For when your skin is on fire

Hello from Los Angeles,

Visiting LA always has the strange effect of making certain obsessions click into place. It feels very illuminating to be here and once again I understand what Bret Easton Ellis has been going on and on about.

New York summers are oppressive, and although I technically live on an island, I need a vacation.

Still, the heat seems to follow me wherever I go. It’s the kind of unflinching heat that doesn’t merely rest on your skin but presses into it, as if the sun has mistaken you for something that belongs to it. These books make me feel like that too.

Grand Rapids by Natasha Stagg

Transports you to that one, hazy summer. As the world keeps shifting, everything in Grand Rapids stays suspended in sameness.

Cindy Sherman: Postcards

Maybe the coolest and most impressive idea for an art book I’ve ever seen. The cheapest way to own a high quality Cindy Sherman print. Frame them, keep them, mail them, gift them, treasure them, hang them on your wall, write love letters with them. Cindy Sherman forever.

The Easy Life by Marguerite Duras

Not exactly a beach read.. however it does take place near the beach. It’s not a plot-heavy book, but instead introspective and existential. The writing is incredibly beautiful.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

Absolutely divine. I was shaking, my palms were sweating, I felt sick to my stomach and loved every second of it.

Talk by Linda Rosenkrantz

A novel made up almost entirely of dialogue, capturing a daylong beach conversation between three girl friends. Juicy. This is my personal read of the trip—I picked it up hoping that it will make me feel like the documentary Wildwood, N.J. does.

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackinstosh

Three sisters grow up in isolation by the sea. When they are suddenly left alone, the fragile order that has governed their lives begins to unravel. I tore through this book in two sittings and it’s been haunting me ever since.

The Beach by Alex Garland

Sticky—and what I would honestly describe as an epic. There’s also a Leonardo Dicaprio movie adaptation if you’re too lazy to read the book (but you should really read the book). Garland’s career has primarily been in film, so it is quite a treat to indulge oneself with his early literary work.

^{Featuring little babies by my dear LA based Olive Diamond}

BONUS: The Goodby People by Gavin Lambert

Part homage to my time as a McNally Jackson bookseller and part recommendation from my bff Julia, this book was destined to make its way onto my reading list one way or another. I love reading a novel in its locale…it makes me feel involved. Maybe I’ll write one of those Cindy Sherman postcards while I’m at it.

Xoxo,

Allie