I was very disaponted with the book. It seemed like the characters were hopping around so much that I couldnt figure out what was going on. I love the movie and I own every season, the book was just disapointing.

The Truth: I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I Know EverythingAs a positive psychologist and the author of four books for women and girls, the latest is a quick fiction read,designed to build self-esteem, The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything), I am always eager to see how women are portrayed and what lessons we can learn from a story in terms of female development. Yes, I am addicted to the series, Sex and the City. I never saw it when it ran, but now can hardly fall asleep without a rerun. Give me any of the girls and I'm happy. Give me all four together, chatting over lunch or breakfast, and I'm even happier. As a psychologist I see the brillance of the series tied into the intimacy that the women achieve with each other. It is this intimacy that helps them through love disappointments, career mistakes, loss of family, etc. However, although I enjoyed the book very much, I missed this level of female closeness in the book. I was surprised and fascinated at the same time. The characters I could see being birthed in the book, but the community they created with each other I guess had to wait until the book was rewritten into a screen play. I wonder if Candane Bushnell was pleased with the next step into the closeness that women can achieve with each other that the series and the movies has taken on.

In terms of my work with girls and women, it is this closeness that is so important developmentally. We need the time of endless dialogue and anaylsis that Carrie, Charlotte, and all had day after day. Men don't need it, but we do.

Still, Sex and the City is a great read. I recommend it and you will, like myself, be intrigued to see how the four women came into being. You will laugh and be dismayed and it won't change one way or another your eagerness for the next re-run of Sex and the City. At least it didn't change my late night run to the television!

Beware!! This is not a novel!! If you want an engrossing read and you want the girls from sex and the city, do not let this fool you. This book is more of an essay. Paragraph after paragraph of what appears to be the newspaper column maybe. Not novel format at all. I was real disapointed because I enjoyed Lipstick Jungle and Trading Up and Four Blondes. This book is nothing like them.

Beware!! This is not a novel!! If you want an engrossing read and you want the girls from sex and the city, do not let this fool you. This book is more of an essay. Paragraph after paragraph of what appears to be the newspaper column maybe. Not novel format at all. I was real disapointed because I enjoyed Lipstick Jungle and Trading Up and Four Blondes. This book is nothing like them.

I'm an absolute Sex and the City nut. Been addicted to the show for years. Happy to finaly have the book it all come from.

Okay, so I bought the book because I'm a fan of the show, and the movie was fun, if not as sexy and smart as the series. I just found this book really boring - it seemed as though Bushnell couldn't really be bothered writing it... maybe that was to convey the superficiality and heartlessness of the people, but how can you care about people like that?
Give me the show over this any day - in the end it was the friendships between Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha that gave it its zsa zsa zsou - and the superb acting.
Some chapters are insightful but overall, it's bland. I'm just glad that it spawned the series though!

I have to admit when I first got the book I expected something similar to the series. Even though this was not the case, I was not dissapointed. A lot of the stories made me laugh out loud to myself. I saw truths in the stories. This book and the series makes one enjoy being a girl!

The book is a collection of chronicles initially published in a magazine. Put together, they don't really make a book, they make... a collection of chronicles bound in a single volume. It is pleasant to read one or two at a time. Bushnell is a kean and witty observer. But one cannot read the whole book at once. The fantastic narcissistic quest for pleasure and consumer love, and parade of money and social status of these bachelor New Yorkers between 30 and 45 quickly gets tiring.

Because I am a fan of the show, I sought out the book. I heard that the two were extremely different and often tv viewers were disappointed with Ms. Bushnell's articles. Knowing this, I gave her book a chance to be something other than the seeds by which Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha grew.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the articles. Funny, witty, and intensely perceptive with her sardonic tongue, Ms. Bushnell manages to make fun of the painful and bizarre situations that arrive in the elite New Yorker's love life. These articles make you the fly on the Ralph Lauren painted walls of the Hamptons and the Upper East Side. And I like being a fly there. Voyeuristic pursuits are met here in her words.

