I love this little book! The message is simple. Less is more! If you can pare down your wardrobe to figure flattering pieces that blend with the rest of your garments you will have an easy workable wardrobe. The authors suggest you shop your closet, not the stores. Which would you rather have a rack crammed full of mismatched clothes, or an orderly small selection of easy to find items that look GREAT on you! The authors give tips on how to pare down and make your clothes work for you! By following the suggestions given you will organize your closets, spend less money, and look better. They also give tips on caring for your clothes. The style of the book is easy and breezy. And its pocketsized, easy to tote in your bag. I love the authors sense of humor too. It can be hard to simplify even for the authors. I read in Vogue that one of the authors Amy Fine Collins had an incredibly vast shoe collection. So "Simple Isn't Easy" for most of us! But reading and rereading this book can help!

Over the years I've read almost every wardrobe and style book on the market, trying to find something that would help me feel comfortable in my clothing, without trying to turn me into a fashion plate (I'm allergic to the very concept). Then I found this little book, and I haven't read another book on clothes since. Anything and everything you need to know to find your OWN style and develop a simple pared down wardrobe that looks great is in here. Olivia and Amy walk you through everything from evaluating your current wardrobe, to finding your best look, to common pitfalls and fears. It's a little book, but every page is packed.

The common thread of simplicity (even if it isn't easy), is also applicable to far more than just your clothing. There's a lot of wisdom in this little book.

This book focuses on the self-disciple necessary to develop -- and control -- a wardrobe that is successful for you. It's title says it all -- simple is NOT easy! Read this book twice a year to reinforce it's message. You won't regret it.

Don't be fooled by the little size of this book. Every page contains useful material. I strongly recommend this book as a gift for fashion victims -- oops, I mean the fashion challenged.

This book was lots of fun to read, but one of the things that Goldsmith apparently wanted to show was that beauty isn't as important as people think it is. But she has Brewster Moore, the plastic surgeon who transformed plain Mary Jane Moran into beautiful, thin Jahne Moore, start falling in love with Mary Jane/Jahne **after** her surgery, not before. When Dr. Moore is thinking about how he could fall in love with Jahne, one of the positives about her that he mentions is that she is beautiful.

Does this mean that even Goldsmith can't conceive of any halfway desirable man falling for a physically unattractive woman like Mary Jane was before her surgery, even with her great personality, sense of humor and all her other positive traits??

i have never finished such a long book so fast-i whizzed through 800 pages as if they had caught on fire! the scenes were hot and delishously juicy and what an ending i didnt see that one coming! well all i can say is that it is such a summer read! while lying under the starz or under the sun its a must-have for a sizzling vacation! it was so wonderfully provacotive and sexy-but it was also a wonderfull insight to the way hollywood REALLY works everything in there usually happens well not those xact things but the same process--all i can say is WOW!

When you begin reading this book make sure that you have nothing else that requires your attention. You'll have no time for anything else until you've read the word of this highly entertaining novel.

Ms. Goldsmith really knows how to weave the perfect plot. The characters are so hollywood- real and the pace is so quick it leaves you panting with anticipation. The unexpected twist at the end of the book is so awsome you'd wonder how on earth the writer manages to come up with those out-of-this-world surprises.

The perfect book for a summer day on the beach.

Ms. Goldsmith, thank you for a great novel.

I really enjoy reading Olivia Goldsmith's books. I have read "The First Wives Club" and "Young Wives", both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also found "The Bestseller" to be a great read!

"The Bestselle" is the story of many different authors, including the five main characters, who are trying to write a bestselling novels and get them published. Each uses different channels to try and get it published in a world where many publishing houses don't even bother to look at novels sent to them. In general, I found the book very enjoyable. Like many of Goldsmith's novels, there are more than two main characters, so different chapters are devoted to each. Therefore, you might go several chapters before picking up the story line of one particular character. You need to be able to sort out the different characters and remember three times as many secondary characters!

The only thing I didn't like was the very beginning. Goldsmith took the painstaking time to introduce each character one-by-one at the beginning. It was reminiscent of " Gone to Soldiers" by Marge Piercy where she introduces all 12 Main Characters at the very beginning of the book and it took almost 50 pages (in Gone to soldiers), though it's not exactly that dreary.

Bottom Line: Slow Beginning,But Worth It!

