I am in the midst of re-reading a spat of modernist classics, while finishing up work on a graphic survey book of New Directions, one of the best independent publishers of literature in the world for 80 years and counting.

Which books are currently on your nightstand? If you could live a day in the life of a character from any book who would it be?Ī tie: Ignatius Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces or Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This was the first biography of the famously reclusive Cornell, and it got a spectacular reissue by Other Press in New York City. Several, but the one that keeps popping up in conversations is Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell by Deborah Solomon, the New York Times staff writer and art critic. Is there a book you read in 2016 that stays with you most? We recently caught up with Gabel to speak about literary nightstand favorites, common mistakes writers make in early drafts, the importance of physical books, and more. He contributes regular features, criticism, profiles and interviews for the Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Bookforum, The Paris Review, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Wallpaper. In the mid-’90s, he handmade the first issue of a zine called Stop Smiling, and has been making books full time since 2010 for a variety of publishers (Taschen, Phaidon, Chronicle, Rare Bird, Melville House), and also through his own imprint, Hat & Beard. Gabel (who just finished development on Kyle James’ much anticipated Not Afraid of the Fall) began his career in publishing at the age of 19.

Terminus by Jaye Milius