award–which “recognizes the people and institutions that are doing cutting edge work to bring books, publishing and storytelling into the future, whether in terms of new business models, new technologies or new applications of narrative art.”

(For the details go here.)

However, while assuredly very deserving of the latter honor, Eggers turned out not be be your average techno nerd/writer. In the course of accepting the two awards, Eggers blurted that the only way he got any reading done was to completely unplug the Internet at his house. “I only go online twice a day,” he said. Even then, in order to get a WiFi signal, he takes his laptop and drives to the parking lot of a local carpet store, and steals their WiFi.

When he and I spoke later on in the evening, we talked about the unplugging issue and I mentioned in passing that, unplugging aside, I thought that the iPhone app for his magazine “McSweeney’s was particularly good.

Eggers winced. “I’ve never seen it,” (said Mr. Innovation).

Me: “What?! You’re kidding.”

Eggers: (apologetically) I saw the drawing. I mean, I thought the drawing was good.

Me: No really, that’s bad.

Eggers: Probably.

[Here's a demo of the app.]

Yet as a writer, a publisher, and as an innovative promoter of the written word-–from basic literacy to literature— Eggers is very, very good. As LA Times Book Review editor David Ulin said to me after he interviewed Dave Eggers on Saturday at the Book Festival—he’s the real deal.

It ain’t going to save the newspaper biz, but it is going to change book publishing—in a good way, in my personal opinion. (Operative word “change” not “save.”) Who cares about paper. Bring on the literary downloads.

Okay, now onward to USC to teach. (Must stop obsessing.)

See you after that other, you know, presentation: the SOU.

PS: The iTampon jokes are really, really dumb. It’s like hearing people endlessly talk about shopping at Tar-jey.

PPS: Here what David Pogue says.

PPPS: Who cares that it doesn’t have Flash. It will, however, eventually need a camera and video—if only for Skype.

These are sobering times. The Station fire, the largest fire in LA County history, has been deemed to be arson. It has cost the County of Los Angeles $21 million to fight, with that dollar amount still rising. Worse, it has cost us the lives of two deeply admired firefighters (I will have another story about Ted Hall, Arnie Quinones, and the Mt. Gleason Camp situation next week.) in addition to incinerating more than 60 homes, and around 250 miles of the Angeles National Forest.

Meanwhile, the California budget is still such a nightmare that we’re looking to donuts to save us.

Plus many of our nation’s lawmakers, democrats prominently included, appear to be in some form of indentured servitude to the health care industry….

…And Afghanistan is looking so disastrously quagmire-ish that even a few Republicans are now suggesting a cut-and-run policy and non-alarmist journalists and commentators are starting to use the V word.

….And the American embassy in that same benighted country is being guarded by depraved, drunken and witless American rent-a-thugs, who also happen to be heavily armed—and paid handsomely for their hideous behavior with our tax dollars..

ON THE OTHER HAND, Labor Day is upon us—which means it is our last chance for a long summer weekend that might conceivably involve recreational reading.

So, for one a brief and shining moment, let us set aside the aforementioned troubling issues—and talk about good beach books.

I’ll have other, more serious books to recommend in the coming days and weeks, but for now, here’s my personal short list of beach, pool and airplane-worthy reading.

(And after mine, I want to hear yours. Deal? okay, deal.)

In no particular order:

1. Stieg Larrson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire

These first two books of the trilogy of intellectual thrillers written by Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson are monster best sellers for perfectly good reasons. (Sadly, Larrson died suddenly in 2004, so will produce no more past the three.) They’re intelligent, and the first—The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo— is filled with many cool tidbits about the world of Swedish high finance, some of which serve as easy analogs for our own recent financial debacles. The second book is sequined with its another pleasing array of arcane factoids—this time about such subjects as Olympic-class computer hacking and high-flown mathematics problems. But most importantly, both books feature, along with muckraking financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, the glorious literary creation that is Lisbeth Salander, an anti-social punk-styled near-genius girl hacker who may or may not be suffering from Asperger’s. She alone is worth the price of admission.

2. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

There are at least five reasons to read this book: First of all, it’s a Michael Connelly novel, and one has to be terribly grumpy to live in LA and not have at least a teensy weensy soft spot for Connelly novels.. Second, its sub theme is the collapse of the newspaper business and significant chunks of the novel are set at the LA Times. Third it even manages to have an ex-Times reporter/editor turned blogger character, who is a barely disguised Kevin Roderick of LA Observed fame. (The fictional blog is called “The Velvet Coffin.”) Fourth, Michael Connelly is Bill Bratton’s favorite mystery novelist and that must mean something, right? Fifth, it’s a Michael Connelly novel. (Did I already say that?) And Connelly has grown very, very good at what he does, thus it is a comfort and a pleasure to be in his company for each successive book-length ride.

3. Into the Woods and The Likeness by Tana French

French’s two books are best read in sequence as they feature many of the same characters who assume greater or lesser importance from one book to the other. Both novels are wonderfully psychologically-nuanced police procedurals written in a literary, almost Donna Tartt-ish tone—and all set in Ireland. I liked both of them a lot.

4. Nobody Move by Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson won the National Book Award for his unfathomably beautiful Viet Nam war novel, 2007’s Tree of Smoke. Before that, he was the Next Big Literary Hope with his pared-to-the-bone book of short stories, the bleak and stunning Jesus’ Son, which first made us aware of his capacity for writing those gorgeous sentences.

But going from the 800-word, image and symbol-loaded Tree of Smoke to Chandler/Hammett-type genre fiction that is so fat-free that it is barely 200 pages, evidently confused certain reviewers—even though there is a long tradition for such genre hopping among literary types. (Most recently, John Banville did it after he won the Booker prize, albeit under another name. Kate Atkinson leaped over to genre fiction after winning the Whitbread award, and never went back. And then there is Pynchon, below.).

But there are others who embraced the book with no confusion at all because they simply love the man’s writing, whatever structure or genre happens to contain it.

I fall into that latter category. Pick up one of his books, and maybe you will too.

5. Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

It is California noir laced with so much in the way of happily outrageous 60’s/70’s stoner dialogue that it makes Cheech and Chong movies of the period seem positively abstemious in contrast, and it comes complete with its own surfer music sound track (minus the audio). (Actually, I take that back. Amazon and other sites have listed all the songs, with links to the audio when possible. When there are no links, it is because Pynchon made the song up out of whole cloth—complete with lyrics. My personal favorite in the latter category is “Soul Gidget” by Meatball Flag.)

This Pynchon book is over-the-top, occasionally deliberately anachronistic, sly, dark, funny and fabulous. Much in the way that Graham Greene wrote his “entertainments,” Pynchon has created something masterful in which even the deep, dark, philosophical points he has slipped into the genre plotting are made to seem light as cotton candy.

I never wanted it to be over.

Okay, now your turn.

Finally, the 3rd Chapter in summer reading….and an intriguing, smart, amusing and quirky list it is. We’ve got Controller Laura Chick, DA Steve Cooley, Attorney General Jerry Brown, City Council Member Ed Reyes, gang advisor Dr. Jorja Leap, and Tell Zell’s the honorable Mr. Inkstained Retch.

There is the public school contingent, LAUSD board prez, Monica Garcia, and teachers union prez A.J Duffy.

And just to make sure the literary LA folks are represented, we have LA Times Opinion Editor Nick Goldberg (who makes a case for reading Anthony Trollop on the beach). And novelist/author Rachel Resnick—who has a wild and wonderfully-written memoir coming out this fall called Love Junkie (and a good recommendation or 2 for you now).

Both Jerry Brown and Joe Domanick thought that pre and post WWII-era Historian and theorist, Louis Mumford, was just the ticket for poolside. (What’re the odds?) And there were a couple of Graham Greene lovers in this batch.

Interestingly, it was both Steve Cooley and Jerry Brown who couldn’t stop with only one book. (In fact, Cooley was cheerily enthusiastic about four books [I only included 3] and, I suspect, would have easily gone further. Jerry too.)

As a reporter, I don’t think I’ve ever asked a question of public officials that so many people seemed, not only willing, but eager to answer.

And that’s a very good thing.

LAURA CHICK, Los Angeles City Controller

I know that Lisa See has a new novel out, Peony In Love, but I actually just finished her earlier book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I loved it for many reasons. This book opened up a whole new world , taking me on a great adventure in ancient China. It also has terrific character development and I feel like I really got to know them.

Above all this is a phenomenal story of the tremendous strength of women.