Though I must admit Ms. Goldsmith's stories have their faults (pat endings, too much anti-male rhetoric, and extremely dorky last names like Clapfish) her stories are damn entertaining. This one was definitely no exception. I read the thing in one sitting--something I've haven't done in ages. The characters are cocky, funny, and very interesting. We're given a very informative look inside the publishing business. Even though it was easy to guess who Peet Trawley (V.C. Andrews) and Susanne Baker Edmonds (Danielle Steel) are inspired by, it's still kind of cool to see Ms. Goldsmith's take on both of them. Terry's overwhelming sense of rejection and Opal's grieving are very sincere and realistic. The friendship between Opal and Roberta is genuine and touching. Even the bitchy Pam Mantiss (whose name is way too obvious)is fascinating and even sympathetic (in a weird villian sort of way)at times. I even loved that odd little fellow named GOD. Despite it's flaws, I definitely recommend the novel. It's one that you won't get out of your head for a long time.

Despite the 700-plus pages packed into this paperback, I devoured it in only a couple of sittings. Goldsmith has a knack for telling stories-within-stories, and The Bestseller is no exception. Following one season's worth of book buying at Davis & Dash, a respected New York publishing house, The Bestseller not only deals with the in-house politicking that takes place at every publisher, but tells the stories of the individual authors who need Davis & Dash to make their dreams of bestsellerdom come true.

Witty, fun, and painfully insightful, The Bestseller is an addictive read that'll have you turning pages as fast as you can. The characters are all well-drawn, and the twists and turns of the plot will definitely surprise!

Very highly recommended!

This book was recommended to me by a co-book club member and her mom. The book was well worth the time spent reading it. It's a story of a young woman who goes to prison and whose life is basically turned upside down. The friendships in Jennings (the name of the women's prison in the story) are so awesome. The author does a great job with character development and by a few chapters, you are introduced to the main character (the crew) and you are given a wonderful opportunity to see inside their lives. I loved the flow of the book, the author's humor, the quotes...it was a great read and I will highly recommend it to other reader's in my circle. This was my first book by this author but definitely not the last, in fact, I picked up "Flavor of the Month" a few days ago...after hearing that it too is also one of this author's favorite. Excellent job on prison research and excellent writing style. (the humor was very appropriate) and the ending was marvelous...especially how TOM got his back..his as in "what he deserved". Cher was not initially my favorite character...but she didn't turn out too bad at all. Maggie and Movita were my favorite characters and my absolute favorite part of the story is the letter that Maggie wrote for the crew to Cher. Well done!

A quick read, yet Pen Pals has well-defined characters, an involved plot, and a conflict on several levels. Women will probably relate well to this story. Deceived by her boyfriend Tom, Jennifer Spencer is drawn into a shady business deal and is wrongfully imprisoned for a crime that she did not commit. Forced to leave her cushy job behind, Jennifer bravely marches off to prison with a false sense of security, believing that her beloved Tom will rescue her quickly from this intolerable situation. After getting off to a bad start in prison, Jennifer reluctantly realizes that she must learn to cope with her incarceration, for she will remain in prison a very long time. With the help of Lenny, a loyal friend on the outside, and a mixed-up group of women prisoners who eventually become allies, Jennifer comes to a new realization about what is important in life. Alternating chapters in this novel are told from the perspective of different characters in the book. There is more than enough suspense to hold the reader's interest. Although the book deals with some harsh realities of life, I found the story to be an uplifting tribute to the power of the human spirit. I read the book in two days; I couldn't put it down.

As an original fan of author Olivia Goldsmith, PEN PALS was not what I had anticipated. Consistent with Goldsmith's other novels, I had expected a romp with lots of laughs. PEN PALS is no romp, but it also was far better than my expectations.

The title is slang referring to friends in prison or, in vernacular, in the pen. Goldsmith has written an important book about the issues confronting women in prison, from the fact that so many of them somehow are victims of the men that they had been involved with, to the harshness of life inside. Her research is impeccable and, indeed, the final pages of acknowledgments testify to her efforts.

Goldsmith tells the story in the voices of several different prisoners who are forced by their common situation to become each other's support system. There is the white collar criminal, her primary heroine, who has agreed to take the rap for stock fraud committed by her boss. There is an elegant woman (shades of Jean Harris) who killed in a crime of passion, a con woman, etc. All of these characters are well-developed and touching.

PEN PALS bares some resemblance to a fairytale in its outcome; or, perhaps, it is a cautionary tale for the coming millennium. Regardless, the novel is riveting reading and Goldsmith is to be congratulated even for tackling this subject. That she does such a brilliant job with it simply is proof of her skill as a writer.

PEN PALS will make an extraordinary movie. Congratulations, Olivia Goldsmith, on your most important work to date.

I'm a young wife myself, so I picked up this book thinking it would be a fun read (as I had heard such good things about Goldsmith). I hated this book for its irrational stupidity-- Not only are the wives' "revenge" schemes, in most cases, illegal, immoral and/or dangerous (making them no better than the men who've wronged them), the characterizations, in a lot of cases, just don't work. For instance, I don't think the profile of an abusive husband would be one who lavishes his wife with everything for 14 years, and then one day is stressed and starts beating her regularly. Doesn't work that way.

