The HipsterHandbook
By Robert Lanham, published by Anchor Books, a division of Random House

The Spin
That both are Random House books is “a coincidence,” says Anchor PR man David Hyde: “I mean, it’s not as if it’s going to start a ‘Hipster’ division.”

Inspired By
Lisa Birnbach’s 1980 Official Preppy Handbook: “But our content’s more R-rated,” says author Robert Lanham.

Sources “Hipster lit” category includes White Teeth, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Infinite Jest.

Insights
“Similar to Eskimos, who have several words for ‘snow,’ Hipsters have many terms for receiving a check from the parents.”

Last Words
“Mine’s more tongue-in-cheek,” says Lanham. “Perhaps they’re trying to reach a broader market. And theirs doesn’t have a slang dictionary!”

A Field Guide to the Urban Hipster
By Josh Aiello, published by Broadway Books, a division of, um, Random House

The Spin
“We bought ours first,” insists Broadway associate editor Becky Cole.

Inspired By
A forties Audubon Society bird-watching guide: “But mine’s, like, a human version,” says author Josh Aiello.

Sources “Hipster lit” category includes Everything Is Illuminated, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Infinite Jest.

Insights
“Many specimens live off a parentally provided allowance, in order to meet the high demands dictated by their social lives.”

Last Words
“I actually had this idea seven or eight years ago and just never pursued it,” snaps Aiello. Hmmm. Sounds like a lot of slacker-hipsters we know.

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer Features”
• Articles by Alex Mar
• Table of Contents: Aug 25, 2003 issue of New York | Subscribe!