Chick-Lit Mania

It's been awhile since I've immersed myself in some fun and frivolous chick-lit.  And that's exactly what these books were.  I had a long drive for a work trip, and these were perfect to listen to while I drove; not too serious and not too boring. 

In Goodnight Nobody, one housewife discovers another housewife murdered in her kitchen.  I was NOT expecting that from Jennifer Weiner, author of In Her Shoes (which moved a little too slowly for me.)  This book was a pleasant mix of feminine self-realization and cliche suburban murder mystery, a la Desperate Housewives.  I use the word cliche, but it's not such a bad thing in this instance.  Kate Klein finds herself a mother of three children under the age of five and living in a sickeningly idyllic Connecticut suburb.  While she tries to rediscover her 30-something identity ("how did I get to this place?" etc, etc.), she happens upon an unprecedented murder in her otherwise sleepy neighborhood.  She thrives in the opportunity to do some investigating on her own to see if she can come to the bottom of this mystery.

The story was face paced and exciting while still remaining true to the genre of chick-lit.  However, as soon as the audio book ended, I realized it was abridged and that really annoyed me!  I can't stop thinking about what I missed by not getting an unabridged version!  Ugh.

Anyway.

The next book was Promises to Keep by Jane Green.  Again, we find ourselves in an idyllic suburb of New York City.  For awhile, I kept getting the story mixed up with Goodnight Nobody because the characters and family profiles were so similar.  However, there was no murder to solve in Promises.  Instead, it was a heartwarming, tear-jerker of a family drama.  I usually hate family dramas, but I actually really enjoyed this one!  The characters were beautifully developed and wound together to form a wonderful tale of the importance of family and friends.  First we have sisters Callie and Steffi and Callie's best friend Lila.  Then there is Callie's adoring husband Reese, and her two children Jake and Eliza.  Finally there are Callie and Steffi's parents who have been divorced for 30 years and don't even speak to each other.  When one of them ends up with a terminal illness, the entire group comes together where they all discover something about themselves and how they relate to each other.

Now that I write it down, it kinda sounds like a pretty common storyline.  The whole time I was listening to it, I kept imagining some kind of movie starring Claire Danes, Anne Hathaway and Ryan Gosling or some other dramatic Hollywood cast.  My favorite part of the book was the vegan recipes at the end of each chapter! (Although some of the recipes weren't totally vegan.)  Hello, how awesome is it to find a book that features a vegan chef as one of the main characters?! 

I would recommend both for a fun, easy read.

Something Borrowed

If it wasn't for my book club and this one being the May book, I would never in a million years have bought this book to read. And here is the reason why:


Direct quote from back of book...

"Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself."

You see, if I had just picked up this book in the bookstore, I would have immediately put it down after reading that description on the back cover. Actually, come to think of it, I think I did that exact thing a year ago when I saw this book and thought it might be fun to read since I was engaged at that tim and it looked like a wedding story. Um, no. Not at all.

In the first chapter, you meet the main character Rachel and her supposed best friend Darcy and Darcy's fiance Dex. It is Rachel's 30th birthday and she's still single, hates her job, resents Darcy, and apparently has a secret crush on Dex. Major gag-fest from the start. I mean, are these people in high school or in their 30's? In that same chapter, Rachel and Dex get drunk and sleep together after Darcy leaves the party. Okay, what? Slut and Man-Slut!

Thus, the rest of this book is about Rachel and Dex hiding their affair (yes, they continue to have sex behind Darcy's back while Dex and Darcy are still engaged!) and Rachel complaining and whining about how Darcy has just used her their entire lives. Rachel resents Darcy for always being the more popular, more pretty girl, and always getting everything she wants. Rachel, on the other hand has always been in Darcy's shadow and allowed Darcy to walk all over her. Therefore, at the present time, Rachel feels no guilt for sleeping with Darcy's fiance.

I couldn't relate to the book at all. First of all, if Rachel hated Darcy so much, why was she even friends with her? I couldn't understand how Rachel even put up with Darcy's bitchiness for so long. Not to mention, what did Darcy see in Rachel -- a whiny, annoying stick-in-the-mud? I don't even know how they were still friends friends after all these years. They had absolutely nothing in common once they passed the age of nine.

Second of all, the fact that Rachel had no qualms about sleeping with her best-friends fiance, kinda made me hate her and have absolutely no sympathy or respect for her. I know we are supposed to be on Rachel's side because Darcy is such a mean, horrible person, but I hated both of them and thought the entire story was ridiculous.

I know this book is supposed to just be a fun, chick-lit, easy read; so if that's what you're looking for, then by all means take a chance with this book. I personally don't "fun," frivolous tales about people cheating on their fiances. But that's just me.

My Favorite Shopaholic

I have been reading the Shopaholic series since college. I love everything about them. They are hilarious and a really light and easy read -- which is perfect for airplane travel. On all my flights this week, I read the newest Shopaholic book, Mini Shopaholic.

Yes, the antics of Becky Bloomwood (now Becky Brandon), are totally unrealistic and far-fetched, but that's what makes it so entertaining. It's like watching a sitcom. You know that kind of stuff never, ever happens in real life, but it's still freakin' hilarious. Take, for example, the show Friends. My favorite TV show of all time. I've watched the entire series about a million times, and I die laughing every single time I watch an episode. It doesn't matter that six people would never really spend THAT MUCH time together in real life, let alone experience all those crazy things that they do, but it's just so awesome that they're acting it out on TV for me.

Anyway, back to Shopaholic. It's just simple pleasure to read one of these books. Becky is now a mother of two year old Minnie (how clever a name). She has made a promise to her husband to not buy any new clothes, or shoes or accessories, until she has worn everything in her wardrobe at least three times. Of course, this is extremely difficult for our favorite shopaholic and at one point she almost gets around the promise by nearly purchasing a woman-sized dress for her daughter as a 21st birthday present. Because it was "okay" to buy necessities for their daughter. I mean, who would think of these things! I'm not allowed to go shopping for myself, but I'll buy a dress for my two year-old daughter to wear in 20 years, but in the meantime, I'll just try it out for her! Ah, comedy.

Poor Becky gets in over her head again trying to plan a surprise party for her husband, and of course the lies she makes up to cover everything are so unbelievably ridiculous, you just can't help laughing.

I'm a Sophie Kinsella fan, I've read all her books, and will read any more and all others that come out, so I definitely recommend this one and all of them. Granted, you can't expect Classic English Literature here (even though the heroines are always lovely young British lassies) but you CAN expect a highly entertaining and lovable read. Trust me. Now go read Shopaholic.