deliabarry | Candace Bushnell, Danielle Steele, and Jane Austen

What on Earth could they have in common? They are the authors of the three books on CD I listened to on my recently-ended vacation. Candace Bushnell, of course, is the author of Sex and the City. I've never read the book, and found it interesting. It's a series of vignettes and clearly a number of them were the basis for SatC episodes. But there are a more than a few differences from the TV show. In the book, Carrie is not the central character, but is just one among many. Several of the characters who show up repeatedly in the book are people whom we've never seen in the series. Most surprisingly, there's no Miranda. This audio version is read by Cynthia Nixon, and she was marvelous. She totally nailed both Kim Cattrall's and Chris Noth's inflections. It was a bit spooky, in a good way.

The Danielle Steele book is called Bittersweet. It's an entertaining enough story about a housewife who sheds her domineering husband, reinstates her career as an award-winning news photographer, and finds the love of her life. However, it was the most poorly-written, verbose mess I've ever experienced, and this was an abridged version; I shudder to think what the original is like. It boggles the mind to think that this woman has legions of fans and has sold millions of books.

The Jane Austen book was Pride and Prejudice. I listened to it immediately after the Danielle Steele book, which was supremely unfair to Ms. Steele. It just doesn't get any better than this.