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Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Lauren Weisberger Edition: Mass Market Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2006-12-26 ISBN: 1416543007 Number of pages: 448 Publisher: Pocket Books Accessories:
Book Reviews of Everyone Worth KnowingBook Review: Brain Candy, indeed! Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down... I even sat in my car for 45 minutes after work one day, just because I couldn't wait until I got home to read more! The amount of negative reviews really surprised me. I've never written a review for anything, but I enjoyed this book so thoroughly that I just had to share my opinion on it.
I just finished "Everyone Worth Knowing" for the second time, having read it once when it first appeared on shelves. I love it just as much now as I did then. I found myself going on the same roller-coaster ride as the main character, Bette. Weisberger has such a unique and personal way of writing. I felt like I *was* Bette, at some points... when Weisberger described Bette's heartaches, I felt my heart race and my stomach drop, as though I was the one going through it. When Bette's life hit a high, I smiled and squealed and was elated right along with her. Weisberger has a way of describing life's highs and lows in a way that I can relate to. I found myself literally nodding in knowing agreement at many phrases in the book. She seems to have a particular talent for putting words to feelings.
Weisberger's writing is witty, funny, and captivating. I couldn't read fast enough. And it certainly took my mind off of my own problems while I was reading it. I loved escaping into "the realm of New York's chic, party-hopping elite". I highly recommend this book to anyone, but most especially, 20-somethings caught in their own love-affair with the city. Maybe that's why I liked it so much!
Summary of Everyone Worth Knowing What happens when a girl on the fringe enters the realm of New York's chic, party-hopping elite? Soon after Bette Robinson quits her horrendous Manhattan banking job like the impulsive girl she's never been, the novelty of walking her four-pound dog around the unglamorous Murray Hill neighborhood wears as thin as the "What are you going to do with your life?" phone calls from her parents. Then Bette meets Kelly, head of Manhattan's hottest PR firm, and suddenly she has a brand-new job where the primary requirement is to see and be seen inside the VIP rooms of the city's most exclusive nightclubs. But when Bette begins appearing in a vicious new gossip column, she realizes that the line between her personal life and her professional life is...invisible. Lauren Weisberger, whose bestselling debut The Devil Wears Prada outed the vicious antics of the magazine industry elite, is back at it with Everyone Worth Knowing, another cautionary tale of sex, power, and fame. This time around, the PR industry is her target, and Prada fans will recognize similar themes throughout this entertaining, if at times overly dramatic, exposé. Bette Robinson is a twentysomething Emory graduate who shunned her parents' hippie ideals in favor of a high-paying yet excruciatingly boring job at a prestigious investment bank. One day, after a particularly condescending exchange with her boss (who sends her daily inspirational e-mails), Bette walks out on her job in a huff. After a few weeks of sleeping late, watching Dr. Phil and entertaining her dog Millington, Bette's uncle scores her a job at an up-and-coming public relations firm, where her entire job seems to revolve around staying out late partying and providing fodder for clandestine gossip columns. What follows is one episode after another of Bette climbing up the social ladder at the expense of her friends, family, and the one guy who actually seems worth pursuing. Weisberger is clever enough to turn seemingly outrageous circumstances into amusing anecdotes, like the tale of a woman who was close to suicide until she found out she was only 18 months away from scoring a highly coveted Birkin bag ("You simply cannot kill yourself when you're that close ... it's just not an option."). This wit, combined a hint of voyeurism that most of us can't deny, is what makes Everyone Worth Knowing a guilty pleasure that's well worth the indulgence. --Gisele Toueg The Significant Seven with Lauren Weisberger Lauren graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author.
 Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life? A: Very tough question. For the first half of my life, it would definitely have to be Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. I worshipped that book. Recently, I'd say that it was Empire Falls by Richard Russo. Even though there's not a tremendous amount of action, the characters are brilliant. It's a hauntingly realistic depiction of small-town America. And the place descriptions are so compelling that the book is compulsively page-turning.
Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they? A: This is not the time for self-improvement, that's for sure--they'd all have to be 100% entertainment. For book it would have to be The Last of the California Girls, a random novel that I've read 2,000 times; for CD I would say Monster Ballads, the album of cheesy 80's love songs that I ordered from an 800-number, and for DVD, it would be Dirty Dancing, of course.
Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told? A: That one's easy. It goes something like this: "Hi, (insert editor's name here)! Yes, of course, it's already finished. I'm just tweaking a few sentences, and I'll have the whole draft to you by Monday, latest."
Q: Describe the perfect writing environment. A: For me, the best writing environments are all about deprivation and the removal of temptation. Therefore, anywhere on earth where there's no TV, no phone, no internet access, no friends, and no fridge is pretty much perfect.
Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? A: I really don't want to think about this one, but if I HAVE to, I hope it would include a few keywords like "brilliant," "supremely talented," and "drop-dead gorgeous."
Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with? A: I'm supposed to say Hemingway or Moses or Madonna, right? It'd probably just be my sister, Dana. We already have a lot of dinners together, so I know it's a guaranteed good laugh.
Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be? A: The ability to be invisible! It would make all my current spying/stalking/staring SO much easier. Lauren Weisberger's List of Books You Should Read See more recommendations from Lauren Weisberger
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