The Hipster Handbook
Encyclopedia
The Hipster Handbook is a satirical guide to hipster
culture by Williamsburg, Brooklyn
author Robert Lanham
.
It includes a lexicon
of words such as "deck" which means "cool" and "fin" which means "not so cool", as well as chapters that describe and explain all that which makes up a hipster
. A quiz in the back of the book rates readers on their level of hipsterdom, rewarding high scores to those who answer the questions in the manner of art school students and well-cultured, well-dressed, self-proclaimed hyper-intellectuals. Esquire
called the book "The Official Preppy Handbook
for people who wear Atari
T-shirts."
" and "aura of trying too hard."
It was popular enough to warrant a sequel, 2004's 'Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic'.http://www.amazon.com/Druids-Cherohonkees-Creatures-Unique-Republic/dp/0452285623
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
culture by Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
author Robert Lanham
Robert Lanham
Robert Lanham is the author of the satiric books The Hipster Handbook, Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees, and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic, and The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right. He coined the term idiosyncrology, the study of idiosyncratic people, and his books often parody the...
.
It includes a lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
of words such as "deck" which means "cool" and "fin" which means "not so cool", as well as chapters that describe and explain all that which makes up a hipster
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
. A quiz in the back of the book rates readers on their level of hipsterdom, rewarding high scores to those who answer the questions in the manner of art school students and well-cultured, well-dressed, self-proclaimed hyper-intellectuals. Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
called the book "The Official Preppy Handbook
Official Preppy Handbook
The Official Preppy Handbook is a tongue-in-cheek humor reference guide written by Jonathan Roberts, Carol McD. Wallace, Mason Wiley, and Lisa Birnbach. It discusses an aspect of North American culture described as prepdom...
for people who wear Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
T-shirts."
Critical reception
Reviews were mixed. Rick Marin, of the New York Times, gave it a favorable review, though he pointed out "much of the hipsterism he sanctions seems pretty mainstream, even if it is being 'appropriated'...Such quibbles, though, won't penetrate the protective pomo coating on Lanham's mirrored shades." Ben McGrath, of Slate, described the book as "so comprehensive and so well-done that only a poseur could criticize it without tongue in cheek." Others have criticized the "veiled hostilityHostility
Hostility is a form of angry internal rejection or denial in psychology. It is a part of personal construct psychology, developed by George Kelly...
" and "aura of trying too hard."
It was popular enough to warrant a sequel, 2004's 'Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic'.http://www.amazon.com/Druids-Cherohonkees-Creatures-Unique-Republic/dp/0452285623