She's Got Game

Ever wished you had a little more grasp of your favorite game? Melissa Malamut has got you covered with her new book, She's Got Game: The Woman's Guide to Loving Sports (Or Just How to Fake It!).  Malamut not only goes over the basics of football, basketball, baseball, golf and more; but she recommends when to cheer and when to stay quiet (as in when your team is shooting a free throw).  She even goes into the best outfits for each sport (basketball with its climate controlled arenas is the best sport to dress up) and the best time to leave your seats for a snack or a bathroom break.  Malamut is a veteran journalist and sports reporter.  This would be more fun (and less humiliating) than picking up a "Dummy's Guide" if you're looking to impress your man before the next big game.

Review: The Carrie Diaries

Don't judge me, but I've been on a kick of reading high school literature of late. First there was Gossip Girl, then Twilight, next the Vampire Diaries and, most recently, The Carrie Diaries. The book focuses on Carrie as a high school senior.

Carrie is more down to earth than the crew from Gossip Girl, wearing vintage white GoGo boots on her first day of school with nary a fret about a designer label (the book is set in the 80s, before teenagers--even fictional ones--regularly wore couture). Her friends drink at parties and the local dive bar and some of the characters smoke pot, all pretty normal stuff for senior year of high school.

Turns out Carrie was a born feminist and incredibly self-aware, especially as a 17-year old. She had the same relationship with her looks as she did throughout the show, meaning she knows she is cute, but not model-material, which occasionally leads to self-doubt. I am envious of Candace Bushnell, who based the Sex and the City columns for The Observer on her real life, who now has the opportunity to go back an re-write her high school years as fiction. As someone who recently read and cringed her entire way through her diary from 8th grade, that would be a dream come true.

As for the plot of the Carrie Diaries, it's a pretty predictable tale of boys, familial angst and discovering one's passion in life. Carrie's is writing, of course, and she longs to get into the New School's summer writing program all throughout her senior year. She mentions the New School so much, I started to wonder if Candace Bushnell is getting kick backs. (I'm guessing she, or someone she or her editor loves, works there.) Seriously, she doesn't stress about getting into Brown and doesn't even mention a particular safety school, but when it comes to the summer program at the New School, it's like it's the last life boat on the Titanic.

I kept longing for one of the characters to make a cameo: Charlotte, Stanford, anyone! One finally does at the end and a sequel is reportedly in the works. My advice: Check it out from the library or wait until it's available in paperback!

See our Summer 2010 Beach Reading picks.

Big Book of Barbecue

Add this to your list of summer must reads, The Big Book of BBQ: Recipes and Revelations from the Barbecue Belt. The book from the editors of Southern Living features the best barbecue places in the South, info on the most famous barbecue festivals, recipes, and photos that you can gain five pound from just looking at.

For those who prefer their meat from a cow and sans sauce, Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef, is exactly that. Food writer and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Mark Schatzker details his 18-month search for the perfect steak across Argentina, Scotland, Japan, Europe and the states.

Guide to Summer 2010

The countdown is on to the unofficial start of summer. Read on for the hottest destinations, fashions, cosmetics and more.

What's summer without a long weekend away? For those who aren't fans of the sand and sea, we have  Travel Ideas for city slickers, too.

Check out the must-have shoe for summer: The wedge.

After a year-long hunt, we've finally found the perfect Straw Bags.

and the most glamorous Sun Hat

The only waterproof makeup you'll need

and the Hottest nail polish, courtesy of Mme. Chanel.

Plus the best Beach Reading

and the Playlist of summer.

Last but not least, get yourself beach ready with our tips for Brazilian bikini waxing.

Beach Reading Summer 2010

It's that time of year to head to the bookstore or library and pick up the beach reads for the summer. Here's our pick for Beach Reading Summer 2010:

We recently had the chance to chat with Chelsea Handler at the Belvedere Pink Grapefruit launch party who says, "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang is my favorite book, it has the funniest stories." When we asked how it was possible that she had any stories left--c'mon, how do you top having a romance with a cruise ship acrobat and vacationing with your dad?--Chelsea said, "I've been pacing myself, but I won't be writing another book for a few more years." Pour yourself a tall Belvedere and soda and savor Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang.

Handbag designer Lauren Merkin gets credit for the next select. She turned us on to The Help, a moving novel about hired help in 1960 Jackson, Mississippi. While that may sound too serious for your lounge chair, it's a beautiful, easy read. Read it before Steven Spielberg makes the movie.

Speaking of books being made into movies, if you haven't read Eat, Pray, Love, pick up a copy before Elizabeth Gilbert morphs into Julia Roberts this August.

Can't wait til June 13 when the third season of True Blood premiers? Neither can we! Get your Sookie, Bill and Eric fix with Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 10), the just-released next chapter in the Sookie series.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is the last in the trilogy that began with The Girl with a Dragon Tatoo.  Since the second (The Girl Who Played with Fire) was better than the first (and didn't take nearly as long to get juicy), we're hoping the trend continues as we follow Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist on another crazy ride.

Finally, for some good, old-fashioned chick lit, try Emily Giffin's Heart of the Matter. If it's anything like her previous books, you'll be laughing through tears!

See our Summer Beach Reading picks 2009 and Summer Beach Reading Picks 2008.

Sex and the City Book: The Carrie Diaries

Last fall we told you about the Sex and the City Book: The Carrie Diaries, which are all about Carrie in high school. A big thanks to the New York Post for giving us an exclusive sneak peek in between the pages. The pages they shared are all about her early boyfriends with a mention of a cruise to Alaska with her dad and her sisters and reveal an introspective, young Carrie. Can't wait to read more!

The Carrie Diaries is available on Amazon.

Update: Read our review of The Carrie Diaries.