HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NEW YORK OBSERVER. About ten years ago, an acquaintance brought the New York Observer to my attention. She told me that anyone interested in the publishing biz should read this weekly paper, which boasted industry-related gossip as one of its strong points.

Since I got that tip-off, I've become much more familiar with the Observer, mostly as a result of the numerous free "trial subscriptions" that come my way. Those "trial subscriptions" stand out among the wonderful and sad things about the salmon-tinted paper. Wonderful because the Observer's quality writing--charming, witty, enthusiastic, thoughtful--deserves to be read by many people, and sad because those who appreciate the paper the most probably don't see the point in paying for it with when they can have it posted to them at no cost.

So here's wishing the Observer well on its 15th birthday. For about two-thirds of its existence, I have enjoyed its front-page caricatures, its coverage of matters related to Thomas Pynchon, and the contributions of calender queen Alexandra Jacobs, film critic Andrew Sarris, columnist Ron Rosenbaum (here's a sample column that touches on the experience of seeing the Hitler-fable film Max), and even gossip monarch Rex Reed (here's his rollicking report on guesting the Minelli-Gest wedding), to name just four of the writers on its roster. On a purely personal level, I was tickled to see coverage of the PGA golf tournament by Josh Benson, who peppered one report with allusions to the high school that we both attended. I don't know Josh (who must have attended the school generations after I did) but I certainly recognized the name of our mutual gym teacher, Stan Louckes. I love that kind of detail, that kind of coincidence.

And then there's Countdown to Bliss, the giddy engagement column by Anna Jane Grossman.