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" This May, Jen Lancaster, author of five chart-topping memoirs, is publishing her first novel, If You Were Here. And just like any writer, she draws her inspiration from reading! Here are the books that have propelled her journey.  Bright Lights, Big City, by Jay McInerney &amp;quot;This novel, about a man teetering on the edge of addiction, does for the &amp;#039;80s what The Great Gatsby did for the Jazz Age, providing an unvarnished look at a decade long on style and short on substance.&amp;quot;   Big Trouble, by Dave Barry &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve always loved Barry&amp;#039;s hilarious take on his everyday life, but nothing&amp;#039;s funnier than this slapstick crime novel full of bumbling bad guys and hallucinogenic toads set in South Florida.&amp;quot;   The Mercy of Thin Air, by Ronlyn Domingue &amp;quot;Told from the point of view of a dead woman, this is possibly the most hauntingly beautiful story of love and loss I&amp;#039;ve ever read.&amp;quot;   Thank You for Smoking, by Christopher Buckley &amp;quot;With the possible exception of his friend P.J. O&amp;#039;Rourke, no one writes more clever and biting political satire than Christopher Buckley.&amp;quot;   Bridget Jones&amp;#039;s Diary, by Helen Fielding &amp;quot;After reading this book, thousands of women told Fielding, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m Bridget Jones\u2014you were writing about me!&amp;#039; I can&amp;#039;t think of a better compliment to pay an author.&amp;quot;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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