There’s a few things that’ll make a book automatically pique my interest. Shakespeare retellings, for one. Cold War spycraft and skullduggery, for another. And, most of all, a Hollywood setting. As you might have noticed if you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, I love the movies. I’m fascinated by the inner workings of the industry and by celebrity gossip. I’m seriously obsessed with Old Hollywood, to the point where I managed to get away with writing a paper about Jean Harlow, Judy Garland, and Katharine Hepburn for a history class in college. So in honor of it being the weekend of the Oscars, I’ve rounded up ten novels about Hollywood I’d heartily recommend, from historical fiction to contemporary romance to an alt-history space opera.
I think books about Hollywood pull off a delicate balancing act at their best, simultaneously deconstructing and reaffirming the myth and magic of movie-making. They pull back the curtain just enough to let you in on a few secrets and somehow knowing how the trick works makes it all the more magical. I’m eternally interested in fiction that explores creative relationships and the fraught, delicate, sublime process of coming together to create something with a shot at eternity.
Another reason why I find these kinds of books so fascinating is how they explore the construction of celebrity and, in the case of celebrity romance, what it means for someone to see beyond that public persona. How hard is it to have an honest relationship with someone who’s always on? And how intoxicating must it be to have someone who sees you for you? One of the reasons I wanted to write a celebrity romance is that I wanted the chance to explore both the tension and the exhilaration in those kinds of relationships and to write about a heroine renegotiating her own celebrity.
Last, but certainly not least, I gravitate towards books with atmosphere. Any good Hollywood book has to nail the setting and my favorites have a near overwhelming sense of time and place. You’re right there in the chaos of a movie set, the glamour of a red carpet, or the hushed intensity of a back-room power struggle.
Let me know your favorite books about Hollywood in the comments!
Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz
You know I had to put an Eve Babitz on here. Babitz is the ultimate LA cool girl: always funny, simultaneously sharp and dreamy, and locked in a perpetual love affair with the city itself. Sex and Rage is a delicious haze of a book, following a young woman trying to find her way artistically and romantically against the backdrop of 1970’s LA and New York. I honestly could have slotted any of Babitz’s books into this list but I think this is the perfect place to start for a sampling of her style.
The Comeback by Ella Berman
There’s been a dark side to Hollywood since the very first days of silent film and this unflinching look at a young actress returning to LA since her notorious crash and burn is gripping and devastating. This is a book that haunted me for weeks after finishing it. It’s exposed-nerve raw and a searing indictment of a system that callously uses and discards young women. Definitely check out content warnings before picking it up if you’re a sensitive reader.
The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
A complicated Hollywood love story about an actress who’s had to fight for every opportunity she’s gotten and the on-and-off fake relationship she’s been in for almost a decade that might end up being very real. This is wonderfully cinematic, deeply romantic in unexpected ways, and a thoughtful look at the realities of being a woman of color in Hollywood. I would give quite a lot for someone to make it into a movie.
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
A gentle YA love story about budding production designer Emi and the actress she falls for, set over the course of one life-changing summer as a letter she finds at an estate sale leads her to a mystery involving a Hollywood icon. I find LaCour’s writing to be just spellbinding and love how she captures the thrill of young love. She also writes in a wonderfully tactile way that makes her worlds spring to life and has an eye for detail that sweeps the reader away to the particular magic of a LA summer.
Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren
Two Hollywood agents fall for each other, only to find out that their firms have merged and they’ll be competing for the same position. Smart, savvy Evie is at the top of her game professionally and one of my favorite Christina Lauren heroines. The chemistry and banter between her and Carter is impeccable, whether they’re playing pranks on each other or making out behind the scenes of a photoshoot. Also recommended if you like seeing slimy men get their richly deserved comeuppance.
Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra
Set at a second-tier Hollywood studio in the run up to and during World War II as they go from being raked over the coals for creating films about the dangers of fascism to running a booming business making propaganda films, this was one of my favorites of 2022. Marra crafts the kind of sentences that make you slow down and luxuriate in the quality of his prose. I love everything about this book: the wit and poignancy, the perfectly rendered setting, and the sprawling cast of flawed yet lovable characters that dwell inside my head permanently.
Reel by Kennedy Ryan
An emotionally intense romance between an up-and-coming actress set to star in a biopic about a forgotten legendary Black singer and the director who falls for her the minute he sees her on stage. This one feels just as epic as the movie it revolves around and the chemistry between Neevah and Canon is shiver-inducing. Ryan writes books with an enormous amount of emotional depth and nuance and this is the first in a planned series that I can’t wait to read more of.
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
This is one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read and I love it. Radiance is part mystery, part alternate history, part Art Deco marvel, part space opera, and completely unlike anything else I’ve ever encountered. Valente’s writing is a dizzying whirl and a wild ride and all you can do is to succumb to it. I won’t even try to describe the plot here, except to say that this version of Hollywood is on the moon, film is largely silent due to Edison’s monopoly over talking pictures, and an accomplished documentary filmmaker has gone missing on the planet Venus.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
A captivating, lushly written fantasy set in a magical version of Golden Age Hollywood governed by dark bargains, monstrous men, and the promise of immortality. Vo is a master of vibes. I would have read hundreds more pages about this world and while not everything gets explained, I felt like it didn’t need to be. Reading this book feels like being swallowed up in a daze, living and loving alongside Luli Wei as she fights for roles worthy of her talent and the women she loves.
Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder
If you ever spent too much time analyzing the cast interactions of a CW drama or have a bit of 2010’s nostalgia, this is the celebrity romance for you. Shane and Lilah, former co-stars on a paranormal TV show brough back together for the show’s final season, absolutely hate each other. But they also have a spectacular amount of unresolved sexual tension. Wilder unravels this delicious slow burn perfectly and got me to buy into both their initial loathing and the relationship they forge by the end. (So difficult! Still so impressed by how she did it!)
Currently reading: Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch, which very well might have made it into this list if I had finished it earlier. It’s gossipy, smart, and incredibly compelling.
What’s bringing me joy lately:
The all-encompassing cinematic experience that is Dune Part 2. The ending credits rolled and I just sat there open-mouthed.
As mentioned earlier, the fact that it’s Oscars weekend! Even as they frustrate me, I love them. I’ve watched nine out of the ten movies nominated for Best Picture and I’m planning on watching Anatomy of a Fall this weekend so I can finally get all ten.
The many intriguing titles on the Women’s Prize longlist. Almost all of these were new to me and the variety of this list has me excited.
I purchased Do Tell on a recommendation but your support has me more excited to actually read it! My favorite Hollywood story is The Valley of the Dolls. I also always wanted to read Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives - I love reading older stuff that is salacious. Dune II was INSANELY good.
Do Tell was surprisingly smart and I think the story took on more complex themes than I'd expected for a first novel. Also, I'd add Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays to the list.