BuzzSugar

What's Buzzworthy? The Best Books of 2007

BuzzSugar — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:30:21 PST

I love reading under any circumstances, but with the writers' strike likely to roll into next year, I'm going to be needing book recommendations more than ever. So before we flip the calendar to 2008, I wanted to ask you all about your favorite books of 2007.

One of my favorites: Will Allison's What You Have Left, a book I picked up almost by accident at my local library and ended up devouring in a weekend. The novel is essentially a set of interconnected short stories focusing on an estranged father and daughter trying to find their way back to each other, with side appearances from NASCAR, the Confederate flag, and poker machines. It's a small, spare book that manages to be incredibly affecting.

Others from the year that I'd recommend: Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which made me want to make my own cheese; Ann Patchett's Run, which had some of my favorite characters of the year; and Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, as good a follow-up as I could have imagined to The Kite Runner.

So now, what are yours? Just use BuzzSugar's cool bookmarking tool to find your favorites online, write a little blurb about why they stood out to you, and tag them with the phrase Best Books of 2007. Then, next week, I'll feature some of the books here so we can all get our reading lists ready for the coming year.

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BCBG's Max Azria Tells Us When He Fell in Love With Fashion

Allison McNamara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:57:30 PST

We kicked off Fashion Week at the BCBG runway show, where we spotted sumptuous fur jackets and vests juxtaposed against silky colorblocked chiffon dresses. Backstage, Max Azria told us about his Fall 2012 collection, when he first fell in love with fashion, and how he's relaxing after all of his shows have wrapped - it's all in today's Fab Flash. On Allison McNamara: Madewell top, Madewell sweater, H&M blazer, Lia Sophia necklace.

5 Sexy Valentine's Day Dresses to Keep You Looking Hot For Your Valentine!

Allison McNamara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:30:25 PST

Every girl wants to look sexy on Valentine's Day, so we've rounded up 5 stylish dresses to keep you looking hot for your valentine! Obviously, a little black dress is a great go to, but if you're looking for something a bit more festive, we've got a great little red dress, a peplum, and even polka dots for you to choose from. Like what you see? Shop the dresses below! On Allison McNamara: Alice + Olivia dress.

Victoria Beckham Goes Posh in Plaid En Route to New York Fashion Week

Allison McNamara — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:19:29 PST

We always love a good airport-chic ensemble, and Victoria Beckham's outfit at LAX yesterday definitely made the cut. She opted for a short-sleeve maroon sweater by Miu Miu, which she paired with a navy plaid skirt. She polished it off with black tights, superhigh booties, and her daughter Harper Seven in her arms! Victoria made her way to NYC from LA to get ready to show two collections at Fashion Week, Victoria Beckham and Victoria Victoria Beckham. We can't wait to see what she puts on the catwalk for Fall 2012! On Allison McNamara: Isabel Marant sweater, Rebecca Taylor coat.

I Think I Love You's Allison Pearson on Robert Pattinson's Teen Idol Status and Having SJP Star in Her Movie

Allie Merriam — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:45:10 PST

Allison Pearson is a well-known columnist in the UK thanks to her frequent musings on politics, celebrities, and royals, and she's found additional success in her side career as a novelist. Her first book, I Don't Know How She Does It, is being made into a movie starring Sarah Jessica Parker, and her second was just published in the US. I Think I Love You is Allison's fictional story of Petra, a die-hard Welsh fan of David Cassidy in the '60s. The book, in two parts, focuses on Petra's worship of the teen heartthrob from afar during her adolescent years, and later when her path finally crosses David's as an adult. The subject of idolization certainly is one that girls today can relate to thanks to Twilight and Bieber fever. Allison was in NYC recently on a press tour that included a stop by The Today Show, and I was able to chat with her about modern idols like Robert Pattinson, the life of a writer, meeting SJP, and being married to New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane. Here's more:

TrèsSugar: How did you know the story of a teenage David Cassidy fan was the story you needed to write about as a second novel?
Allison Pearson: I didn't want to write another book because I was completely exhausted having written the first one and I'd done a lot of publicity for it. But I was in Norway with a group of women from the publisher and some journalists, and they said, "You have to write another book." And I said, "No way!" And then they said, "Well what would you write about if you were ever to write it?" . . . All the women around the table were chat, chat, chatting about Donny Osmond, this person, that person, and there was one woman who didn't say anything. The Norway women said David Cassidy was huge in Norway, which I didn't know. We were all chatting, and the woman who stayed very silent, I was thinking she thought we were all ridiculous. Then she looked at me and said, "But he was mine." And I thought, OK! That's it! You have to write it.
TS: It's about such a specific time in girls' lives.
AP: You don't want the boy to get out of the poster on the bedroom wall and come down, really. It's about being in love with someone who will never hurt you because you'll never meet them . . . It's quite a brief period - about a year or so. My daughter, who's quite a huge Robert Pattinson fan, would still claim to be. You know in Twilight, you've got camp Jacob and camp Edward. One of her very good friends admitted that she quite liked Taylor Lautner - the treachery! It's like she's defected from East Germany or something!
TS: Sounds like she's a saboteur!
AP: There's also that funny thing where they don't know if they're in love with the actor or the character. So she was team Edward, but then there was Rob . . . My husband [Anthony Lane], who writes about film for The New Yorker, said, "But he's not a good actor!" She's like, "Daddy, how can you say that!?"

To read more from Allison on modern idols like Robert Pattinson and Justin Bieber, as well as on meeting SJP, just

read more. TS: Has writing this book taught you anything about the nature of fandom? Like that it's a real essential part of growing up? AP: Yeah, I think it is. It's obviously an important transition phase, but I think it also has this quite terrifying side. To be Leonardo DiCaprio or David Cassidy, to have these people moving toward you like you're lunch, that must be pretty terrifying . . . some of the forces at work in those little girls are not that great. It's demonic really. TS: What's your take on modern teen idols like Robert Pattinson and Justin Bieber? AP: My law of teen idols is that all other teen idols apart from your own are ridiculous. You can't see what's so good at all. I think mine was perfect, so . . . I think it's very extreme. They're very androgynous. They're very nonthreatening. If you look at Justin Bieber or Zac Efron in a certain light - Zac Efron looks quite like a young Cassidy. A very sweet face, a certain kind of not masculine not threatening. They're all like that. TS: The hair seems to be a consistent theme! AP: Yes, more feminine. Cause Cassidy had beautiful hair. TS: And moving on to the women they date . . . that must be hard for them! AP: Everyone hates the girls who they go out with . . . so poor Susan Dey of The Partridge Family, who's absolutely lovely, but everyone just hated her . . . I was out for lunch years ago with my editor, who's a very senior female editor in Britain, and I mentioned Susan Dey, and she said, "Bitch." And I thought all these years later . . . Like Kristen Stewart, exactly. For ages, people will say, "He's not going out with her. He isn't!" Yeah right! Or they pretend. A lot of people are told to pretend. TS: Switching gears, how did the whole movie project of I Don't Know How She Does It with Sarah Jessica Parker come together? AP: We were very lucky that they got Aline Brosh-McKenna, who wrote The Devil Wears Prada, to do the screenplay. So that was great. She believes in it passionately - I mean she loves it, she loved the book. I think she really has played a huge role in getting it going . . . And Sarah Jessica Parker agreed to do it. I mean, there is a great deal of affection for her, isn't there? People really love her. And they got this terrific cast together, with Pierce Brosnan! TS: How was it meeting SJP? AP: She was lovely! She is a working mom herself, with the girls and the boy. She knows all about that. She's very gracious, and she said, "I know my life's very fortunate and I can work different hours around the children . . . I have huge admiration for working mothers." TS: And now, being married to another writer, The New Yorker's Anthony Lane, is that helpful to the writing process? AP: Oh yes, he is just the most fabulous writer. I'm in awe of his skills really. It can be great, but when you're both on deadline it can be not so great. So there's the bit that, yes, we understand the pressure, but there's a little bit of, "Who's writing around here anyway?"

Christian Louboutin Dishes About Designing For Showgirls and His Trapeze Talent!

Allison McNamara — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:13:10 PST

Christian Louboutin is celebrating 20 years of designing his gorgeous red soles this year, and he created a limited-edition capsule collection chock-full of his signature style to celebrate. We caught up with Mr. Louboutin at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, where he told us how he first got into the business, his perpetual obsession with showgirls, and how he's a pro on the trapeze. Watch our full interview with Christian Louboutin in today's FabFlash. On Allison: Topshop top, Stella & Dot necklace, Urban Outfitters blazer.

Take Black & White to a New Level!

Allison McNamara — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:09:21 PST

Black and white outfits covered the runways for Fall, and celebrities like Blake Lively and Cameron Diaz have been rocking the classic color combo. In today's episode of Currently Trending, we headed to Saks Fifth Avenue to show you three creative ways to wear this sophisticated color palette right now. From a textural leather and fur combo to Winter-white separates and ladylike peplum, take a cue from these outfits when wearing black and white this season. On Allison: Tibi jacket, Equipment blouse, Zara shorts.

Jason Wu for Target Pieces You Won't Want to Miss!

Allison McNamara — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:32:42 PST

It's almost here! The Jason Wu for Target collection is hitting stores on Feb. 5, and we couldn't be more excited. From pretty blouses to whimsical print shirt dresses, this collaboration is filled with Spring-perfect pieces that we can't wait to get our hands on. We've selected a few of the standout items from the line, so watch on to get up close and personal with some of our favorite pieces. On Allison: Jason Wu for Target dress.

Wear Bold Floral Prints Like Emma Roberts, Amanda Seyfried, and Whitney Port!

Allison McNamara — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:01 PST

Florals are a Spring staple, but for the upcoming season, flowers are covering everything from jackets to pants! Spring 2012 runways, including Peter Som, Proenza Schouler, Erdem, and Alexander Wang showed off head-to-toe prints, inspiring us to try out this trend ourselves. So in today's episode of Currently Trending, we headed to Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills to show you how to rock bold florals right now! On Allison McNamara: Stella McCartney top, Hermès bracelet.

See How Ashley Greene Nails Old Hollywood Glamour

Allison McNamara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:36:33 PST

Ashley Greene vamped up the red carpet last night in a retro black and white Oscar de la Renta dress. The Twilight star stepped out for the Louder Than Words event at the Avalon in Hollywood in a very old-Hollywood-esque get-up, choosing a midi-length dress paired with pointy black heels and a soft updo. Watch today's Fab Flash to see why we adore this look! On Allison: Topshop sweater, Lia Sophia necklace.

Party Dress in Many Colors - by Naven - $369.00	MICHAEL Michael Kors - Cowl Twist Dress w/ Knot Front - $120.00
Alice + Olivia Tory Peplum Dress - $297.00	Tory Peplum Dress - $297.00
Victoria Peplum Dress - $264.00	Silk Polka Dot Dress - $325.00
Forever 21 Polka Dotted Dress - $27.80	Strapless Silk Duran Dress - $328.00
Strapless short dress - $54.90	JILL JILL STUART Strapless Red Mini Dress - $495.00
GUESS Dress, Strapless Sweetheart Neck A-Line - $128.00