And now, tonight's incredible headliner....Johnny Lethem and the Go-Betweens!

On "Lavender," [Robert] Forster also rhymes "well-read" with "good in bed" to describe the same woman. The group's audience tends to fit at least one of the above categories; novelist Jonathan Lethem, for example, deems the Go-Betweens his favorite band. "I must admit that we were on the bus going through Europe the other day, and I looked around and saw the four of us, all with our heads in books," McLennan says, adding, "I guess that's better than having porn on." What has he been reading? "A lot of contemporary Australian fiction. I'm also thoroughly enjoying a collection of Anthony Lane's writing about film for the New Yorker. It's a good tour read, because War and Peace can be tough going after a couple of vodkas—or maybe not."

That was Johnny Ray Huston in the SF Bay Guardian. From the other, British Guardian, via Kottke: Malcolm Gladwell's workspace, which will no doubt remind you of this week's David Sipress cartoon set in a caffeinated hotspot. The cheery Korenish guy says to Mr. Laptop, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could borrow a little work?"

In New York magazine, Francine du Plessix Gray and Sean Wilsey tell Boris Kachka all about their parent-paring memoirs.

And now, you might well ask, nay, have already asked, how is the début fiction? I'm reading it, in between bouts of radio loyalty, so rest assured you'll know what I think as soon as I do.

Categories: NYer, Gladwell, Jonathans, Lethem, Wilsey, Cartoons, Extracurricular