Graydon Carter Thinks ‘Hollywood Wives' Waylaid His Magazine Career

New York Times

10-04-2025

In 'When the Going Was Good,' he traces the path from Ottawa to Oscar night. In an email interview he singled out Canadian strivers and a J.B. Priestley gem. SCOTT HELLER
What books are on your night stand?
A lot of mysteries and late-20th-century histories. I just finished 'Naples '44,' by Norman Lewis. I'm in the middle of Joseph O'Connor's 'The Ghosts of Rome.'
Describe your ideal reading experience.
Any time I'm traveling — but not while I'm driving. Planes and trains always. And just before cocktail hour at the end of the day.
What's the best book you've ever received as a gift?
Easy. 'Queer People,' by Carroll and Garrett Graham. Bette Midler gave it to me, and it was a complete revelation. It's about as funny and as clever as anything I've ever read.
What's your favorite book no one else has heard of?
That's also easy. 'Angel Pavement,' by J.B. Priestley. It's a story about Depression-era London as told through the eyes of the employees of a small company. It moved me immensely when I first read it, about 40 years ago.
What's the last great book you read?
I did love William Boyd's new book, 'Gabriel's Moon.' And Gay Talese's collection of journalism, 'A Town Without Time.' Both first-rate and memorable.
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
Every Charles Dickens book aside from 'Great Expectations' and 'Bleak House.'
How often do you read a book and say, 'Good, but it could have been a magazine article'?
All the time! By the same token I read a lot of magazine articles and come away thinking, 'This would make a great book!'
How did a founder of Spy magazine write a book that's so, well, nice?
Well, that's kind of you. As it happens, so were the people at Spy. Just because the magazine was somewhat astringent in writing about the featured acts of the day, the people who produced those stories were wickedly observant but otherwise collegial and civilized. It was a dream office, really. And just so much fun.
Tell a reader who doesn't travel in New York media circles why she/he should read your memoir.
Aside from the fact that I still have a final child to feed and educate, and the royalties won't hurt, let me think. I do think it captures what it was like during the giddy, glamorous days of magazines for much of the past half-century. I was very fortunate to have been an editor during most of that period, and I wanted to tell younger readers what it was like, and to remind older readers of the fun they now miss.
You write that 'Act One' and 'Youngblood Hawke' helped lure you to New York. What recent books might entice a younger Canadian to give the city a try?
Jay McInerney's 'Bright Lights, Big City' would be a start. Although I don't think cocaine is the preferred rocket fuel that it once was. Anything by Dawn Powell. 'Just Kids,' by Patti Smith. 'The Pope of Greenwich Village,' by Vincent Patrick. And 'Harriet the Spy,' by Louise Fitzhugh.
What would you say is the Great Canadian Novel?
'Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town,' by Stephen Leacock — arguably the founder of modern humor. 'The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,' by Mordecai Richler. And 'The Deptford Trilogy,' by Robertson Davies.
Which subjects do you wish more authors would write about?
Any part of New York that's not Brooklyn.
Which books deserve a sequel?
'I Am Pilgrim,' 'The Bonfire of the Vanities.'
Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine?
Jeeves. Duddy Kravitz. Sammy Glick. Dean Moriarty.
Your favorite antihero or villain?
Inspector Javert. Roderick Spode. Lucy (from 'Peanuts').
Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?
I had a friend at Knopf when I first started out at Time in the late '70s. She got hold of the galleys of the Jackie Collins novel 'Hollywood Wives' and sent it to me. I was a bit miffed that she thought I was so lowbrow. But I gave it a chance and honestly, I simply couldn't put it down. One of my editors spotted it on my desk and just shook his head and moved on. I do believe my fortunes at the magazine began to decline from that moment on. But I read all of Jackie's books after that. Just not at the office.
If you could require President Trump to read one book, what would it be?
This is a trick question, obviously. And you want me to say 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' or 'Goodnight Moon' or something with a lot of images and very few words. But I'm going to rise above that. 'The Glory and the Dream,' by William Manchester.
You're organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
I can't hold it to three. P.G. Wodehouse, Edith Wharton, Nora Ephron, Christopher Hitchens, Dawn Powell and Tom Wolfe. (Nora would choose the food; Christopher would choose the Scotch.)