02 January 2003

Mafia parlour game goes mainstream in NY literary circles The meme spreads from sci-fi fan clubs to media types. By now, Mr. Lethem is a pretty good liar. "I’ve probably played Mafia over a hundred times," he said. Since his novel Motherless Brooklyn—the tale of a detective with Tourette’s syndrome mixed up with the Mafia in the Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn—was published by Doubleday in 1999, the bespectacled 38-year-old has attracted many dozens to the bluffing game, a kind of personality poker played with one’s own persona as both the hand and the bet. The gist: Among a party of 12 or more people, three are secretly "mafia," trying to turn everyone else against each other and survive a cutthroat whittling-down of the players, using whatever psychological tactics are necessary. "It’s shaped by personalities in fake conflict," observed Mr. Lethem. "It’s a lot like fiction." [via bboing] 3:51:10 PM     comments

Po Bronson: What should I do with my life? Tech writer Po Bronson spends 1.5 years talking to people that changed their lives, and then writes a book about it. 3:50:08 PM     comments