REQUIRED READING: Beach reads are our favorites because no one can pass judgment when we whip out the American Top 40 of chick lit with our SPF 30. This summer, we're looking to West Hartford's own Bridie Clark's second novel, The Overnight Socialite, for our guilty pleasure reads. As if the title wasn't a dead giveaway, a tale-once-told of the sophisticated boy who plucks a diamond-in-the-rough girl from the unwashed masses and introduces her to proper society is given quite the modern spin: what if the girl at hand isn't so shabby to begin with? Throw in some of our favorite name-dropped designers and hot spots, bickering witty main characters and you have yourself an indulgently dishy read that worth opening the umbrella for.
BUY IT: Order The Overnight Socialite online or at Barnes and Noble, West Hartford.