New York Times staffer Jennifer 8. Lee has written a book. It's called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. It's about the origin of Chinese food in America and how it has morphed and changed over the years and how it all ties in with the Chinese-American experience. We know, doesn't that sound familiar? It must be because we read the giant discourse on the history and origin of the fortune cookie that Lee wrote for today's dining section which discusses the origin of the fortune cookie in American and how it has morphed and changed over the years and how it ties in with the immigrant experience. The fortune cookie, the author's Website tells us, is "the key to the central mystery in Jennifer 8. Lee’s delightful and sumptuous quest." Really? That's the central mystery? We sure hope it's not, because if it is, we already know the ending. (Spoiler! The fortune cookie was invented by the Japanese!) But alas, this is not the first time Jennifer 8 Lee has written about the subject of her book in the paper, although it is the first time she's been credited as the "author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, to be published in March." In fact, ever since she sold her proposal, she's been conducting what could, to a cynical eye, look like a buzz campaign within the paper's very pages. Wait, you ask, are we making the shocking suggestion that Jennifer 8. Lee is self-promotional?

Let's take a look at a smattering of recent Times stories bearing the byline of Jennifer 8. Lee:

Dec. 18, 2007: On the City Room blog, Lee examines the affinity between Jews and Chinese food, citing seven theories as to why Chinese food is popular among American Jews. "The Jews and Chinese food is a topic that never stops," J-8 tells us on her blog, "(that is why there is a whole chapter of it in my book)." [

Related: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
Jennifer 8. Lee Tackles Fortune Cookies [Grub Street]