True though, you will not recognize Carrie who seems to be psychotic, nor will you even find Charlotte. You can, however, see the skeletal beginnings of Season 1's episodes. But these stories were all extremely entertaining on their own.

All that aside, I say find the articles on the internet or at the library. This is not life altering literature. For a frivolous read, it does its job, but I do not need to read it again.

Because I am a fan of the show, I sought out the book. I heard that the two were extremely different and often tv viewers were disappointed with Ms. Bushnell's articles. Knowing this, I gave her book a chance to be something other than the seeds by which Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha grew.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the articles. Funny, witty, and intensely perceptive with her sardonic tongue, Ms. Bushnell manages to make fun of the painful and bizarre situations that arrive in the elite New Yorker's love life. These articles make you the fly on the Ralph Lauren painted walls of the Hamptons and the Upper East Side. And I like being a fly there. Voyeuristic pursuits are met here in her words.

True though, you will not recognize Carrie who seems to be psychotic, nor will you even find Charlotte. You can, however, see the skeletal beginnings of Season 1's episodes. But these stories were all extremely entertaining on their own.

All that aside, I say find the articles on the internet. Although some can only be found in the book, you will do better at the library. I thought it was entertaining, but if you can get it easier and for FREE on the internet, why not?

Funny of course, entertaining. This is the modern writing. Unlikeable characters, pointless, but goofy too and funny. I like the show and I know how popular it is but I am hoping against hope that women don't REALLY TAKE IT SERIOUSLY because it is a joke. And am I the only person who noticed that the AUTHOR herself admits that MR. BIG is an AMALGAM, an imaginary friend, who CARRIE made up? This is spelled out specifically and when you watch the HBO show you can notice it because NO ONE but CARRIE ever sees Big. Somehow he is always a no show and unavailable. People get introduced to him but he never responds. That's because, silly girls, the PERFECT MAN does not exist. That's why you can never find one.

The novel was fun to read..I was hoping it would have been a more detailed story.

I am a huge fan of the televison show! I have every episode on dvd. When I found out that their was book for the show I was really excited. Each chapter pretty much has a subject regarding realationships. For example their was a chapter about threesomes. Characters would then tell what they thought about the subject. It would also have stories that would go with the subject. Some of the stories are so so funny!
Most of the book their is a big story with Carrie and Mr. Big. You really don't hear to much with Charlotte,Sam or Miranda and their stories.
If you love this show like I did, you should maybe check out the book

I love the show "Sex and the City" and I always wanted to read the book that inspired it. I must say, Candace Bushnell certainly knows what she's doing and her other work that inspires future shows displays her true talent for saying things that women couldn't or wouldn't for a long time before she came along.

Let me start by saying, I'm sort of a literary snob who always sides with the book rather than the movie/television show. However, this time I can't. I've been a HUGE fan of Sex and the City for years, so when I saw this book at the store the other day I had to pick it up. I read it in one sitting, and I was very surprised by it. You can see where a lot of Sex and the City episodes got their themes - Mr. Big, Modelizers, Wild Women Turned Connecticut Mommies, Hopelessly Romantic Young Guys, Playboys, etc. The book was actually pretty interesting and entertaining, if not completely depressing (is love really THAT much of an outdated concept these days?)

The one thing I didn't like about the book, plain and simple, were the characters. Take Carrie, for example. In the television show she chain smokes, sleeps around, spends more than her fair share of money on clothes and shoes she doesn't need, and she makes the same mistakes over and over again (ie. Mr. Big). However, she has a heart. She's a good person. You root for her. You can see that, while cynical, Carri is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man, but wouldn't push the right one away.