The other thing that REALLY disturbed me was (SPOILER WARNING)Angie's plans for her baby. I'm sure some people might think it's really noble of her to try and raise the baby herself and never tell the father--sure, that's great for Angie, but what about the kid who's losing out on a father AND living in poverty? Couldn't the child possibly inherit millions when he/she is older if they DO tell the father? Losing out on a second set of grandparents, who, according to the book, are loaded and well connected, and could get the kid where he/she needs to go in life? I really had an issue with that.

Also, the way Michelle and Co. happily spend all the drug money to get what they need for their illegal/immoral/dangerous "revenge" plots, but she gives up her Lexus to feel "clean". Ummm, okay.

I have never read 'First Wives Club' but I did see it on TV and thought that this was so much better than that movie (thank goodness!) and an excellent, extremely enjoyable book on 3 women who are with horrible husbands and how they try to change their lives. One of the reviews descibed it as 'high quality candy for the mind' and I would definately have to agree!

After reading many crime fiction novels, I really needed the lives of Michelle, Jada and Angie to make me laugh out-loud yet still be sad for these women and their idiot husbands. Even though it is a very long book (about 500 pages), I just couldn't put it down as I read about each woman, her life, how true friendships last lifetimes and how to get revenge on your truly idiotic ex! Sensational, funny, sad and poignant reading from a wonderful author who really made a difference to my Saturday.

I will definately by getting the next Olivia Goldsmith novel!

With this book, I judged the book by its cover and called it fluff as some of you did, but as I got into it, I really enjoyed it. I felt sorry for Michelle enduring that police raid, and she don't know nothing about nothing. That husband was a piece of work. Now Angela got the last laugh in the end indeed, but how could her best friend do such a thing to her? THen act like all is well? Yep, she got hers too. Then Jada's old man, ... wouldn't work if they sent the job to him, and now he wants alimony and the house?? Sounds unbelievable, but if I didn't go through something similar myself(sans house and alimony), I wouldn't have believed it either. Personally I love Ms Goldsmith's books. She seem to get average women who go through the worst type of things and yet, things work out for them in the end.With the exception of one book, I have enjoyed each of her books I've read. And look forward to her latest.

Where the film adaptation of The First Wives Club was witty and made for fluffy entertainment and a showcase for three good actresses, the book is a 180 degree turn. For example, the wisecracking lesbian daughter of Diane Keaton's character is, in the book, a younger girl with Down's Syndrome, and the husband/father is far crueller than the one portrayed in the film. The entire subplot involving the husband of the friend who committed suicide is omitted from the film entirely.

The book is darker, as is the humor. One could tend to agree with another reviewer that The First Wives' Club comes off as a treatise on man-bashing; I believe Ms. Goldsmith had experienced a similar situation before writing the book, hence the inspiration. Nonetheless, I liked the book somewhat when I first read it; Goldsmith does display a good wit and can tell an interesting story. I read other works and believe this is still the best of the lot.

If you're in the mood for a good, fun read that's not too fluffy, I recommend this book. It's definitely a woman's book about revenge on the opposite sex. Cathartic. It's very funny and has some great twists. I also enjoyed how developed the characters were. Our hereos were not two-dimensional bitter women, they had substance.

By all means, avoid the movie and read the book instead.

This is definitely one of the best books I've ever read! As a woman I can relate to some of the experiences of these characters and what I found charming about it all was the way Ms Goldsmith was able to make me look at the humour in the situations. The book is very funny and "un-putdownable" and it helps you to change your outlook on life, it helps you to face up to the truth about yourself and your relationships (remember admission is the first step to a cure). It is not a men bashing book as I've heard people express, but it is one that aims to heighten women's awareness of what relationships may turn out to be but put in a light-hearted manner to make you laugh at yourself. This book scores high with me and I'd recommend the book (not the movie which was a total letdown) to anyone in a twinkle of an eye.

I certainly didn't enjoy this as much as I did Bestseller or Young Wives Club, but it was still an ok read. This is a story about 3 siblings who are not very impressed that their widowed mum is leaving Florida and coming to live with them in NY. She is loud, brash, aggressive, strong-minded and always sticks her nose into places where they don't belong. The three decide to set up Operation Geezer Quest, a plan to get their mum to marry and old, rich man so she can be looked after..well away from them. Basically, the story goes on about how this mission is accomplished but at the same time bringing the family closer together.

It is quite a funny book and it is short so you can finish it in one sitting. It is entertaining and cleverly written but it is nowhere near as good as other Goldsmith's books - still a good book to read if you have a few hours to kill.

