Shelfology Book Pairing

A Novel

by Joan Didion

A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, "Play It As It Lays" captures the mood of an entire generation. Joan Didion chose Hollywood to serve as her microcosm of contemporary society and exposed a culture characterized by emptiness and ennui.

Advice to Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time

by Eve Babitz

INTOXICATING ~ EFFERVESCENT ~ HEDONISTIC Iconic LA 'lit girl' Eve Babitz's semi-autobiographical novel of sun, excess and success.Jacaranda - wild child of sun and surf - grows up by the hurling glory of the ocean and believes that good things are infinite. Propelled by drink, drugs and men, she travels headlong through the rip current of West Hollywood's decadent paradise in the pursuit of pleasure. Before long, she is on the edge: the allure of excess threatens her book deal, the patience of her agent and the possibility of a new life.Sex and Rage charts the highs and lows of a life lived at the limits, of creative pursuit and of dazzlingly beautiful people in 1970s LA.