Better Than Friday - 124

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all of you, thanks for making this project possible, much more to come this next year. 

1. The last unbelievably great book I read - Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West 

Thanks for the rec and reminder Miller. It's now one of my favorites.

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Praised by great writers from Flannery O’Conner to Jonathan Lethem, Miss Lonelyhearts is an American classic. A newspaper reporter assigned to write the agony column in the depths of the Great Depression seeks respite from the poor souls who send in their sad letters, only to be further tormented by his viciously cynical editor, Shrike. This single volume of Miss Lonelyhearts features its original Alvin Lustig jacket design, as well as a new introduction by Harold Bloom, who calls it “my favorite work of modern American fiction.”
- Amazon

2. Smog by Chet Baker 

Heard this on the radio driving in the rain the other day. Immaculate.

3. Katjuscha 

Beautiful Russian folk song. Also dark because Katyusha was a nickname for these things.

4. Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry

Just came across this, haven't yet watched but plan to. I really need to re-read/re-review "Under the Volcano".
 

5. The end of an era in Los Angeles. Rip Anne Rice, Eve Babitz and Joan Didion. Here's Joan's "ultimate reading list".  

What I did to the December bird on our 2021 fridge calendar.