The Carrie of the book is one of the least likable characters I have ever come across in any form of entertainment. Yes, she chain smokes, sleeps around, spends more than her fair share of money of clothes and shoes she doesn't need, and she makes lots of lots of the same mistakes. But this time she doesn't have a heart. Or a soul. She's a whiny, immature, drug-addicted 35-year old woman who needs to cling to a man in order to validate her own self-worth. Instead of focusing on her career, or even just being a good person, Carrie does every drug imaginable, wakes up with a hangover every single day, clings to and cries over Mr. Big, and then sleeps with as many random guys as she can, all while droning on and on about how bored she is with it all. So then stop. I only hope this character wasn't based on a real woman. There are times when you just want to slap her in the face and scream "Wake up! You're 35! You need to grow up and get your life together, you whining, spoiled, completely annoying and needy person!" It actually gets frustrating!

Now I know the book was here long before the television show, but we all know that it was the TV show that made the entire franchise such a huge success. If you read the book looking for the television shows message of being a strong, independent woman who can conquer the world, you won't find it here. If you want to laugh at lifeless, pathetic characters and realize that hey, maybe your own life isn't so bad, then you'll be greatly entertained!

A smart look into the life of single women and dating.
More realistic than the tv series, with no endings where the cute and beautiful win the day. Rather, more realisticlly, meaner and brutal.

It dwells on the subtleties and richness of dating details. Good read.

A smart look into the life of single women and dating.
More realistic than the tv series, with no endings where the cute and beautiful win the day. Rather, more realisticlly, meaner and brutal.

It dwells on the subtleties and richness of dating details. Good read.

As someone who recently discovered (and became addicted to) HBO's delightful series "Sex and the City," it was inevitable that I'd wind up investigating Candace Bushnell's book. Bushnell's book is the collected form of the column she wrote for years before TV writer Darren Star turned it into a hit television series. Ironically, though Bushnell's book probably wouldn't get anywhere near as much attention if it weren't for the TV series, it's because of the TV series that it appears so many readers have had a foul reaction to the book. It's true that those expecting the TV show on paper are bound to be disappointed, probably in a big way, because Bushnell's "Sex and the City" doesn't have a lot in common with the show.

For the most part, the book does revolve around Carrie Bradshaw (a thinly-disguised alter-ego for Bushnell, with even the same initials), a thirty-something columnist in New York. Miranda Hobbes does show up a few times during the first half of the book, though she's not a lawyer. Samantha Jones is not a PR agent nor such a nymphomaniac as she was in the show. And Charlotte is a British woman, whose TV counterpart appeared at the beginning of the series' pilot episode. Stanford Blatch, Carrie's successful homosexual friend, is the only character who remains virtually the same, though here he's a screenwriter. Many of the same situations presented throughout the show pop up in the book, such as Stanford's obsession with his model "protege," the torment of the baby shower, and "modelizers." And those who loved Chris Noth's Mr. Big needn't worry. Big is a major character in the book and is just as adorable (and even less rambunctious) as he was in the show, though the outcome of he and Carrie's relationship is different in the book than in the show.

Bushnell's columns were meant more as musings on the life of single women in New York, and often single men as well, than as a linear narrative. Thus it's surprising that her writings work so well as a book. She has a very cute, quirky, innocent style of writing, and that's a big part of what makes her book such a blast. However Bushnell offers little insight into what any of the characters are actually feeling, and rightly so: it just accents their appalling and, frankly, upsetting superficiality. The dating scene in Manhattan is a hellish world where all that matters is sex, money, fashion, and drugs. Bushnell is obviously deeply involved in this world, and it's her knowledge of it, along with her characters' candid musings, that kept me reading.

In the end, those expecting the HBO series in a book are going to be very disappointed. Those expecting something resembling the HBO series will probably be let down as well. The book and the series are designed for two different worlds - while the show tended to have a sweet optimism to it, Bushnell writes with the same sort of dreamy, hopeful cynicism that one would find in a Bret Easton Ellis book. However, those who would rather read the book than incessently compare it with the show may enjoy it. I recommend Candace Bushnell's "Sex and the City" to those who are younger and looking for a fun, unusual, honest read.

