Let's make this birthday one to remember.

88 years old (Born on November 20, 1936)

Happy Birthday, Don DeLillo! May your day be filled with more joy than a supermarket aisle in "White Noise," and fewer existential crises. Your brilliant novels have given us endless reasons to ponder life's absurdities—though we're still trying to figure out if the airborne toxic event was just an elaborate metaphor for aging gracefully.

From winning the PEN/Faulkner Award back in '92 (when shoulder pads were big but literary acclaim even bigger), you've consistently reminded readers that reality is stranger—and funnier—than fiction. Here's hoping this birthday brings you less paranoia than Jack Gladney's grocery trips, and far more cake-induced happiness!