The ultimate chick-lit trifecta took place Wednesday evening when Candace Bushnell, Cecily von Ziegesar and J. Courtney Sullivan convened at the Union Square Barnes & Noble to discuss their newest fiction books. Naturally, conversation led to their own personal coming-of-age experiences, which ranged from the funny (Bushnell’s first “real” job had her sharpening pencils day in and day out) to the downright gross (after her first night out in college, von Ziegesar woke up to find herself covered in, er, vomit).
“You don’t realize it at the time, but there is a huge difference between your freshman year of college and your freshman year of life,” said Sullivan, the youngest of the set, who graduated from Smith College in 2003. Her tome, entitled
Commencement, tells a tale about four best friends who meet during their first year at the author’s alma mater, and what takes place after graduation. Bushnell’s
The Carrie Diaries, meanwhile, offers a look back at Carrie Bradshaw’s life as a struggling senior at a Connecticut high school—before she became that famous city slicker. As for Von Ziegesar, the creator of the
Gossip Girl super series, her book,
Cum Laude, discusses what happens when the privileged set leaves home for freshman year at a liberal arts college. Talk about perfect beach reads!
Bushnell at the signing.
