Bookworm

Gifts for... Bookworm the

“Once when I testified before a Senate Committee about LSD, Bobby Kennedy asked me how many people I knew smoked marijuana. Brazenly I announced,

‘Everyone I know smokes marijuana except my grandmother.’” Eve Babitz’s memoir Eve’s Hollywoodis more like a series of extraordinary accounts, reflections and anecdotes from an unlikely protagonist who matter-of-factly narrates what life was like for an attractive, progressive young woman navigating the strange and surreal world that was Hollywood circa the 1950s and 1960s. Babitz’s prose is addictive; at times, her language is so descriptive, it’s like scanning vivid photographs. In contrast, William Souder’s deep dive into arguably the country’s greatest writer of the 20th century is like a glimpse into John

Steinbeck’s mind as he discovers patterns in humankind that bridged nature and sociology. Leonard Cohen’s The Spice-Box of Earth (First

Bantam’s 1968 paperback edition) covers the gamut; it’s an ideal gift for music fans, book collectors and poetry enthusiasts. AJ

‘EVE'S HOLLYWOOD’ BY EVE BABITZ

Two Birds Books

881 41st Ave., Santa Cruz 831-900-5588 twobirdsbooks.com $16.51

‘MAD AT THE WORLD: A LIFE OF JOHN STEINBECK’ BY WILLIAM SOUDER

Bookshop Santa Cruz

1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz 831-423-0900 bookshopsantacruz.com $32

‘THE SPICE-BOX OF EARTH’ BY LEONARD COHEN

Bad Animal

1011 Cedar St., Santa Cruz 831-900-5031 badanimalbooks.com $100