paper trail

Jul 11, 2011 @ 4:00:00 am

Wayne Koestenbaum

On the heels of its best-of nonfiction roundup—which ended in a tie between Joan Didion and Joan Didion—The New York Times Magazine releases a list of favorite novels as selected by Times staffers. Turns out, the sixth floor’s taste skews to the classics. With Sam Anderson’s blessing, Lolita was crowned the universal favorite, though NYT magazine editor Hugo Lindgren didn’t miss the opportunity to sneak in a DeLillo knock: “I’m sorry, but White Noise is overrated—a great novelist cracking grad-student one-liners.”

In a series of new videos, poet-novelist-critic Wayne Koestenbaum, author of a new study of humiliation, gives advice to the humiliated. “I would really seriously recommend dedicating your next book to this person you've humiliated, naming your next child after this person, or tattooing that person's name on your next-born child..."

Colson Whitehead will be competing in the upcoming World Series of Poker and writing about it for the sports and culture site Grantland.

Philip Roth thinks that fiction is no longer worth reading. Paul Auster does not agree.

James Patterson has signed a twenty-six book deal with Little, Brown to crank out thirteen novels and thirteen children’s books by 2014.

Dwell magazine crowdsources entries for a map of independent bookstores across the country.