After nearly a year of thankless slavery (no, seriously, we don't even thank her for doing shit), Intern Alexis finally receives a small nibble of vindication in this week's Times Book Review, in the form of an acknowledgment of our existence from A.O. Scott. It doesn't even have much to do with, well, anything, but whatever it takes to get you out of bed, right? Moving onward, we find Rachel Donadio has moved about the food chain (although we're unsure which direction) and, get this, hipsters are greasy. All that, plus fun with madlibs, after the jump.

Lunar Park
 By Bret Easton Ellis
Reviewed by A.O. Scott

Of Bret Easton Ellis s highly anticipated meta-novel (the main character is a novelist named Bret Easton Ellis who became a literary celebrity in the long-ago 1980 s ), A.O. Scott writes: It is a portrait of a narcissist who is, in the end, terminally bored with himself; that it may also be a self-portrait doesn t make it any more true. Okay, that s interesting and all, but let s focus on the point here: A.O Scott gave us a little shout-out! He writes:

the chapter condenses recent literary history into glossy-magazine gossip, as if it had been culled from back issues of Details and Vanity Fair for future serialization in Gawker.

First of all, we don t think we ve ever seen a six-syllable word next to the word Gawker before, but it sure does look purty. Secondly, the last time anyone around here culled something from the back of anything, it was met with swift disciplinary action.


Letters: Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Mad Libs

The editorial team of the new edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves had some bones to pick over Alexandra Jacobs July 17th essay. While their points were fair and convincing, there was this one paragraph that concerned events so crazy that even if we put words together at random, it would make just about as much sense. Inspired, we decided to play a game with their little graph. Remember Madlibs? Fuck yeah, you do, so play:

In one of several [plural noun] in the essay, [proper noun] seems to miss the [adjective] picture ([passive aggressive wisecrack]) when she [utensil, plural] a photo of a woman and her [relative] [verb ending in ing] in the surf, [movie name]-style. She fails to mention that the woman has [disability] (her [body part] is visible in the background), and the caption challenges the widely held assumption that people with disabilities are [adjective].

Now our turn:

In one of several camping tents in the essay, Dr. Huxtable seems to miss the gorgeous picture (see you in hell) when she shovels a photo of a woman and her foster-child buying in the surf, I am Sam-style. She fails to mention that the woman has learning disability (her armpit is visible in the background), and the caption challenges the widely held assumption that people with disabilities are complex.

Here s how Judy Norsigian, Heather Stephenson, and Kiki Zeldes (of Boston) did it in a letter to the New York Times:

In one of several mischaracterizations in the essay, Jacobs seems to miss the big picture (literally)when she _skewers a photo of a woman and her husband tangling in the surf, From Here to Eternity-style. She fails to mention that the woman has quadrepelegia (her wheelchair is visible in the background), and the caption challenges the widely held assumption that people with disabilities are asexual.


Man Camp
 By Adrienne Brodeur
Reviewed by Ada Calhoun

Ada Calhoun, in her mini-review of Adrienne Brodeur s Man Camp, asks that Brodeur be a bit more specific in her descriptions of hipster gals. Calhoun laments, Brodeur takes a few potshots at city types; for example, 'hipsters from the art world' who have 'unwashed hair, scuffed shoes and untucked shirttails.' Couldn't we be a tad more specific? Hooked up to an iPod playing the Arcade Fire? Dutifully on their way to the Film Forum? Chortling over Vice magazine? How about YOU be a tad more specific, Ada? George W. Bush has a fucking iPod and the Arcade Fire played at my prom. Why don t you take the L-train to Williamsburg in your Uggs and eat some sushi. How s this for a mini-review: Barfola!

Children s Books:
Snip Snap! What s That?
 By Mara Bergman
There s a Dragon Downstairs
 By Hilary McKay
Both reviewed by Jake Coburn

Jake Coburn reviews two recently published children s books that fall into the Things That Go Bump in the Night genre. In one, There s a Dragon Downstairs, an alligator escapes the sewer, slides past a distracted doorman and sneaks into an apartment building, ultimately terrifying three children. Coburn gushes about the illustrations: Teasing us visually by showing just portions of the alligator s body a spiky tail, gigantic jaws, clawed feet Maland enables us to confront our own menacing reptilian fantasies. Umm I think we have a word choice problem here. The use of the word fantasies implies some sort of sexual fascination with reptiles. I prefer to think of my reptiles as nightmares or fears since we re not so turned on by spiky tails and gigantic jaws (except for special circumstances).


Inside the List
by Rachel Donadio

When we read last week that Dwight Garner was being promoted to senior editor of the Review, we thought to ourselves, but who will write the weekly, witty and wise TBR: Inside the List column that we ve come to know and love over these past months? Well, we guess the NYTBR editors were impressed by hefty quantity, so they called up our girl Rachel Donadio to fill Garner s shoes. But is writing Inside the List really such a step up from a feature on V.S. Naipaul and a backpage essay on the decline of fiction? Eh, not so much. We worry, though, that maybe Donadio sold herself short: One weekly list can hardly inspire the awestruck boredom of Donadio s typical 26 pieces-per-issue.