STEVE COOLEY: District Attorney, City of Los Angeles

Well one book I read recently that I thought was extremely well done and insightful was called The Criminal Justice Club. It’s written by a retired deputy named Walt Louis. He recounts is time in the criminal justice system in LA county. He spends a lot of time documenting what he asserts are the failings of the media in reporting on the criminal justice system, especially the Los Angeles Times.. I read it and couldn’t put it down.

And Hollywood Station and Hollywood Crows by Wambaugh. They’re sort of a one two punch, one is a continuation. Hollywood Station is very funny. Hollywood Crows is a little darker. They’re right up to the minute.

EDMUND G. BROWN, JR., California Attorney General

You could read Bad Money, by Kevin Phillips. It’s about the confluence of oil dependency, financial debt and leverage and the takeover of the financial sector from manufacturing.

Also, The Condition of Man by Louis Mumford. I’m just reading it. It’s from 1944, and it’s hard to get but it’s very interesting. It’s a classic. It’s about how we plan. How we live together.

NICK GOLDBERG: Opinion Editor, The Los Angeles Times

There is no author whose books are better for lazy, fun, utterly engaging summer reading than Anthony Trollope. He wrote so many nearly perfect books that it’s hard to choose among them, but if I had to recommend just one it would be the first one I ever read: “The Last Chronicle of Barset,” the story of the Reverend Josiah Crawley and the (very minor) crime he is alleged to have committed.

A.J. DUFFY, President, United Teachers of Los Angeles

I don’t get much time to read. But I haven’t read Catch 22 in ten years. I’d like to read it again. It’s such a great book. It shows the whole hypocrisy of war. How we’re one world, but we take money out of one pocket and put it into another pocket to fight ourselves. It’s a great, great book.

DR. JORJA LEAP: adjunct professor of social welfare at UCLA’s School of Public Affairs, advisor on gangs and youth violence for the National Institute of Justice

For a fun summer read, Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller. This is the ultimate summer book. Part great rock gossip, part social history and enough feminist psychology to lend some insight into everything from what women want to why Hillary failed. A great read and some hidden learning!

ED P. REYES, City Councilmember First Council District

I recommend “The Power and the Glory,” Graham Greene, which I read while a student at UCLA. No matter how bad things are, or how badly you may find yourself, there’s always something good about you. There’s a lot to an individual if you do the right thing.

MONICA GARCIA: Board President, Los Angeles Unified School District.

I’m reading, The Search for a Civic Voice, by Kenneth C. Burt. It’s about how Latino communities have worked with the political system. It’s such an amazing time, but the challenges are so great that we have to have a historical perspective of what the struggles have been, to encourage us and inspire us to continue.

RACHEL RESNICK: novelist/author (Go West Young F*cked-Up Chick and Love Junkie: A Memoir, to be released in November)

Books that resonate, that one would suggest for summer, or any time…? Giacometti: A Biography by James Lord. The Palace at 4 a.m., to the spookily attenuated figures that made him a preeminent profiler of existential unease. Lord astutely chronicles this transformation, and the evaluation of Giacometti’s formidable personality is notable for its sensitive delineation of his ambivalent feelings toward women. Without scanting the sculptor’s tragic view of life, the author also inspires exhilaration with his portrait of a man who was always true to his art.

Why Did I Ever by Mary Robison is another—but somehow I’m not able to quickly sum up why…

THE INK STAINED RETCH: LA Times reporter, creator/blogger, TellZell.com

Here I will surely disappoint. I don’t do much book reading. I’m a news guy, through and through. However, I did recently reread Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, about a CIA agent trying to foment democracy in Vietnam. Man, the parallels to Iraq were outstandingly weird.

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TO READ ALL 22 RECOMMENDATIONS: For Part 1 click here, Part 2 , here.

I know I promised it’d be Monday for more book recs. But, it seems I lied. It will be Tuesday, not today.

The deal is, I promised I’d wait for one more person whose book choice I won’t get until later today.

(Hey, more book recommendations are never a bad thing.)

Next Book list on Monday—fer sure.

It’ll feature the book recommendations of: LA District Attorney, Steve Cooley: California Attorney General Jerry Brown; LA Times Opinion Editor Nick Goldberg; Tell Zell’s Inkstained Retch; LA City Controller Laura Chick; UTLA President A.J. Duffie; LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia….and more.

In the meantime: For Part 1 click here, Part 2 here.)

Here’s round two of our late summer reading recommendations (which, by the way, have been a lotta fun to gather).

