Sometimes, a girl (or, hey, a boy) just has to read a fluffy novel.
Fluffy is my highly technical term, of course, for books that are purely for enjoyment, and don’t require the deconstruction of the message of the book, extensive research into the hidden meanings and themes presented by the author, or a spirited debate of symbolism about an arcade object mentioned on page 116.
No, these are just purely fun, purely entertaining reads – more for comfort than cranial activity.
I love fluffy books.
And chick lit (books generally written by and for younger women, typically with themes of finding love and finding one’s way in the working world and in the world in general, and not to be confused with “lad lit”) definitely qualifies as fluffy.
Among the many, many books stuffing bookshelves today to be defined as chick lit are the “Shopaholic” books by Sophie Kinsella, a British financial journalist turned author who is popular on both sides of the pond. The “Shopaholic” series follows the foibles and feistiness of Becky Bloomwood, the title character who racks up the limit on her Visa, tries to ferret out how to pay for everything and still buy what she wants with reckless abandon, and finds love along the way. Beginning with Confessions of a Shopaholic (soon to be a Hollywood feature with Isla Fisher in the title role), Kinsella has written four subsequent books in the series.
In addition, Kinsella has also written several stand-alone novels, with Remember Me? clocking in as her newest, just released at the end of February.
In Remember Me?, Kinsella has recycled the oft-used plot device of amnesia, but has written a novel in such a way as to have a freshness, an energy, heart and a few laugh out loud moments. Lexi Smart goes out with her friends one night in 2004, falls off a curb, and suddenly awakes in a hospital bed three years later, assuming she has bumped her head and awoken the next morning. Here’s the twist, though…gone is her frizzy hair, loser boyfriend, unsatisfying job and crooked teeth, and now she’s armed with perfect hair, a perfectly made-up complexion, a high-powered, high-paying job, and oh yes…a good looking, millionaire husband.
And suddenly it’s 2007.
What follows is Lexi’s desperate attempt to rectify the life she had in 2004 with the life she apparently now has in 2007 – with some hilarious quips about how things have changed, and what hasn’t (George W. Bush is still president, they now have ORANGE Kit Kats! Bliss!). She must learn who her husband is (who, really, is a total stranger to her), who her friends really are, why everyone at work despises her, and why she has such an antagonistic relationship with her husband’s work partner…
Lexi spends the novel trying to find out who she is, and whether she likes the “new her” or the old, as well as how she went from loserdom to star status in just a few short years. She has a rather anal retentive husband that she desperate tries to generate some chemistry with (with a pretty hilarious, unexpected result in one memorable scene from the book), more money than God, a flawless look, a job she doesn’t fully understand but that she apparently does well…but no friends, no confidence in her new approach to things, and no passion for anything in her “new life”. But that husband of hers IS awfully good looking, and he IS rich…but is it enough for the old Lexi Smart?
Kinsella’s books always have a happy ending, but how Lexi gets there…well, you’ll have to read to see for yourself.
This is a fun and frothy read, easy to whip through, great for those evenings when you need to curl up with a character you feel could be a friend in real life, and something that doesn’t require deep examinations of psychology or diagramming of symbolism.
In short, Kinsella’s books are just FUN.
In addition to the Shopaholic series, Kinsella has also written two stand-alone books – Can You Keep a Secret? and Undomestic Goddess. Both are also chock full of laughs, winsome but at times exasperating heroines, and tidy endings that are always happy.
If you enjoy books by Sophie Kinsella, you may also enjoy reading the novels of Helen Fielding, Cecelia Ahern, Marian Keyes, Candace Bushnell, Anna Maxted or Jane Green – all mavens of the chick lit genre.
When in doubt, just look for a fun, pink cover on the library shelf. That usually does the trick in hunting up a tasty chick lit novel…
Enjoy!
Looking to ask the Loud Librarian a question or comment on one of her reviews? Email her at marissa.priddis@crucialpop.com.
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