"Sex and Rage" by Eve Babitz

This novel gives the reader a unique look into the heyday of 60's and 70's hollywood through the perspective of famed Eve Babitz. It is sexy, insightful, and very much a view behind the curtain of Hollywood ins and outs.

"Fairy Tale" by Stephen King

A different style for King. It made for an enjoyable read, though distinctive from what I've come to expect from him. The narrator is a high school student who finds, through a few serendipitous occurrences, himself in a different, "fairy tale-esque" world. He plays the hero!

"The Outsider" By Stephen King

Though this was as well written as any King novel, I found it less enjoyable without having read three apparent prequels. I am aware that various works have slipped past me unnoticed but I was quite shocked that there was an entire series that I missed. If it's much like "The Outsiders", I'm fine with having missed out. Too much unexplainable. I prefer when the horror feels more tangible.

"Ask the Dust" by John Fante

Recommended to me by my love, "Ask the Dust" is set in the mid world war years of Los Angeles. Seemingly autobiographical, the story follows the budding author Arturo Bandini as he scrapes odds and ends together in an attempt to kickstart his writing career. I loved how this book described the Los Angeles of it's time with such specificity. It made me wish I could travel in time to visit the streets and sights of the era. Some of the references still exist and others have changed greatly but, nearly 90 years later, it was thrilling to imagine a day in the life of a migrant living hand to mouth in LA. Bandini has a complex relationship with his romantic counterpart Camilla. They only seem to enjoy one another when they behave terribly. He has his first sexual encounter with a woman who is then almost immediatly killed in a earthquake. Page by page, seeing how Bandini's relationships ebb and flow from intense need to overpowering hate, the reader develops a very real understanding of the life and times. Fante writes with strong prose and unparrelled transparency.

"The Guermantes Way" by Marcel Proust

I recently finished the third installment of Marcel Proust's epic novel "In Search of Lost Time". "The Guermantes Way", as the name indicates, delves deeply into the Guermantes family, inasmuch as it existed while Proust was a youth. He becomes fascinated by Madame Guermantes, becomes introduced to their social circle, paints a thorough picture of their complexities and begins, what seems to be, a storied relationship with Messeiur Charlus. "The Guermantes Way" is truly like the 19th century version of a reality housewives show. All the characters are outlandishly self involved, obsessed with maintaining the status quo and, constantly trying to one up each other. I read almost the entire edition in english two years ago and started over to read it simultaneously with the french version to best aid in my french comprehension. This is a thick read, overflowing with references to works of the era and historical pieces, some obscure and others well known. My sweetheart and I have begun our plunge into the next edition "Sodom and Gommorah". Here comes the hedonism!

"Billy Summers" by Stephen King

Having read so many King novels, "Billy Summers" was a pleasant surprise in it's departure from his normative template. Instead of dealing in his traditional horror or supernatural genre, King spins a tale of a wily hitman duped into a very lucrative and dangerous "last" hit. The novel delves into Billy's military past and weaves a tale that grows ever more suspicious. He meets and bonds with a female victim of assault that proves to complicate his already sticky situation. Following Billy as he uncovers the true depth of deciept and strives to make amends for a hit that should never have happened, the novel keeps the reader on their toes and leaves them wanting more Billy stories. Hopefully this book will inspire King to delve further into this genre. I would be thrilled to find more reads of this style.