The next best thing : a novel

Ruth Saunders moved to Los Angeles four years ago with the dream of becoming a successful television writer, and now it finally looks like her dreams may be coming true. A network has decided to produce the sitcom she wrote, The Next Big Thing, and is even asking her to be the show-runner. But while Ruth is confident in her ability to write a hit TV show, she may not have what it takes to negotiate the selfish and overbearing world of show business politics.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Bayport Public Library	SCD FICTION WEI 11 DISCS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	SCD FICTION WEI 11 DISCS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	SCD FICTION WEI 11 DISCS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	SCD FICTION WEI 11 DISCS	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Actors aren't the only ones trying to make it in Hollywood . . . At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders left her childhood home in Massachusetts and headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to make it as a screenwriter. Six years later, she has hit the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie's going to be the showrunner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother's impending nuptials. Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider's ear for writer's room showdowns and an eye for bad backstage behavior and set politics, Jennifer Weiner's new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, a heartfelt story about what it's like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.

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Author Notes

Jennifer Weiner grew up in Simsbury, Connecticut. She attended Princeton University, where she studied with John McPhee, Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates. She is currently a reporter/columnist at the "Philadelphia Inquirer" and a contributing editor at "Mademoiselle". Her short stories have been published in "Seventeen" and "Redbook". Her freelance work appears in Salon.com, "Time Out New York", "Animal Fair", the "Columbia Journalism Review" and "Seventeen". She lives in Philadelphia and appears regularly on "Philly after Midnight," Philadelphia's local late-night television show, as a commentator.

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Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Weiner's novel follows the journey of Ruth Saunders, who sets off for Hollywood to become a television writer-with her 70-year-old grandmother along for the ride. Although ambitious and talented, Ruth is still disfigured from a car accident that killed her parents. In California, Ruth finds work for the networks, but her new life is far from perfect, especially when her grandmother announces her plans to get married and Ruth's pet project is edited beyond recognition. Narrator Olivia Thirlby's reading captures the heart and soul of Weiner's novel. The narrator's portrayal of the young, naive Ruth is convincing and nuanced. In turns, Thirlby embodies Ruth's varied emotions, sounding excited, exasperated, embarrassed, sensuous, petulant, funny, and sad. A Washington Square paperback. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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