A few years back, I spent the entire summer reading Gossip Girl books. It is amazing how quickly I slipped out of my unadventurous small city life, instead getting caught up in the ficticious Upper East Side drama. If you're unfamiliar with the series, let's fix that. Imagine the teenage drama of The O.C. fused with the fabulous martini-sipping, designer-driven New York nature of Sex and the City... with a sprinkle of Socialite Rank.

Written by Cecily von Ziegesar (an appropriate name for such books!), Gossip Girls is engaging in the same way a reality show like Top Model or The Hills is. Such a departure from our everyday lives that we just can't put the book down (or turn the TV off).

If you haven't read these books of scandalous goodness yet, now is the time. Whether you're 12 or 25, these eleven books are perfect pool-side reads.

I have high expectations for the TV version. The more I learn about it, the more excited I get...

* Produced by Josh Schwarz of The O.C.
* The book is narrated by an anoymous insider, known simply as Gossip Girl, who will be voiced by Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars.
* Serena van der Woodsen will be played by Blake Lively, the blonde from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
* Blair Waldorf will be played by Leighton Meester, who was pop star Justine Chapin in the first season of Entourage.
* Jenny Humphrey will be played by Taylor Momsen, who was Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas.




The fashion will be fabulous. I expect to see Marc Jacobs, Luella, McQueen, Phillip Lim, Missoni... and a few quilted Chanel purses thrown in for an old money vibe. In fact, I'm hoping Josh Schwartz will bring The O.C.'s costume designer and music editor. Wouldn't that be perfect?