New York Times Book Review Editor Pamela Paul and Literary Advice Columnist Nicole Lamy: Contrasting Cognitive Styles, Nonfiction vs. Fiction?

Nicole Lamy has a literary advice column in The New York Times Book Review. She matches people with books they would like.

Pamela Paul recently urged people to read books they hate (1).

It struck me that Lamy and Paul have different attitudes. I hypothesized that Lamy has a multifaceted cognitive style typical of fiction writers, and Paul has an analytical cognitive style typical of nonfiction writers. So I looked to see what else they have written.

I found that Paul has written a number of books, all nonfiction; while Lamy has a personal essay in The American Scholar (2000) about memory and identity issues, which, as discussed in this blog, are more typical of fiction writers.

from “Life in Motion” by Nicole Lamy

“Three years ago I took pictures of all the houses I’ve lived in…twelve houses before I turned thirteen. For me the moves had always resisted coherent explanation…I wanted to gather the photos as charms against fallible memory…

“…by…age thirteen I seemed to have passed directly to thirty-five…”

“Now when I leave my apartment for vacation…I experience numbing panic — will I ever see home again?…Each time I return home from vacation, rooms don’t appear the same as I left them…

“When the photo project was complete…I had gathered the proof of my life…” (2).

1. Pamela Paul. “Why You Should Read Books You Hate.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-joy-of-hate-reading.html

2. Nicole Lamy. “Life in Motion.” http://www2.hawaii.edu/~facoba/readings/lamy.htm