Didion and Babitz
Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 1 of the year's most respected lists, including The Guardian, for a Consensus Score of 13 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedAnolik's pitch is a rivalry book, built around an unsent 1972 letter in which Babitz accuses Didion of writing brittle, unearned authority into her prose — but the finished book is lopsided in a way reviewers flagged repeatedly: it's really a second act of Anolik's own Hollywood's Eve, using Didion mostly as a foil to keep making the case for Babitz's underrated genius.
In the press
“She manages to bring her midcentury Los Angeles setting to life in a way that feels fresh.”
The New York Times Book Review
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Guardian | 0.85 | 0.70 | 1.00× | 0.59 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 0.59 → 13 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is Didion and Babitz on?
Didion and Babitz appears on 1 list in our 2026 corpus, including The Guardian.
What is its Consensus Score?
Didion and Babitz has a Consensus Score of 13 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.