As someone who recently discovered (and became addicted to) HBO's delightful series "Sex and the City," it was inevitable that I'd wind up investigating Candace Bushnell's book. Bushnell's book is the collected form of the column she wrote for years before TV writer Darren Star turned it into a hit television series. Ironically, though Bushnell's book probably wouldn't get anywhere near as much attention if it weren't for the TV series, it's because of the TV series that it appears so many readers have had a foul reaction to the book. It's true that those expecting the TV show on paper are bound to be disappointed, probably in a big way, because Bushnell's "Sex and the City" doesn't have a lot in common with the show.

For the most part, the book does revolve around Carrie Bradshaw (a thinly-disguised alter-ego for Bushnell, with even the same initials), a thirty-something columnist in New York. Miranda Hobbes does show up a few times during the first half of the book, though she's not a lawyer. Samantha Jones is not a PR agent nor such a nymphomaniac as she was in the show. And Charlotte is a British woman, whose TV counterpart appeared at the beginning of the series' pilot episode. Stanford Blatch, Carrie's successful homosexual friend, is the only character who remains virtually the same, though here he's a screenwriter. Many of the same situations presented throughout the show pop up in the book, such as Stanford's obsession with his model "protege," the torment of the baby shower, and "modelizers." And those who loved Chris Noth's Mr. Big needn't worry. Big is a major character in the book and is just as adorable (and even less rambunctious) as he was in the show, though the outcome of he and Carrie's relationship is different in the book than in the show.

Bushnell's columns were meant more as musings on the life of single women in New York, and often single men as well, than as a linear narrative. Thus it's surprising that her writings work so well as a book. She has a very cute, quirky, innocent style of writing, and that's a big part of what makes her book such a blast. However Bushnell offers little insight into what any of the characters are actually feeling, and rightly so: it just accents their appalling and, frankly, upsetting superficiality. The dating scene in Manhattan is a hellish world where all that matters is sex, money, fashion, and drugs. Bushnell is obviously deeply involved in this world, and it's her knowledge of it, along with her characters' candid musings, that kept me reading.

In the end, those expecting the HBO series in a book are going to be very disappointed. Those expecting something resembling the HBO series will probably be let down as well. The book and the series are designed for two different worlds - while the show tended to have a sweet optimism to it, Bushnell writes with the same sort of dreamy, hopeful cynicism that one would find in a Bret Easton Ellis book. However, those who would rather read the book than incessently compare it with the show may enjoy it. I recommend Candace Bushnell's "Sex and the City" to those who are younger and looking for a fun, unusual, honest read.

While this book undoubtedly made a wonderful column, it transalted differently onto the big screen. It is very entertaining, although the cast of characters varies, and the ending differs from SITC's.

Bushnell is a great writer, but her fiction feels vastly removed from column work such as this collection.

If you can approach this book with an open mind, you may very well enjoy it. If Carrie-mania alone inspires you to read it--you may be starkly let-down.

Very different from TV series, so not exactly what I was expecting. A little on the angry, cynical side but still entertaining reading for the most part.

I love the show (I've seen all the re-runs a million times!) but the book was just not good. I was really disappointed. It is very difficult to follow, and there is no real "flow" to the book. The characters are very unlikeable and nothing like the characters on the show. I kept reading the book, hoping that it would get better, but it never did. I will stick with watching re-runs of the show.

I love the show (I've seen all the re-runs a million times!) but the book was just not good. I was really disappointed. It is very difficult to follow, and there is no real "flow" to the book. The characters are very unlikeable and nothing like the characters on the show. I kept reading the book, hoping that it would get better, but it never did. I will stick with watching re-runs of the show.

I got this book yesterday. I sat down and read it in one go, as I'm a huge fan of the show and was sure I'd enjoy it.

Well, I didn't. The chapters jump all over the place. Yes, I know they are pieced together from columns, but even if you try to just read one little piece, it's not a complete anything. It's like she starts in the middle of an in-joke, hops from thing to thing, and ends abruptly, and starts over with something else. I couldn't keep up with what was going at all.