Today:

—Sheriff Baca tells you exactly which book can help change your life…..

—Zev Yaroslavsky picks the ultimate tome to read by the pool while fashioning public policy….

—Novelist/writing prof/blogger Tod Goldberg recommends smart, entertaining reading for hot days.

(Plus there’s more from an LAPD Deputy Chief, a well-known criminal justice writer, and an oft-quoted LA community activist.)

Tomorrow we’ll have round three, which will include District Attorney Steve Cooley, LA Times Opinion Editor Nick Goldberg and others.

Overall, it’s a varied list. But there is one thing everyone had in common: They all believe books really matter.

(NOTE: For Summer Reading List Part 1, with Connie Rice, Fr. Greg Boyle, Dennis Zine, David Ulin & Marc Cooper, click here.)

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1. SHERIFF LEE BACA (Sheriff of the County of Los Angeles)

“The most important book I’ve read? The Denial of Death By Ernest Decker

“Reason: This book has all the core ingredients for the purpose of life.”

2. DEPUTY CHIEF SERGIO DIAZ: Chief of Central Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department

“I just started on Broken Paradise, a novel by an LA-based, Cuban-American writer, Cecilia Samartin. [Chief Diaz is also Cuban American.] It’s the story of two upper middle-class girls who are cousins and who are separated by the Castro revolution. One relocates to Miami and the other stays in Cuba. So far, very compelling writing. I’m not much of a fiction reader but Cecilia’s writing was recommended. (My wife Letty just finished another of Cecilia’s books, Tarnished Beauty, which takes place in a very different context. That one is about a Mexican girl with a disfiguring defect who comes north to LA to get treatment. She really liked that one.)

3. ZEV YAROSLAVSKY: Los Angeles County Supervisor

The book which has become my bible in the making of public policy is The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman. Her assertion that folly is a perverse persistence in a policy that is demonstrably unworkable, should guide decision-makers in every walk of life, especially in government. I have long recommended this volume to newly elected officials, and I refer to it constantly as a reminder of the “do’s” and “don’ts” in decision-making.

4. TOD GOLDBERG: novelist and short-story writer (Living Dead Girl and Burn Notice: The Fix among others), blogger, and head of the UC Riverside’s MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts

Something about the summer always turns me toward crime fiction —perhaps the pool just isn’t the appropriate place to ponder the existential conundrums of humanity — but since I live in the hottest place on the planet (I’m pretty sure La Quinta has recently moved a few inches closer to the sun), I often look for summertime reads that will cool me down, at least metaphorically. With that in mind, I recommend Daniel Woodrell’s brilliant novel Winter’s Bone. Set in the winter mountains of the Ozarks, it begins with the vision of frozen meat hanging in trees and only gets more troubling as the novel’s 16-year-old narrator, Ree Dolly, searches for her bail-skipping father in hopes of saving the family house. But, of course, it’s far more than that as Woodrell sends Ree on a knight’s quest that is alternately brutal and poetic. Since Woodrell is that rare writer who doesn’t care about genre, he’s just writing the stories that move him, and Winter’s Bone is a stunner. Plus, it’s about twenty degrees throughout the entire narrative, which is good when it’s 120 outside…

5. JOE DOMANICK: journalist, author (To Protect and Serve and Cruel Justice), Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism, and at the Center on the Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

I’ve got two:

1) The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro. Simultaneously the best written biography, most compelling work of public policy and the greatest book ever written about 20th Century New York City when the Big Town was the capital of the world. The perfect study of how genius is corrupted by the arrogance of power.

2) Interpretations and Forecasts by Lewis Mumford. In this collection of essays — on the New England transcendentalists, and on Melville, Aquinas, Marx, the origins of war, urban architecture, the excess of the gilded age, the advent of a world culture and utopia — Mumford writes like a great 19th Century poet about America’s cultural history and antecedents. His essay on Thoreau is sublime, placing him in the context of the coming industrial age, as he looks back on all Thoreau told us we were going to lose as a result.

6. NAJEE ALI: LA activist, founder, Project Islamic Hope, blogger

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama is my choice.

Obama’s book gave me insight into his political vision and platform. It reads as a political blueprint for a future run at the Democratic nomination for the White House. We all now know how that story ended! I think it’s even more important to read now as we go into November. It helps, as I re-read it now, to give a much more serious look into his thinking.

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