海角大神

With a woman set to join Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill by 2020, pundits of every ideological stripe have debated who the lucky lady should be. But now the independent Hollywood bookstore Book Soup, which touts itself as LA鈥檚 premier independent book seller to the great and infamous, has a novel idea for the face of the newly designed note: the acclaimed author Joan Didion. 聽

The mastermind behind the hashtag #Joanontheten was Rob Bieselin, a graphic designer at Book Soup who first prompted public enthusiasm for the idea with a handwritten note on a chalkboard in front of his store, .

Ms. Didion, an iconoclastic novelist, essayist, and screenwriter best known for works such as the 1970 novel 鈥楶lay It As It Lays鈥� and a skew of iconic nonfiction essays and collections, is "a big L.A. voice and a best-seller at the store鈥�, Mr. Bieselin told the Reporter, justifying his choice. 鈥淧eople react to her image the same way for her literature and essays," he added. But while the proposal seems to be picking up some social media steam, not everyone is such a strong supporter.聽

To be sure, those who love Didion do so passionately, and few who come across her work have mixed reviews.聽As an example, a September essay in the Atlantic on Didion鈥檚 latest biography was entitled .

鈥淔or most writers,聽cool聽is a word that rarely tops the list of personality descriptors.聽Neurotic聽and聽introverted are generally in heavier rotation. For women writers, you can add聽solipsistic聽and confessional,鈥� wrote Meghan Duam for the Atlantic. 鈥淢aybe that鈥檚 why Joan Didion, who鈥檚 been called all those things but for whom聽cool聽is surely the most frequently applied adjective, has never been just an inspirational figure. She has been an object of aspirational longing.鈥�

鈥淩evered (worshipped, in many cases) as much for her glamorously aloof public persona as for her infectious, revolutionary-in-its-time prose style, Didion was鈥攁nd remains鈥攆amous in a way that writers seldom are anymore (and, though some of today鈥檚 embittered literary types like to believe otherwise, seldom were even back then),鈥� she added.

But with this level of notoriety comes a healthy dose of skepticism, especially from critics who say the literati should cut the clich茅s and get over themselves.

In a piece for following the 80-year-old Didion鈥檚 appearance in an ad for the French luxury goods brand Celine, journalist Molly Fischer penned a warning to young women about why devotion to Didion is really a trap. 聽

鈥淲orshipping Didion has always been a tricky business,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚f, as Didion wrote, 鈥榦ne of the mixed blessings of being twenty and twenty-one and even twenty-three is the conviction that nothing like this, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, has ever happened to anyone before,鈥� then proudly identifying with her work falls into the same group of coming-of-age non-anomalies as loving silent city streets at dawn.鈥�

鈥淪he is idolized because she doesn鈥檛 appear to have idols. To gush over Joan Didion seems like a misreading,鈥� she then chided.

But brushing all criticism and praise aside in an essay for marking the arrival of Didion鈥檚 80^th birthday, Nathan Heller describes why the writer continues to matter to this day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 her careful craft across a broader spectrum than most writers have available, her skill in making work that acts not only on the way you think but on the way you feel,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎irplane pilots speak of 鈥榓ngle of attack鈥�, and, in Didion鈥檚 best nonfiction, the angle is precise both intellectually and emotionally. Her defining quality isn鈥檛 candor or conviction but unusual, almost unrivaled, compositional control.鈥�

While it鈥檚 unlikely Didion鈥檚 face will ultimately appear on the $10 bill 聽潭 聽unless, of course, you count the printed version Book Soup is currently giving away to its customers with every purchase 聽潭 聽the proposition has gained momentum on social media, demonstrating her persistent appeal. 聽

Meanwhile, it is uncertain what Didion鈥檚 opinion of the proposal would be. But if her 1968 essay collection "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" could provide a clue, there is nothing to suggest she would be opposed to the appearance. 聽Equating money with the personal freedom she prized, Didion wrote:

鈥淭he secret point of money and power in America is neither the things that money can buy nor power for power鈥檚 sake 鈥� but absolute personal freedom, mobility, privacy. It is the instinct which drove America to the Pacific, all through the nineteenth century, the desire to be able to find a restaurant open in case you want a sandwich, to be a free agent, live by one鈥檚 own rules.鈥澛�

After a public comment period, the Treasury Department will announce who will appear on the new bill It will go into circulation in 2020.聽