Joan Didion

Author profile

born

December 05, 1934 in Sacramento, California, The United States

gender

female

genre

Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction

About this author

edit data

Joan Didion was born in California and lives in New York City. She's best know for her novels and her literary journalism.
Her novels and essays explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos, where the overriding theme is individual and social fragmentation. A sense of anxiety or dread permeates much of her work.

combine editions
Books by Joan Didion

Average rating: 3.84 · 59987 ratings · 7298 reviews · 37 distinct works

	The Year of Magical Thinking 376 avg rating — 34580 ratings — published 2005 — 33 editions	My rating:
	Slouching Towards Bethlehem 426 avg rating — 5990 ratings — published 1968 — 19 editions	My rating:
	Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion, David Thomson (Introduction) 382 avg rating — 5335 ratings — published 1970 — 20 editions	My rating:
	Blue Nights 364 avg rating — 4154 ratings — published 2011 — 13 editions	My rating:
	The White Album 419 avg rating — 3189 ratings — published 1979 — 10 editions	My rating:
	Where I Was From 381 avg rating — 974 ratings — published 2003 — 7 editions	My rating:
	A Book Of Common Prayer by Joan Didion, Oscar Liebman (Illustrator) 383 avg rating — 970 ratings — published 1977 — 14 editions	My rating:
	Salvador 375 avg rating — 730 ratings — published 1983 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Democracy 378 avg rating — 712 ratings — published 1984 — 17 editions	My rating:
	We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live: Collected Nonfiction by Joan Didion, John Leonard (Introduction) 446 avg rating — 528 ratings — published 2006 — 3 editions	My rating:

More books by Joan Didion…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by Joan Didion

“Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.”
― Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking

660 people liked it

“I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.”
― Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

161 people liked it

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”
― Joan Didion

tags: writing

141 people liked it

See all Joan Didion's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Challenge: 50 Books: Melanie's List.	7	29	11. Februar, 18:19 Uhr
The Seasonal Read...: By Blood or Marriage (25.2)	41	223	24. August, 14:23 Uhr
Novel Ladies: Author Alphabet	1287	93	01. Dezember, 05:58 Uhr
Challenge: 50 Books: Barb's 50 books for 2009	80	433	31. Dezember, 06:37 Uhr
The Seasonal Read...: WINTER CHALLENGE 2009-2010 COMPLETED TASKS	3171	2946	28. Februar, 21:02 Uhr
The Seasonal Read...: Winter 2009 - Tasks, Questions, Scores, etc.	388	415	01. März, 08:16 Uhr
The Seasonal Read...: 30.5 (PJ Reads' Task - As Suggested By Tanja - Six Degrees of Separation)	349	356	26. Mai, 07:44 Uhr

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Joan to Goodreads.