The Best of Los Angeles Review of Books
10+ most popular Los Angeles Review of Books articles, as voted by our community.
A multimedia literary and cultural arts magazine with an enduring commitment to the written word.
Los Angeles Review of Books on Architecture
The Glory of Trams
Christopher Atamian and Aram Pachyan meditate on the personal and communal value of tramways....
Los Angeles Review of Books on Books
Fuck the Poetry Police: On the Index of Major Literary Prizes in the United States
Dan Sinykin breaks down the Post45 Data Collective set on literary awards compiled by Stephanie Young and Juliana Spahr....
History of Smut: On Kelsy Burke’s “The Pornography Wars”
Whitney Strub considers Kelsy Burke’s “The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession.”...
Los Angeles Review of Books on California
“Sir, You Do Realize I Am 9-1-1?”: On the Lives and Afterlives of California’s Firefighters
Jaime Lowe reports on the neglect and exploitation coursing through the civilian fire infrastructure revealed after the release of her book “Breathing Fire,” which investigated Shawna Jones’s life and…
Los Angeles Review of Books on Music
BTS: Permission to Desire
Rani Neutill discusses the euphoric affect of BTS for Gen-X women....
Los Angeles Review of Books on TV
Who Owns Dungeons & Dragons?
Emily C. Friedman discusses the long, robust history of third-party Dungeons & Dragons storytelling, and the recent threats to that independence....
Yacht, Rocks: On HBO’s “The White Lotus” and Picturesque Dread
Jorge Cotte reviews HBO’s “The White Lotus.”...
Popular
These are some all-time favorites with Refind users.
The Philosophy of Shittiness: On Kieran Setiya’s “Life Is Hard”
Helena de Bres reviews Kieran Setiya’s new book, “Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way.”...
How to Read English in India
Akshya Saxena tells us why English in India is A Good Thing to Have.
Breaking into English
Lily Meyer on the hard work of translators and editors that brings international literature to English-language readers....
The Internet Is a Crime Against Humanity
Justin E. H. Smith’s new book, “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is,” shows how the human dream of telecommunication has been twisted into a nightmare....
The Storykeeper: A Conversation with Svetlana Alexievich
José Vergara and his students ask Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich about how war has shaped her work, as well as about her writing process and Chornobyl’s legacy.
What is Refind?
Every day Refind picks the most relevant links from around the web for you. is one of more than 10k sources we monitor.
How does Refind curate?
It’s a mix of human and algorithmic curation, following a number of steps:
- We monitor 10k+ sources and 1k+ thought leaders on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
- In addition, our users save links from around the web using our Save buttons and our extensions.
- Our algorithm processes 100k+ new links every day and uses external signals to find the most relevant ones, focusing on timeless pieces.
- Our community of active users gets the most relevant links every day, tailored to their interests. They provide feedback via implicit and explicit signals: open, read, listen, share, mark as read, read later, «More/less like this», etc.
- Our algorithm uses these internal signals to refine the selection.
- In addition, we have expert curators who manually curate niche topics.
The result: lists of the best and most useful articles on hundreds of topics.
How does Refind detect «timeless» pieces?
We focus on pieces with long shelf-lives—not news. We determine «timelessness» via a number of metrics, for example, the consumption pattern of links over time.
How many sources does Refind monitor?
We monitor 10k+ content sources on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
Can I submit a link?
Indirectly, by using Refind and saving links from outside (e.g., via our extensions).
How can I report a problem?
When you’re logged-in, you can flag any link via the «More» (...) menu. You can also report problems via email to hello@refind.com
Who uses Refind?
200k+ smart people start their day with Refind. To learn something new. To get inspired. To move forward. Our apps have a 4.9/5 rating.
Is Refind free?
Yes, it’s free!
How can I sign up?
Head over to our homepage and sign up by email or with your Twitter or Google account.