Chick Literate » 5 hearts award

Sex and the City

lklawless — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:08:55 +0000

Though I love the TV show, Candace Bushnell’s book Sex and the City is very dull. I actually read it long before I ever started watching the show – in fact, that’s why I held out for so long. You know how you read a fantastic book and then are often disappointed by the book? This was just the opposite – hated the book, loved the program.

Everything that is wonderful about HBO’s Sex and the City – humor, sweetness, romance, sexiness – is missing in the book. In fact, I’m amazed the show was ever made, because the raw material of the book is utterly uninspiring.

High Fidelity

lklawless — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity was not only the first guy lit book I ever read, it also preceded my discovery of chick lit by a couple of years. I was living in Paris in the summer of 96 and reading my way through the bookshelf of the British woman whose studio I was subletting. I was bored by most of the books, so imagine my joy at discovering the jewel that is High Fidelity: outrageously funny, clever, touching, and romantic. I loved it so much that I nearly stole the book, but instead contented myself with writing down the title and author and ordering as soon as I was back in the US.

Rachel’s Holiday

lklawless — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:38:18 +0000

Marian Keyes, the queen of Irish chick lit, delved into the serious subject of drug addiction in her third book, Rachel’s Holiday, but managed an amazing job of mixing those horror stories with romance and humor. The end result is a wonderful book about another of the Walsh sisters – it’s funny and sad, serious and playful, and I’ve read it half a dozen times.

Last Chance Saloon

lklawless — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:11:49 +0000

Last Chance Saloon is Marian Keyes’s first novel told from multiple third-person points of view. It’s the story of old friends and new loves, growing up and seeing people for who they really are. Between the hair-obsessed actor and the woman who learns that it’s ok to need someone, it will make you laugh and cry.

Cereal Lover

lklawless — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:00:40 +0000

Joan Conway’s Cereal Lover is probably one of the least-known great chick lit novels. The writing style is very similar to Marian Keyes’s* and the story is a little nutty, but that just makes it more fun. This is one of my favorite books – it’s a quick, funny read.

*So much so that for a while I thought Joan Conway might be a pen name. Then Ms. Keyes came out with her 6th or 7th novel and it was clear she just couldn’t possibly have enough time to write under multiple names.

Looking for Andrew McCarthy

lklawless — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:00:14 +0000

Is there anything more fun than reminiscing about old movies with new friends? In Looking for Andrew McCarthy, Jenny Colgan not only offers a great chick lit novel (girl gets dumped and goes on an impossible quest across the US), but also a look back at all those brat pack movies that I loved (and some that I hated). She makes snide comments that I might have made and laughs in all the same places I did. It’s so much fun!

The Trials of Tiffany Trott

lklawless — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:33:31 +0000

One of the earliest chick lit books, The Trials of Tiffany Trott, by Isabel Wolff, is also one of the most fun. Tiffany is 37 and still looking for Mr. Right in a quest that leads her to classified ads, blind dates, Club Med, and pretty much anywhere else single men might conceivably hang out. Very funny and a pleasure to read!

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married

lklawless — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:00:24 +0000

I love, love, love Marian Keyes’s Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married. Though it’s not perfect (see spoilers, below), I enjoy the story and particularly certain scenes so much that I’m still able to reread it regularly and enjoy it just as much each time I do. I really like Lucy, and overall the book is very funny and believable.

SPOILERS Lucy is blatantly “weightist.” At one point she is furious when she thinks someone is mocking Meredia’s weight, yet Lucy repeatedly does this herself throughout the book.

The whole dealing-with-her-dad’s-alcoholism section is fairly hefty and can be a bit of a drag to read. But it works.

I love the scenes with Daniel at the restaurant, in his car, and at his apartment; and I love the Indian restaurant, and all the roommate stuff, and the work avoidance… it’s all great.

Just Friends

lklawless — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:00:36 +0000

It’s set in New York, but I would definitely classify Just Friends, by Robyn Sisman, as English chick lit. Either way, the whole book is fun and there are a couple of truly hilarious scenes. The characters and, more importantly, the various mix-ups and misunderstandings are believable, which makes them all the funnier. This is kind of a long book – 400 pages – but it’s thoroughly enjoyable.

Coffee and Kung Fu

lklawless — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:00:02 +0000

Though I don’t care at all about Kung Fu, I loved Karen Brichoux’s Coffee and Kung Fu. The (brief) comparisons to martial arts movies are fun and even interesting, but it’s the author’s descriptions and dialogues that really make this book stand out. One line in particular, which I can’t remember exactly so I won’t ruin it by paraphrasing (it had to do with a rainbow), was so lovely that it made me shiver. This isn’t as light-hearted or funny as my other chick lit favorites, but something about it really speaks to me, so I’m still giving it 5 hearts.