Moses Leads You Out of the Desert...of Bad Chicklit Books

Queen of Babble

2006-07-10T21:53:00.000-04:00

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

Plot: A college grad from UM (woo?) travels to England to visit her British boyfriend. After her big mouth gets her relationship into trouble, she travels to a French chateau, talks more than she should, discusses the politics of blow jobs, and meets a cute French guy.

Why I Liked It: Meg Cabot books are always fun enjoyable reads, and this was no exception. Cabot is funny and witty, and one of my favorite chicklitters. Setting your book in France is also never a bad idea, either.

What I Didn't Like: The sad reminder that when I traveled around Europe, I did not meet any cute French guys. What's up with that?

Buy/Library/Store/Avoid: I would buy or get it from the library. A good beach or plane book, IMO.

If You Liked This, You May Also Like: Any of Meg Cabot's other adult books, especially Every Boy's Got One, which is set in Italy. Bandit Queen Boogie and Burning the Map are also good chicklit travel books (although both are a bit different than QoB).

Random: I actually went to a reading and signing the author gave for Queen of Babble a month ago, and she is so funny in person. I think I was the oldest person there (because Meg Cabot writes the Princess Diaries books, so she has a lot of young fans), but whatever, she's awesome.

The Washingtonienne

2006-06-15T22:34:00.000-04:00

The Washingtonienne by Jessica Cutler

Plot: Based on what actually happened to the author, Jacqueline comes to DC after a broken engagment and begins work as an intern and then low-level staffer on the Hill. She begins affairs with a number of guys, including some married men and high-level gov't officials. She starts a blog to recount her experiences to her friends and it doesn't end well.

Why I Liked It: Boy was this book smutty! And I mean that in a good way, sometimes it's fun to read a book where the main character has tons of sex, does drugs, buys clothes, and then has more sex. As a former DCer (but one who never worked on the Hill) I enjoyed the DC setting and hearing about bars I used to go to. A fun fluffy read.

What I Didn't Like: It's hard to have compassion for the main character (and I think you're supposed to) because she's kind of a horrible bitch. But who cares? Sex! Drugs! Sex!

Buy/Library/Store/Avoid: I'd go library or store with this one. And I'd only suggest reading it in Borders/Barnes & Noble/your independent book store of choice if you'd be embarassed by being seen in public with a book cover of a woman in a frilly pink bra. I kind of was.

If You Liked This, You May Also Like: High Maintenance or Going Down, both by Jennifer Belle, which also feature lots of sex and drugs and sex in the city.

Random: You can find the original blog that started the scandal here.

Sex as a Second Language

2006-06-13T05:14:00.000-04:00

Sex as a Second Language, by Alisa Kwitney

Plot: Kat is a former actress whose husband has left her and won't see their son. She's struggling to make end's meet and teaching a ESL class, where she meets a hunky Icelandic student who really is a CIA agent who needs her help tracking down her missing father. Yeah, it's complicated.

What I Liked About It: Kwitney is pretty humorous. The book was realistic I thought, and I liked the scenes about her dealing as a single mother.

What I Didn't Like: The CIA stuff I could live without. Also, the sex scenes were kind of weird, like really graphic but also weird.

Buy/Library/Store/Avoid: I'd get this one from the library. A good summer read, but I didn't love it.

If You Liked This, You May Also Like: Other Alisa Kwitney such as Does She or Doesn't She or The Dominant Blonde.

The Little Lady Agency

2006-06-12T23:22:00.000-04:00

The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne

Plot: Melissa can't find a career that suits her, but is good at organizing things. After she is fired from her most recent job, she decides to start her own business and a new persona to help awkward young men navigate the social scene. Of course she falls for one of her clients.

What I Liked: I think I like makeover stories, because I adored this book. Probably because it's all about makeovers (this is also probably why I will always watch Miss Congeniality whenever it is on tv. Oh Sandra Bullock!) This book was incredibly fun and enjoyable, a great beach or plane read. Also there was some ambiguity in the book about who she would ultimately end up with, which is a nice change from most chicklit.

What I Didn't Like: Nothing, really.

Buy/Library/Store/Avoid: Buy, I think. Like I said, great for the beach.

If You Liked This, You Would Also Like: Any other British chicklit. Or the sequel to this book, which is coming out this summer I think.

The Dairy Queen

2006-06-12T23:09:00.000-04:00

The Dairy Queen by Allison Rushby

Plot: Dicey Dye has lost her job and marriage, so she and her sister and best friend return home to the small Austrailian town they were raised in order to regroup.

Why I liked it: It was funny, and the problems of the main characters were pretty real (and not in a movie-of-the-week sort of way).

What I didn't like: It took a while to get going. I wasn't enthralled, I have to say.

Buy/Library/Store/Avoid: Library

If You Liked This You Would Probably Also Like: Hating Valentine's Day by the same author, which I liked better, really.

The Pact

2006-05-30T21:16:00.000-04:00

The Pact by Jennifer Sturman

Plot: Rachel Benjamin, an investment banker, joins her 4 college roommates for a wedding weekend of her best friend, Emma. Everyone hates the groom-to-be however, and he is found dead the morning of the wedding. Sacre Bleu! And she falls for a wedding guest, but could he be the murderer?

Why I Liked It: It was cute, and I liked the emphasis on female friendships. Also I enjoy mysteries, even though I'm always really bad at figuring out who the murderer is.

What I didn't Like: The romance felt a little rushed. Also the main character is an investment banker and whenever she talks about her job I started to drift. Clearly the author is an i-banker in real life, but do we have to hear the details?

Buy/Library/Read in Store/Avoid: I'd get it from the library. It was pretty enjoyable.

If You Liked This You Would Also Probably Like: The Jinx which is the sequel to this book, or other chicklit mysteries, such as Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis

Pug Hill

2006-05-30T20:44:00.000-04:00

To start this blog off, I decided to review the best chicklit book I've read this year.

Pug Hill by Alison Pace.

Plot: Hope is a shy art restorer at the Met (wouldn't that be an awesome job?) who loves dogs, specifically pugs. She's uncertain about life--is ambivalent about her boyfriend, has a crush on a coworker, is paralyzingly shy at times, and has a fear of public speaking.

Why I liked it: This book is different from typical chicklit, as it's more observational humor than plot-driven. Hope is a character I could relate to easily--she's not perfect, but she's not overly neurotic. She felt very real. It's also very funny (her comments on The DaVinci Code slayed me).

Buy/Library/Read in Store/Avoid: Buy, definitely buy! I took it out from the library which I regret because I know I will want to re-read it.

If You Liked This You Would Also Probably Like: The Big Love by Sarah Dunn or Heartburn by Nora Ephron.

First Post!

2006-05-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

Shalom all,

Moses here. I'm often asked for book suggestions, because I read a lot, and I can remember plot details of most of what I read (but yet, I have remembered nothing of statistics). So on many people's suggestions (but mostly Sounders, hi Sounders!) I started this blog so you can read my reviews of chicklit to help you pick out some good books.

I read non-chicklit books too (really!) which I may post every so often just for some variety. As time goes on I will organize this site better, and add more reviews of books I'm currently reading and older books too.

One last thing--we won't agree on all the books here. I tend to like more humorous, everyday woman books and mysteries than books like The Devil Wears Prada, because I have no money or fashion sense and it sometimes depresses me to read about people who do (although do plan on seeing the movie). So just keep in mind that's where my interests lie.

If you have read a chicklit book that has not been reviewed here yet and either really really want people to read it or really really want people to not read it, feel free to email me a review. I would love to have some guest critics!

Enjoy!