The characters are unlikeable. Watching the show, even though I didn't approve of Sam's bed hopping or Richard's smarminess, I appreciated them as interesting characters and wanted to see what happened to them. These characters are flimsy, throwaway. They want to seem like they are living THE life, but in fact their lives seem worthless and boring even. Drugs are very rampant in this book, and the sex is of the "Paris Hilton" type, where people do it just to cause a stir, and they only care about themselves, which is ironic because they don't even really enjoy it. On the show, yeah sometimes the girls had one night stands, but it was just somehow more meaningful and interesting.

The book does start to get better at the end, as Carrie and Mr. Big's relationship unravels, but it's too little, too late.

I didn't expect it to be exactly like the show. I started reading it with an open mind. But the simple fact is that it's rubbish. I am really amazed that someone read this and said "This is wonderful! Let's make a TV show about it!" I'm glad they did, and that better writers were put on the job, because the end product was one of my favorite shows. But, yeah, it's garbage.

I got this book yesterday. I sat down and read it in one go, as I'm a huge fan of the show and was sure I'd enjoy it.

Well, I didn't. The chapters jump all over the place. Yes, I know they are pieced together from columns, but even if you try to just read one little piece, it's not a complete anything. It's like she starts in the middle of an in-joke, hops from thing to thing, and ends abruptly, and starts over with something else. I couldn't keep up with what was going at all.

The characters are unlikeable. Watching the show, even though I didn't approve of Sam's bed hopping or Richard's smarminess, I appreciated them as interesting characters and wanted to see what happened to them. These characters are flimsy, throwaway. They want to seem like they are living THE life, but in fact their lives seem worthless and boring even. Drugs are very rampant in this book, and the sex is of the "Paris Hilton" type, where people do it just to cause a stir, and they only care about themselves, which is ironic because they don't even really enjoy it. On the show, yeah sometimes the girls had one night stands, but it was just somehow more meaningful and interesting.

The book does start to get better at the end, as Carrie and Mr. Big's relationship unravels, but it's too little, too late.

I didn't expect it to be exactly like the show. I started reading it with an open mind. But the simple fact is that it's rubbish. I am really amazed that someone read this and said "This is wonderful! Let's make a TV show about it!" I'm glad they did, and that better writers were put on the job, because the end product was one of my favorite shows. But, yeah, it's garbage.

This book is fun and entertaining.Just the type of story to sit back and laugh with your girlfriends!!!

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

Let me start off as saying this book contains a lot of common sense philosophies of weight loss and overall good health. Drink lots of water, eat real foods, as opposed to processed junk foods. Always go for fresh vegetables instead of canned, etc. I agree with that wholeheartedly. The book's idea is very pure and simple, and it brings up some very valid points of other causes for weight gain or other common maladities that might besides overeating or lack of exercise, such as thyroid problems, hormonal imbalances, lack of sleep, undiagnosed allergies, etc. So for those reasons, I would recommend the book.

Even if you don't take all of the advice to heart, I think its an educational book and I am altering some of my habits based on the advice in the book. Some negatives of the book are, I found he could be a little redundant in his writing (I skimmed over parts that were getting repetitive) and the more I read, the more it became apparent that to follow his program to the letter would require a big committment - the books says everything from teflon in cookware to pesticides in foods can cause toxic reactions that can cause weight gain.

While I don't disagree with that, it got to be a little depressing reading that so many things in our enviroment could be poisoning us and causing various health problems, including weight gain. That said, just because it can be a little depressing, does not mean it shouldn't be something of which we are blissfuly ignorant. But I find that this would be a program that requires a big commitment and it would require some sacrifice. I think if you are overweight, the one thing that you should check out in this book are some tests Dr. Hyman recommends you request your doctor to perform to make sure there are not some hidden health problems which could be causing weight gain.

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

Good summer read. Not exactly like the TV show so it was fun seeing the differences in characters.