…the almost right word

1. francesca lia block — this afternoon, i finished reading one of her most recent novels, quakeland. it was, by far, one of her more unusual books. her first novel, weetzie bat, was published in 1989 while she was a student at berkeley. weetzie bat rocked my world. and i’d bet money (yes, the benjamins themselves) that if i read it again today, it would still rock my world. block has a remarkable imagination, and her writing is exceptional. she creates a world in which l.a. is not the smog-filled, traffic-injected, ugly city that i remember, but a great land of dreamsicles and fairies. quakeland was a surprise. and still wonderful. if you’re new to her work, start with dangerous angels: a collection of the weetzie bat books.

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2. miranda july — this afternoon, i stumbled upon a rather entertaining link — no one belongs here more than you. the title alone attracted me. the entertaining, artistic promotional site behind the link further lured me. i love anyone who creates something new from something we hardly consider in our daily lives. miranda july has certainly done this here. and yes, perhaps i’ll check out the book as a result. i originally discovered july when i heard about ‘me and you and everyone we know,’ in which she acted, but also wrote and directed. fun fact: she’s also a banana slug, which means i have to love her (even if she never graduated).

* in honor of my quickly approaching jaunt to the city that will always be home to me; written with laura veirs’ (no, she’s not an l.a. resident) “chimney sweeping man” playing in my ears, thank you un.