Post by Admin on Aug 30, 2004 17:22:52 GMT -5
Anyother Chicklit lovers here?
This is a relatively new genre of contemporary women's fiction. Some companies classify these books as, horrors, romance novels, but they're not panting bodice rippers [most of the ones I read gloss over the sex scenes, although some of them go into detail]. Instead they usually involve a hip protagonist in her 20s or 30s who lives in a largish city in the US or UK, has a circle of female and male friends with whom she usually drinks too much [not my thing, but whatever] and is involved in her search for Mr. Right. The novels usually include a good dose of the protagonist's work life, which I like -- I enjoy vicariously experiencing someone else's work day, especially when the main character works in publishing and I can pick up behind-the-scenes details about the magazine and book world. The other thing I like about the genre is the attention given to the complexities of women's relationships, with men, with women friends, with the family of origin, and even with themselves.
The best-known book in this genre is Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary [which is supposed to be ironic in depicting the title character's self-obsessions, but I just found it whiny and tedious]. Some of the better writers in the genre are Marian Keyes, Wendy Holden [definitely her 1st 3 books, Simply Divine, Bad Heir Day, and Gossip Hound, not so much the last 2], Katie Fforde, Wendy Markham, Isabel Wolff, and Sophie Kinsella [the Shopaholic triology]. I tend to like witty female characters who enjoy words and the company of literate and movie-loving friends.
One of the most prolific publishers in this genre is Red Dress Ink, a division of Harlequin. Here's a link to their site where you can read excerpts of a few novels and even sign up for at-home delivery service: www.reddressink.com/home.aspx. Another major publisher is Downtown Press, a division of Simon and Schuster: www.simonsays.com/content/content.cfm?sid=33&pid=427721
If you enjoy reading and discussing books about women, do check out this site: www.chicklit.com/index.shtml. This web site is run like a print magazine; it provides an excellent variety of witty, literate articles about a huge variety of women's fiction, from the classics to the present, fiction, poetry, and some nonfiction. The forums look like another great place to spend hours of time when one should be working. [Not any of you, of course; I'm sure I'm the only one who does that. ]
This is another site devoted to ChickLit: www.chicklitbooks.com. At this site you'll only hear 1 voice, that of the site owner and review writer. She includes an admirable description of the genre, touching upon the "romance novel" association. The focus is more on alerting readers to new books that they will enjoy than on crafting elegant essays about womens' writing and popular culture. There are forums here, too.
Why not start a thread about your favorite books or your favorite Web sites about books? I'll best most of us would love to hear about a new author.
This is a relatively new genre of contemporary women's fiction. Some companies classify these books as, horrors, romance novels, but they're not panting bodice rippers [most of the ones I read gloss over the sex scenes, although some of them go into detail]. Instead they usually involve a hip protagonist in her 20s or 30s who lives in a largish city in the US or UK, has a circle of female and male friends with whom she usually drinks too much [not my thing, but whatever] and is involved in her search for Mr. Right. The novels usually include a good dose of the protagonist's work life, which I like -- I enjoy vicariously experiencing someone else's work day, especially when the main character works in publishing and I can pick up behind-the-scenes details about the magazine and book world. The other thing I like about the genre is the attention given to the complexities of women's relationships, with men, with women friends, with the family of origin, and even with themselves.
The best-known book in this genre is Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary [which is supposed to be ironic in depicting the title character's self-obsessions, but I just found it whiny and tedious]. Some of the better writers in the genre are Marian Keyes, Wendy Holden [definitely her 1st 3 books, Simply Divine, Bad Heir Day, and Gossip Hound, not so much the last 2], Katie Fforde, Wendy Markham, Isabel Wolff, and Sophie Kinsella [the Shopaholic triology]. I tend to like witty female characters who enjoy words and the company of literate and movie-loving friends.
One of the most prolific publishers in this genre is Red Dress Ink, a division of Harlequin. Here's a link to their site where you can read excerpts of a few novels and even sign up for at-home delivery service: www.reddressink.com/home.aspx. Another major publisher is Downtown Press, a division of Simon and Schuster: www.simonsays.com/content/content.cfm?sid=33&pid=427721
If you enjoy reading and discussing books about women, do check out this site: www.chicklit.com/index.shtml. This web site is run like a print magazine; it provides an excellent variety of witty, literate articles about a huge variety of women's fiction, from the classics to the present, fiction, poetry, and some nonfiction. The forums look like another great place to spend hours of time when one should be working. [Not any of you, of course; I'm sure I'm the only one who does that. ]
This is another site devoted to ChickLit: www.chicklitbooks.com. At this site you'll only hear 1 voice, that of the site owner and review writer. She includes an admirable description of the genre, touching upon the "romance novel" association. The focus is more on alerting readers to new books that they will enjoy than on crafting elegant essays about womens' writing and popular culture. There are forums here, too.
Why not start a thread about your favorite books or your favorite Web sites about books? I'll best most of us would love to hear about a new author.