I will state right up front that this entry contains a mini-rant.  It may also break my solemn vow not to take personal shots at other authors.  This absolutely is going to take what some will view as a shot at a famous, one might say infamous, author.  One Candace Bushnell.  Feel free to call me names in response.

Now, I do not know the woman and won’t pretend to have any personal information other than what I’ve read.  She may be lovely in person but articles portray her as shallow, crass and stupid.  Sure, this could be some bizarre promo campaign, in which case her PR person must be fired and sent on a plane to anywhere that doesn’t have magazines or television…. or people.  It could be journalists portray her as something she’s not, in which case she needs to stop doing interviews in evening gowns and lingerie because that appears to be throwing off journalism’s collective integrity when it comes to her.  An even scarier possibility is that Bushnell is purposely cultivating the annoying dumb bitch personality.  If that’s her thing, I guess that’s fine.  But, by all that is holy there must be a way to write about her without annoying the crap out of me.  Better yet, let’s stop writing about her.

The newest ad, I mean article, is in Harper’s Bazaar this month.  This one showcases Bushnell and her professional ballet dancer husband in the requisite evening wear.  The article purports to be about Bushnell’s new book, Lipstick Jungle, but spends more time talking about her money, her shoes, her clothes, her connected friends and, oh yeah, her money.

Admittedly, my frustration with Bushnell started in the middle of Sex and the City.  Maybe it was her fault or maybe it was some other writer on the show - I don’t know and I care even less.  But, somewhere around the time Carrie finally found a decent guy (the Northern Exposure guy - Aidan on this show) then cheated on him, pushed him away and generally treated him like crap, I realized that the women on the show, at base, were weak and unlikable.  Carrie, when faced with a decent and employed good guy, proved the adage that women like to be treated like garbage and gravitate to men who will do that for them.  Charlotte’s determined search for a husband and a baby at the expense of everything else always struck me as hollow.  Her voice annoyed me too but, technically, that wasn’t her fault.  Samantha was ridiculous.  Miranda was pathetic.  You see where I’m going here.  Not my favorite show.

And, this isn’t an anti-chick lit thing.  I like chick lit.  I like the voice and spirit.  This is an anti-shallow thing.  Enough is enough.  Is being witty and entertaining and somehow still smart impossible?  I’m all for books that are just about entertainment.  I’m all for people writing what they want to write and reading what they want to read.  Fine, fine, fine.  The problem here is that with each article I read on or about Bushnell I become more determined never to buy anything that could possibly send a royalty nickel in her direction.  But, that’s me….

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