Jennifer Weiner was born in Louisiana on an army base, but grew up mostly in Simsbury, Connecticut. She attended Princeton University and graduated with a degree in English literature. She published her first novel, Good in Bed, in 2001, and has since published 7 more. Weiner has made many appearances on the popular TV programs The Today Show, The CBS Early Show, and The Martha Stewart Show. She has also been published in Seventeen, Salon, Redbook, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, and Elle. Jennifer Weiner’s titles include: Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, Little Earthquakes, Goodnight Nobody, The Guy Not Taken, Certain Girls, Best Friends Forever, and her latest novel, Fly Away Home, is set to be published in July of 2010. In Her Shoes was turned into a motion picture in 2002, starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine. Weiner currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband Adam, two daughters, Lucy and Phoebe, and their rat terrier, Wendell.
Certain Girls, the sequel from Jennifer Weiner’s Good In Bed, gives readers another glance at the complicated life of Cannie Shapiro. Cannie is struggling with her daughter Joy, who is about to turn 13 and become a women with her bat mitzvah. Joy has other ideas about how her bat mitzvah should go, including a mature dress and more exciting theme than The Sound of Music, but Cannie can’t get past her over-protection. Joy was born prematurely, and that caused her to have to wear hearing aids in both ears. Because of this and her own hard childhood, Cannie becomes an overbearing mother and causes Joy to rebel. Matters only get worse when Joy suddenly becomes fascinated with building a deeper relationship with her biological father, the elusive Bruce, and her maternal grandfather, the man that Cannie despises. On top of everything else, her physician husband, Peter, has decided he wants to try to have baby, which would require a surrogate mother, and her writing career could be on the verge of ending. Certain Girls is written from two different perspectives- both Cannie’s and Joy’s. It was hilarious to see the different viewpoints from mother and daughter, and made my connection to the book so much more. This was a heartfelt story that took me on a verge of emotions- from laughing out loud to shedding a few tears. Weiner’s writing style is unique and beautiful, and her novels are a must for all chick lit fans.
Supermodel Claudia Schiffer and her husband, director Matthew Vaughn, have announced they are expecting their third child together. Schiffer, 39, says in a statement, “We are delighted with the news and can’t wait to add to our family,” reports Usmagazine. The couple, who wed in 2002, already has two children- Caspar, 6, and Clementine, 5. Her expected due date is in May.
Lady Gaga is apologizing to her fans after having to cancel a concert in Indiana on Thursday. The singer had collapsed due to exhaustion and dehydration, and was forced to cancel that night’s performance. Usmagazine quotes the pop star saying, “I’ve been crying for hours. I feel like I let my fans down 2nite. An hour before the show I was feeling dizzy and having trouble breathing. Paramedics came to take care of me, and told me my heart rate was irregular- a result of exhaustion and dehydration. Can’t apologize enough for how sorry I am. I could hear my fans cheering from dressing room, I begged everyone to let me go onstage.” Lady Gaga has said she is going to perform a make-up concert on January 25th at Purdue University.
Table Manners, the follow up novel from Mia King’s Good Things, introduces Deidre McIntosh back into reader’s lives. Everything seems to be going so smoothly for our heroine: she has her own line of pastries with a fabulous company and secured the perfect boyfriend, Kevin Johnson, one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Seattle. Deidre’s perfect world suddenly comes to a halt though when everything falls apart at once. The company she is working for isn’t letting her run with her creative ideas for her pastries, Kevin’s snarky sister Marsha seems out to get Deidre, and worse- Kevin’s sexy seductive ex-fiancé suddenly enters into the picture- with her eyes on Deidre’s man. Mia King brings another fabulous and delectable novel to readers, who follow Deidre and her friends along their difficult journeys. Deidre’s best (gay) friend is soon to get married to his partner, but what they envision for their special day is difficult to achieve. And Deidre’s friend Lindsey from Jacob’s Pointe is thinking about selling the beloved Wishbone diner after suffering a heart attack and losing any positive outlook on life. During her time of crisis, Deidre finds that she has no one she can turn to. But like all good chick lit stories, readers will get that happy ending albeit a few unexpected bumps along the way. Table Manners left me hoping for a third novel from the truly gifted Mia King.
Sarah Jessica Parker has always shown us her love for fashion, from her famous Carrie Bradshaw outfits in Sex in the City to her red carpet choices. People.com is now reporting that Parker has signed on with the fashion brand Halston (she wore their designs in the upcoming Sex in the City movie) with an active design role, possibly even the role of creative designer for Halston Heritage, the company’s just-launched secondary collection. (Halston Heritage will feature pieces at contemporary price points.) The actress has past experience in creating and designing for fashion lines; she created the affordable apparel line Bitten for Steve & Barry in 2007.
Birth control is becoming increasingly popular for women these days, and not just to help prevent pregnancy. Birth control can help decrease cramps and PMS symptoms, help clear skin, even help decrease hair on the body! Women’s Health Magazine had an online quiz to take about knowledge on this oral contraceptive, and even though I’ve been on the pill myself for a number of years, I scored “contraceptive confused.” For instance, I wasn’t aware that having the flu or other stomach alignment can lower the effectiveness of the Pill. Because the contraceptive is digested through the stomach, if you are experiencing vomiting or diarrhea, it may not be digested properly. It is recommended that you use a back up form of birth control combined with the Pill while you are sick. Were you confused at all when you read taking the Pill can help decrease body hair? I was! Body hair is produced because we have testosterone, but taking birth control lowers the female testosterone produced, ultimately decreasing the amount of hair- and shaving time! The quiz at Women’s Health Magazine gives some really good information about birth control and other forms of protection, and I would really recommend checking out that full article. Being knowledgeable is the best form of power and protection.
Who’s the most powerful couple in all of Hollywood? If you guessed hip hop duo Beyonce and Jay-Z, you are correct! Forbes has released their list of top earning celebrity couples, with Beyonce and Jay-Z coming out on top with combined earnings of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009. (Last year, they topped the list as well, raking in $162 million.) Usmagazine.com reports that Forbes accounts for celebrity’s record sales, movie salaries, touring, merchandising ,and endorsement deals. See where your favorite celebrity couples make the list: 1) Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles - $122 million 2) Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart - $69 million 3) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -$55 million 4) Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith - $48 million 5) David and Victoria Beckham - $46 million 6) Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi - $36 million 7) Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson - $35.5 million 8) Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy - $34 million 9) Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - $33.5 million 10) Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow - $33 million 11) Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick - $29 million 12) Tim McGraw and Faith Hill - $28 million 13) Eva Longoria and Tony Parker - $22 million 14) Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley - $20 million 15) Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban - $17 million