I liked the tone of the book it was sarcastic and funny - the story was easy to figure out, but i enjoyed the book. Not my favorite Olivia Goldsmith book, but it was enjoyable and fun to read.

Marrying Mom took me all of one day to read. I just could not put it down. The characters were so real and the plot was just hysterical. If your stuck in the house or feeling blue, this is most definitely the book to get you laughing again.

Olivia, keep up the good work!

I liked First Wives Club and Young Wives alot better than this one. The fashion element intrigued me to pick it up, and the subplots were interesting, but like another reviewer said, all karen kahn did was to put down "regular" women. She mentally made them over, wondered whether mainstream America would "understand" her designs, and despised the "bridge and tunnel" crowd as being unforgivably dowdy and out of touch. That aspect of the book really turned me off! We read Vogue out here too! She sounded really elitist. Is Goldsmith trying to make a point? She only tried to see the other point of view when at the end, she was forced to. All of a sudden, the American woman was inspiring! I also wanted to see what would happen to Tiffany. I liked all of the other characters except Karen. Oh well, I hope her next ones will be better.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is a relaxing read and doesn't require one to devote a lot of mental power to understanding the message. As a female, like most of my gender, I am interested in the fashion world. Goldsmith, in this tale, gives a key-hole view of the fashion world as it were at the time of her writing. The fashion world has changed a little since then, but, not much. Models still starve themselves, or binge then purge, or manage their health through a good exercise and food intake program or are naturally thin. Message her is THIN IS IN. Hopefully, the readers are motivated who choose this profession to follow the healthy approach and not the obvious unhealthy ones.

As long as we follow the practice of clothing our bodies in our society, we will be concerned about what we wear. Now I give the provision of wearing clothes because from what I am seeing in our society today, we are wearing smaller and smaller amounts of clothing. The tiny tops and bottoms that are in fashion for the ladies and men, border on returning to the Tarzan and Jane era--meaning very little clothing.

Karen Kahn does a sizable job of revealing to us the competitive nature of her the fashion designing profession. Weave into her workworld are the pressures she faces in her private and/or home life. For her, home life was not very good. Her husband, sister (half), and mother (adoptive) all had contradicting programs which made for little harmony for her. Facing pressures from home life and work life make for a pressure cooker environment. Sooner or later something must give. Now many of us, who live in the real world, have experienced or are experiencing such a pressure driven environment and can identify with her plight. Thanks to her, we now know we can work our way out of that sick environment and live a healthy life ever after.

I love heroine stories and hope Goldsmith keeps them coming.

This was a great book that I found very hard to put down. This story revolves around an excellent fashion designer Karen Kahn, who after many years in the aggressive and competetive fashio world, has finally received golden honours. She has a loving husband, wonderful working environs and a dysfunctional but entertaining family, so why is she still unhappy? Karen would love to concieve a child but cannot, plus she was adopted when she was very young, so this really is a story about Karen finding out who she is and what she wants out of life. But, this is not a heavy finding-yourself book, it is a very entertaining and easy to read book that will have you laughing, crying or hurling the book across the room, depending on the bit you are reading!!

I really enjoyed 'Young Wives Club' and 'Bestseller' and this is up there with those two books. I cannot wait to get OS next book as they are all brilliant esp if you are looking for entertaining books to keep you happy over the weekend!

Highly recommended!

I enjoyed Switcheroo by Olivia Goldsmith, but it wasn't as intelligent or as funny or insightful as Bestseller or some of her other books. This was quite a enjoyable book that was basically about 2 women who are with the same man, one as his wife (Slyvie)and one as his mistress (Marla)- both look the same only the wife looks 10 yrs older. Marlahas always wanted to be his wife and Slyvie wants to be his mistress, so they change themselves a bit and viola! swap places without the hapless man knowing anything about it..

Although this story asks you to suspend belief, as it is unrealistic in places, plus the main man is definately not the brightest fellow, it is still cute and worth reading if you have a Sunday afternoon free and you don't want a 'heavy' book.

I've read 3 of Ms Goldsmith's books and so far, I've not been disappointed. Although any reasonably intelligent person would realise that the plot is rather ridiculous, the story and writing itself was extremely entertaining. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Once in a while, you need a book like this to soften the reality of the Grishams and the Baldaccis. An enjoyable read.

The plot line is impossible to believe, but real-life stories are NOT what I'm looking for when I read an Olivia Goldsmith book. This story really moves right along, and has some of the funniest dialogue of any of her books. Still, I personally much preferred "Best Seller" and "Flavor of the Month." Has Olivia Goldsmith become so popular since the movie "The First Wives Club" came out, that she is now writing more with future movie options in mind? Reading this book it definitely seems that way.