NUMBER: 50TITLE: Everyone Worth Knowing
AUTHOR: Lauren Weisberger
STARTED: June 4, 2006
FINISHED: June 7, 2006
PAGES: 367
GENRE: Chick Lit
FIRST SENTENCE: Though I'd caught only the briefest glimpse from the corner of my eye, I knew immediately that the brown creature darting across my warped hardwood floors was a water bug - the largest, meatiest insect I'd ever seen.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] On paper, Bette Robinson's life is good. At twenty-six, she's got a great deal on an apartment in Manhattan, and she's on target to become an associate at the prestigious investment bank where she works with her best friend. Her eighty-hour workweeks might keep her from socializing or dating outside her office walls — but she's paying her dues on the well-trod path to wealth and happiness. So when Bette quits her job like the impulsive girl she's never been, she not only shocks her friends and family — she has no idea what to do next.
For months, Bette gets out and about by walking her four-pound dog around her decidedly unglamorous Murray Hill neighborhood. Then she meets Kelly, head of Manhattan's hottest PR and events planning firm, and suddenly Bette has a brand-new job where the primary requirement is to see and be seen.
The work at Kelly & Company takes Bette inside the VIP rooms of the city's most exclusive nightclubs, to parties crowded with celebrities and socialites. Bette learns not to blink at the famous faces, the black Amex cards, the magnums of Cristal, or the ruthless paparazzi. Soon she's dating an infamous playboy who's great for her career but bad for her sanity — and scaring off the one decent guy she meets. Still, as her coworkers repeatedly point out, how can you complain about a job that pays you to party? Bette has to agree — until she begins appearing in a vicious new gossip column. That's when Bette's life on paper takes on a whole new meaning — and she learns the line between her personal and professional lives is... invisible.
REASON FOR READING: My future roomie Kristy said the main character reminded her of me.
THOUGHTS: For some reason I tend to stay away from chick lit. I am more than glad that Kristy gave me this book to read. Weisberger's characters and writing are quite addictive - seriously, I want to meet someone like Sammy. The plot for this was enjoyable mainly because the main character was thrown into a completely different environment and, somehow, managed to survive. Kristy is right, though, Bette is me. I think that is one reason I enjoyed the book so much. It was interesting to see how a character who mirrors my personality would react when introduced to the world of high-power, celebrity parties.
The one thing that bugged me throughout the whole book was the casual drug use. It didn't irk me so much that it was in the book itself, but because I know that this is how things actually are. Weisberger did a phenomenal job with the supporting cast. She didn't simply create characters, she created real people. It's very rare that I find a book where I can feel like the characters could exist in real life. In this case, Weisberger has created a whole world that is easy to imagine really exists.
Weisberger also does a great job of recreating the selfishness and shallowness that seems rampant in today's young celebrity crowd.
MISCELLANEOUS: I am more than willing to try more books by this author.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): Back to Kristy it goes
RATING: 7/10 [Very Good]
CR: The Washingtonienne by Jessica Cutler
RN: Whatever strikes my fancy later tonight.
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