Sunday afternoon marked the celebration of literary journal "Black Clock 15"—a robust, full-color issue devoted to all things cinema. The brainchild of novelist Steve Erickson, Black Clock is self-ascribed as “singular, idiosyncratic, and a little mysterious”—a mantra that precisely mirrors the tone of Sunday’s reading. more ›

Actress and adult entertainer Sasha Grey was on "The View" this morning to serve as a "living Hot Topic" to talk about the whole reading to school kids debacle. The hosts managed to not impersonate a henhouse and pressed Grey on her decision not only to pursue a career in porn, but to participate in a program that had her reading to youngsters at a Compton elementary school. more ›

Tuesday, award-winning author Rebecca Skloot will read from her New York Times best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks at UCLA Live’s Royce Hall. The critically-acclaimed nonfiction book has been heralded for its intricate research and gripping story. more ›

Novelist Mark Z. Danielewski is frighteningly good at what he does. His books have imparted an international cult following for their courageous and mind-bending subjects, experimental typography, and innovative approaches to story-telling. more ›

"Things got way too meta," Art Spiegelman says. The author sits at a table atop the Soho House, smoking a cigarette and awaiting his interview with Bookworm-host, Michael Silverblatt, for the 6th installment of KCRW's UpClose series. And he's not kidding. more ›

We scour event listings and sift through tons of press releases to bring you the best events of the evening. Even for a Monday night, things are still hopping around town, including an outdoor movie screening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off at Station Hollywood; tango lessons on the Ford Amphitheatre stage and a Denise Richards' book signing. more ›

It's a busy night for a Monday. Read on for info on William Shatner's documentary on the Star Trek's captains, which screens at Hollywood Forever; Dan Harmon, creator of Community appears at Meltdown's Nerdist Theater and the Ford Amphitheater hosts an open mic night. more ›

Independence Day celebrations continue—in a literary sort of way—at the Annenberg Beach House and at Vroman's in Pasadena. It's also Tuesday, that means it's wine and jazz night at Hollywood & Highland. Read on for more details. more ›

1. Sister Spit is the San Francisco-based iconic feminist-lesbian ‘rambling road show’ co-directed by novelist Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson. Per their website: “Sini and Michelle gathered together a group of some of the most notorious, talented, and just frickin' interesting women and dykes, and went on tour all over the U.S.” Past tours have included legendary gay poets and authors like Eileen Myles, Jan LeCroy, Miranda Mellis, Beth Lisik, and Lynnee Breedlove. Their epic cross-country tours made national headlines. more ›

Five years ago, the independent bookstore was likely fated to join the cassette tape: nostalgically revered, but tragically doomed. Despite hand picked recommendations, too-cool cashiers, and erudite small talk, the local bookstore didn’t stand a chance against the Big Guys—corporations like Barnes and Noble, Borders, and the true Iago of bookselling, Amazon. Then came the Kindle, the Nook, whatever the hell Sony makes, and all-too-quickly the local bookstore was thrown into certain extinction. Indie booksellers started looking less like the counter-culture revolutionaries they once were and more like, well, Luddites. But this month, something sensational happened: mega-chain Borders went belly-up and despite bleak predictions, many of LA’s indie bookstores aren’t just still standing—some are downright thriving. That’s right: mom-and-pop bookshops are back, baby. more ›

Today would've been the 107th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), best known for his words of wisdom inked under the nom de plume Dr. Seuss. Creator of the Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Oh, the Places You'll Go and so many more, it's refreshing if not just for sentimental purposes to celebrate Seuss' birthday by recalling his great one-liners. more ›

Los Angeles is home to many things "unliterary." Hollywood celebrities, the porn industry, and paparazzi perpetuate this fact. So, when held against definitive bookish cities Seattle, New York, and San Francisco, LA’s literary credibility falls understandably short. But Central Connecticut State University’s recent list of 75 national literary cities banished Los Angeles to number 61. LA’s literary rating fell behind those of Miami, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. No offense intended toward Sin City, but this can’t be right. more ›

Tonight’s the opening night for Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over’s monthly residency at ACME Comedy. Written & Performed by J. Michael Feldman, directed by Annie McVey, and puppeteered by Jess McKay, Fairy Tale Theatre helps grown ups with refresher lessons on sex, relationships, financial stability and parking regulations among other topics through a collection of fairy tales and fables. Tickets: $10 online, $15 at the door. Every third Thursday of the month in 2011. more ›

