My reading list tends to encompass a lot of genres. History, mystery, science fiction, fantasy... but chick lit doesn't get on there so much. Mostly because it's hard to find chick lit that doesn't feel like I'm melting my brain. (Unless I'm sick and my brain is so dead that chick lit is the only thing I can read and then it's quite perfect). I enjoyed "Confessions of a Shopaholic" but wasn't really interested in the sequels until I spotted "Shopaholic and Baby" at the library book sale last week. For $.25 I figured it'd be a fun summer read, and there was another Sophie Kinsella title that I grabbed as well. A quarter's a good gamble, right?
"Baby" was pretty fun. It wasn't that the content was so much richer than most chick lit, but... there was something about it that didn't make me feel like I was making myself stupider by reading it. "What is it?" I asked myself. I came to realize that Sophie Kinsella is a really smart writer and a good one too. You know she is poking fun at our society in the shopping obsessed character of Becky Bloomwood, but in a good-natured way. Becky may seem shallow, but she's spunky and kind and fun to read about. It's all very tongue in cheek, as the Brits do best.
And then I picked up "Twenties Girl" which was an absolute gem. It's about a girl who gets haunted by the ghost of her 105 great-aunt... but the ghost appears as her aunt was in the 1920's, as a spunky 23-year-old flapper. Suddenly two mindsets are colliding in a hilarious and poignant story. If the Shopaholic series isn't your style, I would still recommend "Twenties Girl" as a worthwhile read.
(Sex is alluded too but very discreetly. The F-bomb appears occasionally, so if that bothers you then you'll want to steer clear.)
I've already picked up two more "Shopaholic" books and I'm planning to get my hands on Kinsella's other works as soon as I can find them priced within my budget.
2 comments:
I read the first one. I found it hilarious--that's the best part of her writing--but I didn't like the ending. I'm a "learn from you mistakes and suck it up" person, so the end having it to where the bank made it okay for her...I just didn't buy it. I liked the movie much better in that respect. As far as "chick" movies go, I like that one a lot. A good relaxing movie for when you just need some chocolate and girl humor. ;D But I've heard good things about the other books, and they sound very intriguing. I'll have to check them out!
I wasn't so fond of that ending either. BUT in the later books Becky does have to learn her lesson and fix the problems... she usually manages to get saved by the bell in some way, but not completely. So. Check them out! Shopaholic and Baby is my favorite. ;)
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