Paul Beatty read from his newest novel, The Sellout at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn. He was joined in conversation by Sam Lipsyte. When Beatty took the podium, he seemed temporarily overcome with emotion for a moment. He explained that he felt similarly overwhelmed recently at a reading in Detroit. The reason, he explains, was the feeling of satisfaction from completing the book: “I realized I was really close to getting what was in my head on the page.”

More »

No one brought up “The Worm in Philly”—there will be few band names that ever beat the fictional “The Annihilation of the Soft Left”—but Sam Lipsyte moderated a discussion about rock and roll and literature with the same gritty humor that permeates his fiction. On Friday night at Housing Works, in front of an intimate […]

More »

I first read Sam Lipsyte’s novel, Home Land, at the recommendation of a friend. The sarcastic and irreverent story of a man writing out his thoughts to an alumni message board, its a combination of contemporary cultural critique and humorous contempt. Obviously, I immediately bought his next novell, The Ask. Both novels were supremely funny, […]

More »