In honor of Chef Jamie Lauren appearing in Top Chef: All-Stars, which premieres on BRAVO tonight, Beechwood is hosting an All Night Happy Hour starting deliciously early for a "night" event. When can you get your celebratory chef-drink & nosh on? Starting at 4 p.m. Bravo! more ›

A unknown Florida pastor has been rocketed into infamy for his plans, which may end up being canceled, to hold a Quran burning event. Terry Jones' rally, which would take place on Saturday, September 11th, is in protest of the controversial Islamic community -- erroneously called a mosque -- center planned for near Ground Zero. The news has sparked protests in the Middle East and offiicals are worried that if the Quran burning goes through, it will endanger the lives of Americans. more ›

A study released late least year ranked Los Angeles as a paltry #62 out of 75 when it came to the city's literacy. And when each year seems to bring word that more and more small independent bookshops are closing down, like this weekend's end of Equator Books in Venice, it seems the good old fashioned printed word is having a hard time staying afloat. But we are readers, right? We still love books, don't we? And while you're looking at our words on some sort of screen, we wanted to pay tribute to books and the act of reading; what better way than to skim the virtual pages of our LAist Featured Photos pool... more ›

A study conducted by Central Connecticut State University takes a look at literacy in major US cities and aims to present a portrait of the country's "cultural vitality," and it's not-so-great news for Los Angeles. more ›

After a packed-to-the-brim soft opening over the weekend, Stories in Echo Park is now open. The new & used bookstore with a cafe took over the old Sea Level Records space on Sunset Blvd. next to 826's Echo Park Time Travel Mart and near The Echo, where Stories co-owner Liz Garo books music acts for shows. more ›

Or just sit back and watch. The Nike-hosted event will be happening tonight at The Montalban. Every Sunday night this venue will house a different sport. This week, the L.A. Dodgeball Society is helping out by bringing back the classic game of 4-square. Look out for wild costumes and that giant rubber ball. more ›

Submitted and authored by Emily Lerman more ›

6 p.m. // The Hammer Museum // 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles // (310) 443-7000 // $5 more ›

I'm actually a little hesitant to tell you about Junot Díaz's reading, scheduled for Monday, March 17th at the Hammer Museum -- I mean, yeah, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" was one of the best books of 2007, he's been nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction, and he's a fantastic speaker and reader. But then half of Los Angeles will show up to hear the Dominican-born, Jersey-raised professor of creative writing (he's got a nice gig at MIT, of all places), and I'll be the jerk in the corner who can't find a seat more ›

Many LAist staffers, contributors and readers were deeply troubled by the news of Dutton's closure. We all have a favorite memory of Dutton's - a particular book we discovered there, an admired author we met at a reading, a certain afternoon spent browsing. We'd like to honor the many unique memories of Dutton's that we all share with a series of posts about what Dutton's meant to us and what it meant to you. Our first post in this series is from LAist reader Laura Hertzfeld: more ›

LAist's own TV Junkie has already given us the deets (and some alternatives), but in case you missed it, the 80th Annual Academy Awards are tonight, live from our very own Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Settle into your favorite spot in front of your tee vee and tune in along with zillions of other people around the world and see who wins what, who wears what, and if it rains on the red carpet. more ›

Aside from being an incredible source for houses, hookers, haikus and everything in between, Craigslist can also a great source of entertainment. Reading through the listings under the personal section, especially "casual encounters" and "missed connections" can serve as a much needed distraction on one of those brutally boring days at the office. These sections may not always be the safest for the work environment, however. If your worried about The Man invading your Internet privacy, than take a stroll through the hidden gem of Craigslist entertainment that is the "Gigs" section. more ›

Sometimes too much holiday cheer is a very, very bad thing. Especially the liquid kind. Hence, the lateness of today's column. But here's the down and dirty on what's happening around town tonight: more ›

LA is a gadget kind of town. We’re also, it seems, swiftly becoming quite the literary town. And so, as the year draws nigh and you scramble around the city trying to score the latest whatever for your loved ones this holiday season, it would be wrong of us to ignore Kindle. more ›

My brother is a wine snob. What I love about him though, with all his tattoos and his refusal to wear anything other than shorts and flip-flops regardless of weather, is that he isn't a real snob. He knows good wine. He seeks it out. But he's all about finding the best wine at a great price. When he's in town, he wants to visit every wine bar, wine boutique and wine warehouse in LA.... more ›