After listening to the audiobook of Everyone Worth Knowing, I have a few things to say to the author, Lauren Weisberger, about the town of Poughkeepsie. My hometown.

Dear Ms. Weisberger,

I don’t pretend to know anything about the world of New York socialites, fashion and PR. You are clearly well-versed in this environment, and you depict it well. However, I have to take issue with an important part of your book, Everyone Worth Knowing, in which you send your main character, Bette Robinson, up to my hometown of Poughkeepsie, NY to visit her vegan, hippie, Vassar professor parents.

Ms. Weisberger, you may know Manhattan. But I would bet the deed to the Juliet theater/ pool hall/ Vassar bookstore that you have never been to Poughkeepsie in your life.

Please note:

1. There is absolutely no earthly reason why a Poughkeepsie native would take a 4-hour bus from Manhattan. Lady, it’s called Metro-North, and it takes 2 hours from Grand Central.

2. Bette’s parents bought a bunch of “winter vegetables” for their Thanksgiving Harvest festival from the local “Farmers market.” As far as I know, there are no Farmers markets open here in late November.

3. Someone from Poughkeepsie, speaking to other locals, would never refer to the Culinary Institute of America by its full name. It’s “the Culinary” or “the CIA.” Period.

4. Where the hell is this “famous” Starlight diner you refer to as the local high school hotspot? Okay, fine, maybe that’s just a fictionalization. You have the right to do that. But why not choose an actual Poughkeepsie diner? We have plenty, and they all have a lot of character and varying degrees of good coffee.

Ms. Weisberger, I have to conclude that the only thing you know about Poughkeepsie, and the only reason you chose our town to depict, is the fact that it’s the locale of Vassar College. And yes, Vassar’s a big landmark and important institution. But there’s a lot more to Poughkeepsie than a Seven Sisters school. I’m just sorry for you that you never bothered to learn about it.

After all, we’re only a 2 hour train ride away.

Sincerely,

Disappointed in Poughkeepsie