Scott Thomas is the Stoker-nominated author of Kill Creek, which was selected by the American Library Association's reader committee as the top horror book of 2017,...
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Author Scott Thomas and his latest novel, Midwestern Gothic
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The Book of Flowers
Picture a book that can gracefully endure the trials of the centuries—the water, the fire, the sword. What will this book be about? In what language will it be? There is an old legend about an artist-scribe who was being burned along with a precious manuscript.
World Water Day, Innovation, and Southern California
World Water Day was celebrated this past March 22. It is a day created in 1993 by the UN to bring to light the importance of water to life among people. This year’s celebration was dedicated to Water and Sustainable Development.
Hippos, Crocodiles, and Rhinos! Oh My!
A colleague in the History Department recently came across an old book whose drab cover hides a fascinating adventure story.
America, We Thank You
One hundred years ago, on April 24th, 1915, the Ottoman Turkish government enacted a systematic policy to annihilate its Armenian population. From 1915-1930, over a million and a half souls perished.
Horsetrading and Angry Feminists: Central’s Backstory
As you learn on our daily docent-led tours, The Richard J Riordan Central Library has almost 90 years of fascinating history. But some of most intriguing chapters in the building’s story occurred before the library even opened its doors for the first time in 1926.
Vacation Without Humiliation
As African American Heritage Month draws to a close, I would like to bring your attention to a largely unknown chapter of American history.
Funicular Heydays in Downtown Los Angeles
A funicular railway or incline railway is a short railway located over a steep incline and operates by a cable wire and pulley system in which two tram-like cars on parallel rail tracks almost counter balance each other. As one car goes up, another goes down.
Read it First! Film Adaptations Headed to Theatres Near You: February 2015 edition
If you've heard it once, you've heard it a million times—the book was better. There's nothing like debating the differences between a favorite book and its translation to the screen.
Poet Laureate? Poet Illiterate? What?
When I received the call last September from Mayor Eric Garcetti that I’d been chosen as the new Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, I had to keep this quiet until the official announcement in October.
Where is the Central Library’s Front Door?
Our free, docent-led Art and Architecture tours of the downtown Central Library begin and end in the Main Lobby. But we are often asked: where exactly is the library’s front door? It’s a strange question for a landmark building. Here's a bit of background on the many entrances: