'Chick lit' and comics at Bookexpo

NEW YORK — During the recent Bookexpo America in New York City, I attended a number of panel discussions by authors and publishers about the latest and greatest trends in books. One concentrated on "chick lit" — or sexy novels that are written on the pretext that many men and women enjoy reading about sex.

Two "Sex and the City" celebrities took center stage.

Candy Bushnell, author of "Sex and the City," which became HBO's hit TV show, has written a new novel, "Lipstick Jungle," in which women take control of the world. And Kim Cattrall, one of the stars of the HBO show, has written a non-fiction self-help book titled "Sexual Intelligence."

The two women, dressed for glamour, walked in as if they were attending a film premiere and were followed by an entourage of eager photographers whose cameras flashed for about five minutes.

Bushnell appeared anorexic, but Cattrall was radiant.

Bushnell spoke in a shrill style and was more verbose than Cattrall, eagerly jumping into every question posed by the moderator.

Bushnell also quoted statistics alleging that 30 percent of today's married women make more money than their husbands, suggesting a need for a "readjustment between the sexes."

Since both Bushnell and Cattrall are currently single, they promoted "the good life" that single women enjoy. As Bushnell said, "If a woman wants to become 'Mr. Big' (a character in 'Sex and the City'), she doesn't need to date Mr. Big. And that kind of woman looks for the nice guy."

Cattrall freely admitted that she "intimidates" most men, "but if they have a problem with the fact that I look a lot like Samantha (her character in 'Sex and the City'), that's their problem."

Another session that drew an overflowing crowd was one devoted to the graphic novel, an adult comic-book format that is becoming more and more popular.

Chip Kidd, Harvey Pekar, Frank Miller, Adrian Tomine and Brad Meltzer joined in, talking about their individual graphic novels.

Meltzer, who has written several mystery novels, said he enjoys writing traditional books, but graphic novels are his "passion." His forthcoming effort from DC Comics is "Identity Crisis."