Farrar, Strauss and Giroux pulls out the big guns for Jeffrey Eugenides: a billboard in Times Square, with the author purposefully striding forth in a manly vest. “Swoon-worthy.” [via @PeterLattman]
Speaking of Jeffrey Eugenides, it turns out Leonard Bankhead was supposed to be more Axl Rose than David Foster Wallace. [WSJ]
An excerpt from 50 Cent’s young adult novel Playground: The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully. “Living life on the edge has taught me a lot, like the fact that being mentally strong will get you ahead in life,” writes the rapper 50 Cent, who confesses he once was a bully himself. “But being a bully won’t get you anywhere. Some kids don’t figure that out until it’s too late. Does Butterball? You’ll have to read the book to find out.” Butterball is the main character. He’s a bully. [Shelf Life]
Don DeLillo speaks on the anniversary of “the shot heard round the world.” [Grantland]
Retracing Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 40 years later. [The Daily]
The creative class is melting! [Salon]
More on that lawsuit that accuses book publishers of price fixing. [Paid Content]
Great Expectations wins readers’ poll for best Charles Dickens novel. [Guardian]
Rock memoir of the day: Duran Duran’s John Taylor is writing a book for Little, Brown. [Bookseller]
David Rakoff wins the Thurber Prize for humor writing. [AP]
