Emily C. Hughes (she/her) wants to scare you. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror and curates a list of the year's new scary books. You can find her writing elsewhere in the...
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Historical L.A. Health Fads
For decades, Los Angeles (and the rest of Southern California) loved to market itself as a place where you could improve your health in the optimal climate of the region. (Pay no attention to the smog.) But much of the health information, good and bad, from the pre-smog era was hard to come by.
Remembering Joseph Hansen: Father of the Gay Mystery Novel
“The point of fiction is to give the reader for a few hours the chance to be somebody else, to broaden and deepen his understanding of himself and the strangers among whom he has to pass his days. The best novels do this now as they have always done it. It is a noble thing.”
Happy 90th Birthday, Goodhue Building!
In July of 1926, Angelenos eagerly awaited the opening of the Los Angeles Central Library's new building, the first permanent home for the fifty-year-old library.
Gay Downtown Los Angeles
Previously, in writing about Pershing Square I neglected to describe the essential role the place had in the Gay history of Los Angeles. This post is an attempt to redress that lack of research and to recognize LGBT month at Los Angeles Public Library.
Celebrating the Career of Greg Louganis Through the Lens of the Herald Examiner
The 1984 Olympic Summer Games were a considerable success for the United States as both a host and competitor.
Revisiting East Adams
If you drive through the neighborhood around the intersection of Adams and San Pedro Street today, you will see a strip mall and on the opposite corner a clothing store. Everywhere you look, there are businesses with signs in Spanish, reflecting the predominantly Latino population.
Communes and the Quest for Utopia
If you live in Los Angeles or any other major city, you may sometimes dream of abandoning the traffic, congestion, and high cost of living for a simpler life.
April 29 Marks 30th Anniversary of 1986 Fire
This year, 2016, marks the 30th anniversary of the most catastrophic fire of a library building in the U.S. It occurred at our Central Library.
The Legacy of the Central Library Fire
On the morning of April 29, 1986, librarian Dan Dupill was answering telephone calls at the Literature Reference Desk at Central Library. The antiquated phone system was slow, and the volume of calls high in those pre-Internet days, so getting through to a Reference Librarian could be a challenge.
Long Lost Lucretius Poem Still Resonates
If you've taken one of our free library tours, we've probably pointed out the quotation over the Flower Street entrance from Lucretius:
“Like runners they bear on the lamp of life."