Fiction Pick of the Week: Miss New India

Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee 2011

If you enjoy chick lit with an international flair you won’t be disappointed with Mukherjee’s Miss New India.  Anjali (Angie) Bose, a lovely green-eyed beauty, has just graduated from an English-language college in her small Indian town (Gauripur). A disastrous engagement encounter forces Angie to flee from her backwater village and head out to a bustling Call Centre city (Bangalore). Her parents and sister have disowned her but thanks to the generosity of her English teacher, Peter Champion, she has some cash and contacts set up for lodgings and a job.  Angie’s transformation from naïve village beauty to sophisticated city diva exposes her to a variety of people who betray her or are her benefactors. An interesting exposé on the changing social fabric of India’s booming cities.

Fiction Pick of the Week: What Alice Forgot

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 2011

What if you fell and hit your head and lost the last ten years of your life? Well, that’s exactly what happens to Alice Love when she tumbles of the treadmill and then has zero idea why she (who despises gyms!) would be on a treadmill in the first place! Alice believes that she is a 29-year-old newlywed, pregnant with her first child, who just bought her first fixer-upper home with her adoring husband Nick. In reality, Alice is a 39 year old, a soon-to-be divorcee with three kids living the uppity lifestyle she once mocked in her twenties. Every day brings a new twist as Alice struggles to regain her memories as well as reconcile the old Alice she once loved with the new Alice everyone seems to dislike. If you ever have sat back and wondered how your life changed so much without realizing it – this book is for you. It’s fast and funny and often makes you think about the lives we create for ourselves. Liane’s other books are 3 Wishes and The Last Anniversary.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Prospect Park West

Prospect Park West
by Amy Sohn 2009
In a recent article I read, Prospect Park West was given as an example as chick-lit “grown up”. Indeed, that seems to be the case! As chick lit often does, this novel tackles the lives of women in New York who battle their own obsessions, insecurities and loneliness as they adapt to their new roles as mothers. Prospect Park West differs from typical chick lit in that it is far more graphic than standard fare… as one reviewer commented, “I started blushing on the first page and didn’t ever stop”. I can’t help but think this book was heavily influenced by the Sex and the City series – no topic seems to be off limits and in fact, Amy Sohn also wrote a behind the scenes account of the series called Sex in the City: Kiss and Tell. The book would appeal to those who like strong characters and a plot that moves along quickly as the women get themselves into humourous and often embarrassing situations. If you prefer more left to the imagination, this may not be the book for you!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Petite Anglaise

Petite Anglaise: a true story by Catherine Sanderson 2008

Chick lit lovers will enjoy this light and frank true story of a thirty-something British woman living in Paris. Catherine uses her blog “Petite Anglaise” to reach out to the blogging community in Paris and to try and sort out life’s ups and downs. Her writing style and tone remind me of the book Eat, Pray, Love.
What I liked about Petite Anglaise is her endearing descriptions of life in Paris and her amusing portrayal of French customs. I enjoyed getting to know Sanderson’s boyfriend Mr. Frog and her enchanting little daughter, Tadpole. I enjoyed how she incorporated the appeal of chick lit romance and relationships into true life drama.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Addition

Addition by Toni Jordan 2008

Attractive, educated Grace Lisa Vandenburg (19 letters) counts everything, yes, everything. She orders her life around numbers and while others feel her obsession confines her, Grace is comforted by it. That is until she meets Seamus Joseph O’Reilly (also 19 letters!). His deep feelings for Grace encourage her to explore her behaviour and experiment with treatments. Grace is still unsure as her studies of the great mathematician and inventor, Nikola Tesla (also a counter), have led her to believe that if he were alive today doctors would be trying to diagnose the strange but brilliant workings of his mind and “normalize” him—and thus robbing the world of his numerous creations. Uproariously funny while surprisingly sensitive and thought-provoking, it is a cross between Bridget Jones’s Diary and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Grace’s wit will leave you laughing out loud but also wondering whether those who “suffer” from obsessive-compulsive disorders really do benefit from efforts to “cure” them.

Wednesday's Pick!

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

Lexi Smart wakes up in the hospital after a car accident only to find that she has lost 3 years of her life. Well, actually, she just can’t remember them! During those three years she seems to have attained a sophisticated and glamorous existence with a high-powered job, a beautiful body, and a rich, gorgeous husband. It’s like a dream come true – but of course it isn't. None of the friends that she remembers from 3 years ago can stand her anymore, her previously cute and well-behaved sister is running wild, and she, Lexi, may even be having an affair. Lexi cannot fathom how, in just 3 short years, her life changed so much, or why? She must search out the experiences from her past in order to sort out the life she has woken up to. And is she really happy with her new life? Find out in Sophie Kinsella’s fresh take on an old idea in Remember Me?

Monday's Pick!

Chasing Harry Winston is the newest novel by bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger. The novel centres around Emmy, Leigh, and Adriana, three best friends who are on the verge of turning 30. What's a girl to do, when she's single, and on the verge of turning 30? Why, make a pact with your friends to change your life as drastically as possible, of course. This is what these heroines do. However, after following through with their individual pacts, they end up asking themselves the important question: Did changing my life make me any happier?

We also have this title in large print and Book on CD!

Friday's Pick!

Author of Baby Proof, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue, Love the One You're With is Emily Giffin's new novel.

Ellen Graham is married to sweet, caring, stable husband Andy. And guess what? Their life is perfect. Perfect, that is until Ellen runs into Leo, her sexy ex whom she hasn't seen in about 8 years (when, absolutely, completely in love with Leo, giving up everything in her life for him, he decides to end the relationship).

Love the One You're With asks the question: How can you stay with someone if you don't think they are the one for you?

My Pick of the Week!

Here's another great book for you!

If you are a serious Jane Austen fan but are looking for a fun, light read, Austenland by Shannon Hale is for you. Thirty something Jane Hayes, who has a fairly serious addiction to actor Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice, inherits a trip to Pembrook Park, Kent, England, the location of a resort where guests dress, talk, think, and act in ways that Jane Austen would approve. Hoping to overcome her first thirteen unsuccessful "relationships", Jane throws caution to the wind during her stay and finds herself torn between the Darcyesque Mr. Nobley and a forbidden tryst with Pembroke Park's gardener. This novel is quirkily funny and modern readers will enjoy modern twists on Austen's classic tales.

My Pick of the Week!

Another fantastic installment by chick lit author Sophie Kinsella!

The fifth title in her Shopaholic series, Shopaholic and Baby continues to follow Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) as she discovers the trials and tribulations of being pregnant. For Becky, this means shopping, shopping, and more shopping - for designer baby clothes, numerous prams, and a bunch of other things (that she just might possibly need!). But, as it turns out, her celebrity ob/gyn is her husband's ex. Oh no! She's after Becky's husband! Becky gets herself into a tizzy and hilarity ensues. Is "Shopaholic and Family" in the works? Hope so! (I'm already eagerly awaiting Kinsella's next installment!)

Check out other authors on our Library's Web site under Chick Lit Writers. Have you any new authors to add to this list?

My Pick of the Week!!

Laura Dave's debut novel, London is the Best City in America is a story about two siblings who help one another discover what is most important in life. Josh is ready to get married. Or is he? His sister Emmy, who literally walked away from her fiancee three years ago, goes on a road trip with Josh to meet "the other woman." Emmy helps Josh decide the best route to take, and in the process, finds her own path to happiness. This was a very enjoyable book about love, family and loyalty.
The movie is currently in development with Reese Witherspoon producing and starring!

Still looking for new authors, let me know what you're reading!!