Literature and The Valley - I happened upon the America's Suburb website, a comprehensive site on all things about the San Fernando Valley, courtesy of a link from LA Examiner.com. One of the most interesting pieces for me was the page that highlighted works of fiction that feature the Valley prominently. The Valley is so frequently bashed by its more fashonable neighbors on the other side of the Sepulveda pass...and often with good reason. These books mock the Valley, but do so from an insider's perspective, revealing the quirks and inferiority complexes that make Canoga Park, Van Nuys and Tarzana unique.

Sandra Tsing Loh has always been a favorite of mine, caputuring the local flavor of Valley-ites struggling to move up the social ladder. I'm pleased to see this underappreciated talent be recognized for the nuggets of brilliance in her books, but I still miss her monthly Valley column for the now-defunct Buzz magazine. However, she can still be heard as a regular contributor to NPR's Marketplace. I especially identify with her character Bronwyn, who experiences a crushing blow upon realizing that shopping at Trader Joe's is not an automatic step to becoming worldly and sophisticated. This epiphany always sticks in my mind when I think about the mother of a friend of mine who needed to have a similar realization.

However, one glaring example left off the list is Maybe The Moon by Armistead Maupin. While typically known for his expert descriptions of San Francisco, Maupin does a fantastic job of zeroing in on quirks of the Valley. Even with requisite gay characters and Hollywood stereotypes, Maupin's thinly-veiled references to the making of E.T. are just as compelling as Tales of the City.