Arts Books

A few weeks ago, I met Walter Mosley on Pico Boulevard near Fairfax, around the corner from where he was raised. This is a neighborhood that still fuels Mosley's imagination; it's where his detective Easy Rawlins lives, and where a good deal of his new novel, “Little Green,” takes place. “Little Green” marks a return to the Rawlins series, which Mosley seemed to have ended with the 2007 novel “Blonde Faith.” That book concluded with Easy's apparent death in a car accident, but six years later, the character is back, alive if not entirely well.

A few weeks ago, I met Walter Mosley on Pico Boulevard near Fairfax, around the corner from where he was raised. This is a neighborhood that still fuels Mosley's imagination; it's where his detective Easy Rawlins lives, and where a good deal of his new novel, “Little Green,” takes place. “Little Green” marks a return to the Rawlins series, which Mosley seemed to have ended with the 2007 novel “Blonde Faith.” That book concluded with Easy's apparent death in a car accident, but six years later, the character is back, alive if not entirely well.

Recruiting a new leader for a big museum can take months - sometimes more than a year - involving search committees, consultants and rounds of interviews and negotiations. In the case of the Autry National Center of the American West, finding its fourth chief executive since opening 25 years ago was a much simpler affair. The biggest challenge was for board chair Marshall McKay, tired from a 12-hour day of meetings, to muster the energy to rush through a hotel corridor in Portland, Ore., catch up with the man he'd pegged as the Autry's next leader, and make him a proposal from out of the blue.

Recruiting a new leader for a big museum can take months - sometimes more than a year - involving search committees, consultants and rounds of interviews and negotiations. In the case of the Autry National Center of the American West, finding its fourth chief executive since opening 25 years ago was a much simpler affair. The biggest challenge was for board chair Marshall McKay, tired from a 12-hour day of meetings, to muster the energy to rush through a hotel corridor in Portland, Ore., catch up with the man he'd pegged as the Autry's next leader, and make him a proposal from out of the blue.

Bird's Nest: In today's Arts & Books, the Culture Monster article about the Bird's Nest in Beijing is missing David Ng's byline.

A few weeks ago, I visited Rachel Kushner in her Angelino Heights home to talk about her second novel, “The Flamethrowers.” Taking place in lower Manhattan and Italy in the late 1970s, “The Flamethrowers” is an inquiry into art, politics and identity, set against a pair of landscapes defined by turmoil. Kushner is smart and deeply thoughtful; her reflections on the book, and the issues it raises, appear in this Sunday's Arts & Books . Here is more of our conversation.

As a regular reader of your Books section, I want to let you know that the new Arts & Books does not really work. After reading Sunday's print edition, I am left empty. There is nothing there anymore. Although arts are related to books, your mating of these two does not work. I am well aware of your budget limitations and am not suggesting anything that costs more -- just something more like the old presentation. The same goes for the Opinion section, which I used to read. Now I can hardly find it. The quality of these two sections has slipped badly.

When it begins this Thursday evening at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, the first LA Art Book Fair will showcase print books through an unexpected lens. Featuring publishers from 20 foreign countries and a dozen states, this is a celebration for both artists and enthusiasts, an expression of the diversity of books as a creative medium, not just a delivery system for words and images but an aesthetic territory all its own. What you'll find are not just art books as we generally think of them, but also smaller editions, artist one-offs, handmade books, ephemera, zines.

Most people who write fiction have day jobs mainly because writing fiction tends to pay poorly and sporadically. But James Franco, who has written a collection of short stories entitled "Palo Alto" (Scribners) is a movie star. So when he landed one of those stories in Esquire this spring, it was part of a package that included a dapper cover-shot. Obviously, this doesn't happen to most newbie fiction writers, or even award-winning fiction writers unless you are Jonathan Franzen. And perhaps Jennifer Weiner and Jodi Picoult can stop being so mad at Franzen and start being mad at Franco ?

Olive & Thyme: The Toluca Lake cafe will be offering a wine and cheese tasting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.  Attendees will sample more than a dozen cheeses with cheesemonger Tyler Schwarz and learn about cheesemaking from aging and texture to methods of making and region of origin. The wine and cheese tasting is $45 per person. Call or email gayle@oliveandthyme.com for reservations. 4013 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, (818) 557-1560, www.oliveandthyme.com . Modern Art Desserts: On Saturday, the Craft in America Study Center will present the third installment of “Food as Medium for Craft,” with a talk and book signing by Blue Bottle pastry chef Caitlin Freeman.

A few weeks ago, I visited Rachel Kushner in her Angelino Heights home to talk about her second novel, “The Flamethrowers.” Taking place in lower Manhattan and Italy in the late 1970s, “The Flamethrowers” is an inquiry into art, politics and identity, set against a pair of landscapes defined by turmoil. Kushner is smart and deeply thoughtful; her reflections on the book, and the issues it raises, appear in this Sunday's Arts & Books . Here is more of our conversation.

When it begins this Thursday evening at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, the first LA Art Book Fair will showcase print books through an unexpected lens. Featuring publishers from 20 foreign countries and a dozen states, this is a celebration for both artists and enthusiasts, an expression of the diversity of books as a creative medium, not just a delivery system for words and images but an aesthetic territory all its own. What you'll find are not just art books as we generally think of them, but also smaller editions, artist one-offs, handmade books, ephemera, zines.

Los Angeles has no shortage of activity for art buffs in recent days with two fairs recently in town, the L.A. Art Show and Art Los Angeles Contemporary, both of which ended their runs Sunday. This week, a third fair will open, but one will have a bookish twist. LA Art Book Fair will hold its first installment at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo from Friday through Sunday, with an official opening on Thursday evening. The event is free to the public. The fair is intended to be a companion to the annual NY Art Book Fair in New York.

"Natural Companions: The Garden Lover's Guide to Plant Combinations," the new release from bestselling writer Ken Druse and artist Ellen Hoverkamp, rises above other books of its kind thanks to two elements: an authoritative, engaging narrative and botanical portraits that are nothing short of mesmerizing. PHOTO GALLERY: "Natural Companions" Using a large-format flatbed scanner, Hoverkamp has produced more than 100 botanical images with amazing depth, detail and color. She assembled the vignettes with a black background and scanned the plants as fast as she could before the just-picked petals, buds and blades had time to wilt.

Times/USC poll: An article in the Nov. 20 LATExtra section about a Los Angeles Times/USC poll of Latino and Asian voters' views on environmental issues identified the Southern California director of the California League of Conservation Voters as David Smallwood. His name is David Allgood. Science competition: An article in the Nov. 14 California section about young people vying for scholarships and prizes in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology referred to Jeniffer Harper-Taylor as "company president.

When you walk into the Taschen bookstore in Beverly Hills, it feels as if you are entering the lavish private library of an art scholar. Illuminated shelves are lined with stunning and elaborate volumes on artists, architects, photographers and designers. The Philippe Starck-designed interior and ceilings adorned with commissioned murals create a contemporary yet elegant ambience. The Beverly Drive location is just one of several of the German publisher's retail stores, the majority having opened during a time when more than a dozen independently owned bookstores have closed in Southern California.

Friends of the Hammer Museum seemed to be ready for a holiday party. When the Evites shot into cyberspace to celebrate the season with the new book "Hammer Projects 1999-2009," organizers expected 300 or 400 people to respond but wound up with 1,200 saying they would attend. The book chronicles 10 years of exhibitions by emerging artists in the Hammer Projects series, and guests included many of the book's writers and artists. Museum Director Ann Philbin, adjunct curator James Elaine and series supporter Lauren Bon hosted the Dec. 16 event.