One of the best 'true-crime' books I've read in years, a gorgeous movie about sketchy archeologists, and four songs I like

Roundup 12/22/24

Greetings from Read Max HQ! and welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. For this week’s round-up, I’ve got:

• An incredible true-crime book that’s also an ethnographic history of Los Angeles;

• a beautiful, elegiac movie about underworld archeologists; and

• four songs I’ve been digging.

If any of that sounds interesting--and if you want to support Read Max in its continuing mission of explaining the future to relatively normal people--please subscribe below. Subscribers get access to these weekly emails and to the comprehensive Read Max Master Lists of Good Movies to Watch and Good Books to Read--as well as preferred pricing on merchandise like the Read Max “EMAIL SUPPLY” caps. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you.

I love to hear from readers who want to recommend a cool book or movie (or whatever!) to me, or from readers who are looking for specific kinds of recommendations. Just leave a comment or drop me a line at maxread@gmail.com.

Finally, please note that I may receive a small commission if you purchase books via links in this email.

Now, the roundup. First, as always, a dispatch from the future: