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The New Bedside Playboy
Over the course of its illustrious and often controversial history, "Playboy" magazine has published the works of some of the world's greatest writers, from Beat poets to Nobel laureates. In 1979, Hugh M. Hefner addressed a reunion of Playmates in Los Angeles. "Without you," he said. "I'd have a literary magazine." This anthology presents an amazingly diverse selection of a half century's worth of entertaining stories, journalism, humor, and cartoons. Featuring articles and interviews drawn from more than five decades; fiction from the likes of Woody Allen, Saul Bellow, Michael Chabon, Robert Coover, Jonathan Safran Foer, David Mamet, Jay McInerney, Joyce Carol Oates, Jane Smiley, Scott Turow; and cartoons from the likes of Gahan Wilson, Shel Silverstein, and Jules Feiffer, this volume will serve as a perfect bedside companion.
- GenresNonfiction
484 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2006
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About the author
Hugh Hefner
320 books19 followersHugh Marston Hefner also referred to colloquially as Hef, was the founder, majority owner, editor-in-chief, and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 4, 2020
I am grateful for the previews of Mailer and Carol Oates, but there is far too much fluff in this reader for it to be good bedside fare. I made the most of some illustrations and jokes by converting them into statuses, but that is the best that this book is good for.
October 18, 2010
I read it for the articles.
February 22, 2013
I read it for the articles.
March 29, 2012
Though I labeled this book for my "erotica and sensual" bookshelf, do not let that dissuade you from reading it if erotica and sexuality materials are not your cup of tea. There is very little actual erotic content in this anthology. The book focuses more on 50 years of literary content in Playboy magazine. Yes, people could indeed really be reading it for the articles. The anthology features a pretty broad selection of commentary, opinion pieces, essays, some celebrity interviews, pieces of short fiction, plus some of the features many do expect from the magazine such as a sampling on pin-ups and cartoons and "Playboy jokes."
I think you can read this anthology in a few ways. You can read it as a piece of nostalgia, as a look back at how the magazine was great, and not just for the pictorials. They did feature some of the great writers of the late part of the 20th century. Some of the pieces were better than others, and that is the only reason I gave it three stars. I liked it, but I did not "really like it." There were some misses, but I am sure for other readers, the pieces I did not like others might like. So give it a try anyways. You can also read this book as a sort of small literary history or time capsule. As I mentioned, some great writers and thinkers are featured here. I think you can also read it as a piece of popular culture, as a reflection of its time. I did find interesting some of the things the writers addressed and were concerned about. Some things were curious little details, for example, William Buckley writing about reading and defining what makes someone smart mentioned that, in 1983 or so, he had not really heard of Michael Jackson. Reading that detail today is an interesting experience.
There may be a few pieces that show age, but there are also a few that are pretty timeless, some even relevant still today. The best part of this book is that you can browse through it, find items of interest, and read those. Leaf through it, read a little bit now, a little bit later. It does lend itself to be a bedside reader (may also work for bathroom reading, and I do mean that in a good way).
The only other small nitpicks I had with the book were the way the table of contents was organized and a lack of some small note of information to preface the pieces. The table of contents is organized by major topics, instead of in the order that the pieces appear in the book. Personally, I would have preferred to know what came in what order. Two, in anthologies like this I tend to like a small preface to the pieces, something like, "this piece was published in the X year issue of Playboy" and maybe a bit about an author or something like that. Only way I could tell when a piece was written was either by references the authors made in their piece or by looking at the copyright page if I got curious. Most of the time I could guess ok (on classical things, like that piece by Boccaccio I obviously had an idea when it was originally written). Anyhow, those are the small things.
Overall, this is a pretty good book to pass the time. If you need some reading material, and you need something that you can read with ease, something you can pick up and drop and pick up again, then this is the book for you. And if you have never read the magazine, it may give you an appreciation for it, especially for what it used to be.
I think you can read this anthology in a few ways. You can read it as a piece of nostalgia, as a look back at how the magazine was great, and not just for the pictorials. They did feature some of the great writers of the late part of the 20th century. Some of the pieces were better than others, and that is the only reason I gave it three stars. I liked it, but I did not "really like it." There were some misses, but I am sure for other readers, the pieces I did not like others might like. So give it a try anyways. You can also read this book as a sort of small literary history or time capsule. As I mentioned, some great writers and thinkers are featured here. I think you can also read it as a piece of popular culture, as a reflection of its time. I did find interesting some of the things the writers addressed and were concerned about. Some things were curious little details, for example, William Buckley writing about reading and defining what makes someone smart mentioned that, in 1983 or so, he had not really heard of Michael Jackson. Reading that detail today is an interesting experience.
There may be a few pieces that show age, but there are also a few that are pretty timeless, some even relevant still today. The best part of this book is that you can browse through it, find items of interest, and read those. Leaf through it, read a little bit now, a little bit later. It does lend itself to be a bedside reader (may also work for bathroom reading, and I do mean that in a good way).
The only other small nitpicks I had with the book were the way the table of contents was organized and a lack of some small note of information to preface the pieces. The table of contents is organized by major topics, instead of in the order that the pieces appear in the book. Personally, I would have preferred to know what came in what order. Two, in anthologies like this I tend to like a small preface to the pieces, something like, "this piece was published in the X year issue of Playboy" and maybe a bit about an author or something like that. Only way I could tell when a piece was written was either by references the authors made in their piece or by looking at the copyright page if I got curious. Most of the time I could guess ok (on classical things, like that piece by Boccaccio I obviously had an idea when it was originally written). Anyhow, those are the small things.
Overall, this is a pretty good book to pass the time. If you need some reading material, and you need something that you can read with ease, something you can pick up and drop and pick up again, then this is the book for you. And if you have never read the magazine, it may give you an appreciation for it, especially for what it used to be.
October 5, 2013
Collections from the pages of any magazine's past are generally hit or miss, depending on the magazine and the reader. However, with short stories by the likes of Jorge Luis Borges, Ian Fleming, John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, and Michael Chabon, you don't have to worry about there being many misses here. Throw in Memoirs by Norman Mailer and Harry Crews, Commentary by Kingsley Amis, William F. Buckley Jr and Mario Puzo, and Humor by Dave Barry and Woody Allen, and you've got a great week or so ahead of you--depending on how fast you read. Mr. Hefner's magazine certainly has grabbed some greats of Literary History over the years--he certainly chose wisely for this collection--and I suspect that's why his magazine thrived so when he was in charge. Of course, I am leaving out the comely young ladies who also graced the pages of Playboy over the years, but so does Mr. Hefner with this collection. Which is why my wife was aghast when she saw what I was reading. "You mean you're reading Playboy for the articles?!" Yes, and you should too.
April 22, 2023
Shockingly good content from an erotic magazine.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews