The Sex and the City reboot has proven pretty divisive so far, but whether you’re in the loving it or hating it camp, there’s no denying a lot of attention to detail has gone into every aspect of Carrie and co’s new chapter. And we’re not just talking about the fashion.
Eagle-eyed fans will have noticed a lot of books appearing on the series so far – Carrie is a writer and literature is her forte, after all. But many have clearly been put there to be noticed by viewers, with some (hello, Miranda’s book on sobriety) even having their own storylines. It turns out a lot of work went into carefully selecting every single one of the books – including the hundreds visible in background shots of Carrie’s bookshelves – and Sarah Jessica Parker helped to select them herself. As Michael Cory, property master for And Just Like That, tells Vogue: “It was a collaborative process between the writers, the actors, and the props department.”
The props team ended up compiling around 120 books for Carrie alone, after getting a list directly from Parker. “[We would] talk to her just about general style of books and started going from there, and then as time went on, she started getting some titles she liked,” Cory says. The team also acquired advance releases in an effort to remain as current as possible, something that proved “challenging” when they didn’t know when the show would air due to the pandemic. Before filming each scene, Parker would choose from a selection of books, so that Carrie could always be seen holding a book or carrying one in her bag.
The books have been such an important element of the reboot, the official And Just Like That Instagram page spotlighted several of the titles Parker selected for Carrie’s reading list. It’s an expansive selection – likely a reflection of the makers’ pledge to ensure the show was more inclusive and diverse this time around. There are titles based around transgender characters, others that explore racial tension, numerous novels written by women and from BAME voices, plus tomes hinting at storylines in the show, such as fraught female friendships (sound familiar?).
Below, a guide to what the women of And Just Like That are reading.
Fight Night, Miriam Toews
Visible in Carrie’s bag as she’s waiting for her physical therapy appointment with the dashing Travis, Fight Night is a story of strong women. It follows three generations, focusing on the youngest, nine-year-old Swiv, who receives an unconventional education from her formidable grandmother. It appears to have been a title Parker felt strongly about including, as photos taken during filming last year showed her holding it in a different scene, which didn’t end up making the cut.
Rainbow Milk, Paul Mendez
This book is next to Carrie on the picnic table at the lunch that features the now infamous Charlotte line: “A finger made you feel alive?” Exploring themes of racial and sexual identity, Mendez’s book centres around a 19-year-old Black gay man who flees his home after being outed by members of his community.
Who They Was, Gabriel Krauze
Longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, Who They Was is an autobiographical novel set in London’s violent criminal underworld. The author tweeted his surprise at seeing Carrie reading a copy of his book on her bed, posting: “I didn’t know this was on the bucket list until it happened…”
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
We see The Nickel Boys open and half read on Carrie’s bed in episode five, shortly before Miranda and Carrie’s boss Che Diaz have sex in her kitchen. It was one of the novels personally selected by Parker and tells the story of two boys who were sent to the Dozier School, a real (and hellish) reform school in 1960s Florida. From the same author as The Underground Railroad, the book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2020, and Time named it one of the best books of the decade.
Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol, Holly Whitaker
The book Miranda realises she’s drunk-ordered from Amazon, Quit Like A Woman outlines a feminist approach to sobriety designed specifically to help women to give up drinking alcohol. Chrissy Teigen had success with the method in real life last year.
Also on Carrie’s shelves…
The Life of the Mind, Christine Smallwood. Described as “a book for people who constantly believe that they are making a fool out of themselves”.
One Last Stop, Casey McQuiston. A big-hearted LGBTQIA+ rom-com based in New York City.
Detransition, Baby: A Novel, Torrey Peters. This book follows the lives of three trans and cis women living in New York.
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead. Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic tells the tale of Cora, a 15-year-old slave who escapes from a plantation.
Catch the Rabbit, Lana Bastašić. The winner of the 2020 European Union Prize for Literature, this book centres on a story of fractious female friendship. So, pretty apt then.
Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson. By a British-Ghanaian writer, this book explores the relationship between two young Black British artists.
Swing Time, Zadie Smith. As well as being name-checked in the script more than once, Smith’s work appears on Carrie’s bedroom bookshelf, too. Swing Time explores themes of cultural appropriation, race and identity, as well as mother and daughter relationships.
