Franzen Takes a Bullet, Snooki Writes a Novel, and Other January Joys

Well, it’s January. Ba-dump. The original Gray Lady. Time to purge the system of yesteryear’s excesses: take a break from the booze and cut down on chocolate consumption, make it to bed at a reasonable hour, and drink more water.

It’s depressing, isn’t it—the walk to the subway through the Christmas tree graveyard, the dirty banks of plowed snow, marbled yellow by dog piss (and human, judging from the guy I saw peeing into a snowdrift outside the 14th St. A/C station), that are slowly oozing out into the street. One must turn inward for comfort, and seek solace in domestic distractions. Here are the welcoming arms of the bookshelf, the internet, and the television. To begin, the first and the last combine themselves: A Shore Thing, Snooki’s fiction debut, goes on-sale today! Get it now, and you’ll have two days to read before the premiere of the Jersey Shore’s third season on January 6th.

Once you’ve got your book and your TV on, turn to the internet—and the lists of books to watch in 2011. The Daily Beast has come out with a rather myopic list, so for greater scope head over to The Millions and see what they’re panting for this year. And finally, Electric Literature takes a rather unusual look back to find out, literally, if FREEDOM (and other 2010 titles) will stop a bullet.

Happy Tuesday.