Women's Stories

[saffronlie]

I laughed my arse off through Confessions of a Shopaholic. Isla Fisher is much better at comic acting than she is at novel-writing (yes, I've read it), and she is so endearingly funny in this film. Hugh Dancy was cute but rather bland, actually. I remember him being much prettier in The Jane Austen Book Club. The big surprise was the ensemble cast

Comments

[mothergoddamn]

Have you read The Shopaholic Books? I've read two and they are okay (no Marian Keyes though!).

[saffronlie]

Nah, and I probably won't. You know that chick lit for me is a sometimes food!

[templa_otmena]

I'm glad that you enjoyed the film. It looked fun when I saw the trailer but I have never gone near the book.

Have you read The Jane Austen Bookclub?

[saffronlie]

Yes! I don't think I discussed it here but I did talk about the film. Have you read it? It's fairly enjoyable crap.

[templa_otmena]

I agree- although I thought that it was a lot better when I was younger and first read it. And then I saw the film, which made me like the book less. That's quite a feat ;)

[saffronlie]

LMAO! Yeah, that's kind of amazing. It's not often that that happens.

[rebness]

My flatmate has a very high-up job with a major payroll provider and works with a lot of older businessmen. They seem to really resent females in authority; she had a major blow-up this week for daring to go against what one of them said. It's a really hard business culture for females.

I won't lie; I think the Shopaholic books are absolutely terrible -- I think they're very poorly-written and obviously just there to cash in on the chicklit market. That said (as I said before, bb), I really like Isla Fisher and I think the film looks like a lot more fun and talent has gone into it. I'll check it out.

I really have to try the other Melissa Bank books! I agree that she shouldn't be labelled as a chicklit writer -- I found Girl's Guide to be much deeper than I thought and beautifully written.

[saffronlie]

It really is. A lot of people seem to resent females for doing, well, anything. I don't think there's any "safe" industry, either; it's not just the business world where women find it tough. *sigh* But writing about it in fiction instead of ignoring it is a great first step to combating it.

Most chick lit is poorly written. That's part of what defines the genre, in my view. Lots of telling, lots of shallow characters, implausible plots, boring description. But Melissa Bank is so far above that.

[mothergoddamn]

So is Marion Keyes, bb!

Actually don't read her. If you disliked her, well, I'd have to kill you.

[treacleangel]

Hey! I just wanted to comment and say hi. I'm Cath, I live with _honeyspider and phfa and have been hearing about you for ages. I beleive you are responsible for the fantastic glitter bombs the flat periodically receives ^_^

When I read Citizen Girl I couldn't decide if I liked it or not but it was interesting and I didn't hate it so I concluded I liked it.

I've read all the Shopaholic books but they aren't her best ones. Characters that never ever learn from mistakes are abit annoying. My sister and I enjoy her standalones more. Will probably check out Shopaholic movie on dvd.

[saffronlie]

Helloooo, Cath! I've heard a lot about you, too. Cheers for the comment. I see where you're coming from on Citizen Girl: it's not the kind of book I'd gush about and read over and over for the rest of my life and sigh deeply the entire time, but it is interesting and challenging and so, I enjoy it. I wish more books were written on that issue.

A friend of mine recommended one of Kinsella's non-Shopaholic books so I might check that out when I get a chance. What's your favourite of her standalones? Do watch the movie if you get a chance, it's so much fun. :D

[treacleangel]

Jen(my sister and our other flatmate) and I really enjoyed Undomestic Godess and Can You Keep A Secret?
But bear in mind Jen and I have a very very high tolerance for trashy books as we read avon romances, harlequin and mills and boon. We don't actually enjoy many of them and most make us angry (to quote one 'hero' we fall into the category of raging femists as we dare not agree with thier veiws)but we seem unable to stop reading them.

I will definately check out Melissa Bank's books.

[saffronlie]

Hee, I find this interesting! Clearly you are a study in contradictions. I predict you will like Melissa Banks. :D

[pandorasblog]

I'm intrigued by that movie. I mean, you can't get away from the fact that we do tend to get this buzz from shopping, and I think that can so easily be written off as being a silly, girlie thing because such consumer behaviour is identified with women, when in fact looking at the psychology behind it tells you a lot about our society as a whole.

On a related note, I recently read Alissa Quart's Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. I'd just read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, and Quart's book had been compared to Naomi Klein's No Logo which is meant to be era-defining, so I was both primed for Branded to be high calibre in every way, and looking for something to feed the hunger Gladwell's book had created. Now, her style and the editing both left something to be desired (mis-used words, a little too much moral outrage, a kid described as 'scholastically deft' when 'academic' would've done, that kind of thing), but it is still very interesting, primarily because it discusses the period when marketers woke up to the

[saffronlie]

I'll pass on Branded, but thanks for the offer! I'll keep an eye out for another copy of Citizen Girl for you.

[pandorasblog]

Ooh, thank you!