Los Angeles Curated--September 2026: Reading Los Angeles, Birthdays, Collabs & Updates
Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Los Angeles Curated--September 2026: Reading Los Angeles, Birthdays, Collabs, & Updates
Dear Reader,
Wow! So many new people have joined this newsletter in the past month! I am so happy you are here.
What you signed up for
Los Angeles Curated is the newsletter of This Ugly Beautiful City. I write this for Angelenos who want to get to know their city better and non-Angelenos who want to connect with recommendations from someone who lives here–not AI. You will receive a list of things to see, do, and eat each month. I also give tours of Los Angeles for newsletter subscribers.
Who am I anyway?
I am a travel curator and local guide. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for over twenty years, love this city, and want you to love it too. Read more about me.
Reading Los Angeles Book Club at the Central Library
Many of you may have joined because you heard about the Reading Los Angeles Book Club. This book club is for people who want to know Los Angeles through the words written about it. We read books set in or about L.A., meet to discuss them, then take the story off the page with a related field trip — a museum visit, a Metro adventure, or a walking tour of the actual setting.
It’s part book club, part living history lesson, and part excuse to finally ride the Metro somewhere new.
Join before Sunday to get the update.
$50.00 / year
Reading L.A. Book Club Membership
A members-only book club where we read a book about Los Angeles and explore a related location.
This book club meets... Read more
You can pay for the year at a discount or by the month. Want to know more before you join? Click here
If you're already a member, check your email for the invitation to the walking book club in October.
Updates
Note: I am deleting my Substack account now that all paid subscriptions have expired. If you notice a Substack cancellation or deletion notice on Saturday, that is why. My Kit newsletter, this one you are reading now, will continue.
Your Things to Do, See, and Eat This Month
Thing To See
Model Shop
LOS FELIZ
September 26
FREE with reservation
Model Shop is Legendary French director Jacques Demy’s sole English-language studio film and an outsider’s attempt to define Los Angeles on screen, featuring beautiful photography of the city’s Westside and capturing everyday life in L.A. as a place of drifting, melancholy, and possibility.
Don’t forget that the Grammy Museum has great public programming. This month’s sold-out shows are RAYE and Megadeath, with tickets still available for Lucky DAYE and Gregg Allman. These shows give you a chance to see great artists in more intimate spaces. Keep this in one of your many open tabs and refresh!
Did you know I can plan your trip to Los Angeles? (Or anywhere else in the world?)
If you like the events, restaurants, or small businesses I feature here, I’d love to help you plan your trip to Los Angeles. If you are already in Los Angeles and want to work with a travel advisor who can apply my lens to places around the world, reach out to me. I’d love to plan your trip.
Where my clients are right now: Switzerland & Helsinki
