The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Goodreads Summary: Before Carrie Bradshaw hit the big time in the City, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation? 

The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends -- Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse -- are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets. And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy-older, intriguing, and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it's finally time to go after everything she ever wanted. 

Rabid fans of Sex and the City will love seeing Carrie Bradshaw evolve from a regular girl into a sharp, insightful writer. They'll learn about her family background -- how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. We'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where the next Carrie Diaries book will take place.

Why I Read This Book: I was a lover of the show, and have read almost all of Candace Bushnell's other books, except, surprisingly, Sex and the City, so I picked this one up for my e-reader.

Review: I thought this was a pretty good book. I kept trying to picture a teenage SJP as the character, and I could kind of see it. The only thing I didn't really like about the book was that it seemed that the main feature of the book was not the people, but smoking. It seemed unnecessary  how much Bushnell talks about smoking in this book! Like I said, I didn't read SATC, but was it like that too? I know you want to be able to picture what a character is doing, but god, this was overkill. I liked most of the characters, and I liked the story though, I thought it was a good read for chick-lit and SATC fans. The last line is the best, because it gives you the exciting tie you were hoping for :)

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One Fifth Avenue - Candace Bushnell

The past few days I have spent a lot of time reading. I also finally got my Pottermore welcome email and got access to the site. Mind-blowing. There is SO much detail, its hard to let it all sink in.

So, in my recent book thirst, I have finished up One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. I have read all of her novels except the 3 about 'Sex and the City'. I haven't bothered because I love the show so much, I don't want one to taint the other in anyway. I am very curious about the 2 newer ones though, so I may pick them up some day. My favorite by her has been 'Trading Up', for no real particular reason. Bushnell is a sassy writer, and puts in just enough sex to keep it interesting.

Back of the Book Summary: Where your zip code is as important as your handbag... Another look at the tough and tender women of New York city from Candace Bushnell, the author of Sex and the City, Trading Up, and Lipstick Jungle. In One Fifth Avenue, Bushnell tells the intertwined stories of five women at one swanky Manhattan address. One Fifth is the building--the chicest, the hottest, the one with the best pedigree, the one with all the most interesting people. And within its gorgeous pre-war walls, fortunes fall and rise in the early days of the new millennium. Here, as in her previous novels, Bushnell turns a gimlet eye on the social and sexual politics of New York's elite, this time through the lens of where they live.

Why I Read This Book: I read this book, because as I said above, I have read most of Bushnell's books, and although not my most favorite books of all time, I like them. So, I was over at a friend's house and she had it on her bookshelf, so I borrowed it.

Review: This has probably been my least favorite of all Bushnell's books. Maybe I'm getting tired of the recipe, but this one seemed a little dry, and perhaps a bit predictable. It had some unexpected parts, but there is only so many times you can read about Manhattan's elite and not feel like you already know what's going to happen. I do like Bushnell's writing style though, I love how she can change the point of view so quickly, turning the words from one persons head to another's in the same paragraph, at times in the same sentence. I like a lot of different perspectives. The characters in this book are pretty boring, they may be writers, and movie stars, and gold diggers, but they aren't at all exciting people really. This is probably more real, but in a story I don't want to hear about boring people (isn't that why we have real friends? haha). I also felt it was unnecessarily long, with the only reason I was able to read it so fast being that I was stranded in an airport for about 6 hours. I did like the book fine though, maybe in the same way as when you can't sleep you will watch your favorite TV show again at 12pm, even though you already watched it when it was on the first time at 9pm. It's a good book, but it definitely isn't something you "can't put down."

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