We're frankly a little confused about the spat that's currently going down between n+1 and "lit-bloggers." We're not so much confused about the fight itself, which seems to involve n+1 being ornery about blogs, especially lit-blogs, and said lit-blogs being all ornery right back. It's all come to a head recently on the lit-blog The Millions, and it's left us wondering, just whose side are we supposed to be on here? The blustery intellectual macho-ists of n+1? The whiny, jargon-dropping we-are-too-relevant book bloggers? Sigh. It's like Trump and Rosie all over again.

It's been an entire week since we brought you the latest news from the Most Important Literary Magazine Of Our Time. But fear not! We are on the case, and now we bring you word of one of their famed parties, this one in celebration of some pamphlet or other. Oh, and their new issue, which you may have even had the pleasure of unloading from the truck yourself! The party will take place in Tribeca, and it seems as though the party champs at the Paris Review had better watch their backs!

As we continue our perusal of the latest issue of the most important literary magazine of our time, we skipped over that long part in the middle so we could get to the fun part: the letters section! And we must admit, we weren't disappointed. There, nestled between a somewhat rambling note from Jacob Shell (ooh, he's utterly cute!) and one from "S.C. Gummer" (a pseudonym? Perhaps) on Berlin was this squirmy missive from one Jonathan Lethem.

So! Last week we slogged our way through the table of contents of the new issue of n+1, noting the lads' penchant for double-entendres and intellectualizing pornography. Today we delve—deep breaths, all—into the actual contents of the most important literary magazine of our time. We don't want to overwhelm you, so we decided to focus on the first three pages.

This week, the new issue of n+1, the lit journal to end all lit-journals, went on sale to the grubby public. Since we didn't feel like helping them unload their truck of new issues a couple weeks ago, we decided to wait along with everyone else. It's been tough! At last, we slipped and slid our way over to boho-lit emporium McNally Robinson for our delectable copy. It didn't disappoint. Well. The table of contents didn't. We haven't gotten any further than that yet!

So? Did you go to n+1 HQ last week and help unload the truck with OMG OMG THE BRAND NEW ISSUE? NO? Seriously, what is wrong with you people?

We have to hand it to the (mostly) boys over at n+1: They're possessed of a self-assuredness the likes of which is all too rare in this self-deprecating age. Indeed, upon reading their press release for their forthcoming issue, we are incredibly grateful that they have granted us the privilege of reading their magazine. In fact, they must know how excited we are for the magazine, because they've invited us, the press, to help them unload the truck of magazines that will be arriving at their office tomorrow evening! We must admit to being flattered, and honored, at being allowed to touch the magazines as they descend from the truck, to be the first to caress the cover of issue 5 (theme: "Decivilizing Process") and perhaps even thumb through its pages. We've reprinted the entire press release after the jump, should you care to share in this touching ritual.

As you trudge to your thankless job some wet mornings, don't you yearn for those days of sitting around in a too-warm classroom and pretending that talking about total bullshit constituted some kind of important work, as long as you managed some references to encoded signifiers and diff rance and used the word "problematize" a lot? Well, uh, we do. Which is why the bullshitty discussion of the new vs. old Payless logo in the new issue of n+1 (disputed book-hottie Ben Kunkel's lit mag) gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling, even as it annoyed us as all things asssociated with n+1 must. Specifically, there was this one part of n+1's interview with "commerical semiotician" A. S. Hamrah that we think probably wouldn't have sat well with our 'Engendering Gender: The Semiotics of Postfeminism' professor:

Bruce Ratner's sprawly, ugly Atlantic Yards development finds an unlikely ally in n+1 magazine, the literary journal famously helmed by book-hot Ben "Indecisive" Kunkel. "The authenticity of a place as volatile and heterodox as Brooklyn, and New York in general, lies in incongruity, the disorienting juxtaposition of century-old brownstones and Gehry's warped, twisting towers." Purty-soundin', yes, but all the grad-school adjectives in the world won't sell us on the desirability of a massive new development that can't be supported by the neighborhood's infrastructure. If the n+1 article is the backlash to the backlash, then consider this the backlash to the backlash to the backlash. Undulate that, NYMag.

• Would the sole person on this earth who actually wants to smell like Britney Spears please step forward? Anyone? McFly? Bueller? [Adrants]
• With the return of fall television comes the return of reality show contestants with sketchy pasts. Interestingly enough, however, this time it's an Apprentice wannabe with the strange story. [TSG]
• Get your own CMJ FilmFest badge. It's not quite a press badge, but you can certainly use it to pretend that you matter. [Verbose Coma]
• Help the indie lit mag kids from n+1 find a place to party — after this weekend's Times piece, they could probably use a drink. [n+1]
• A heartbreakingly earnest defense of Hoboken. No, not a typo. [Eurotrash]