tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post4034120733291780475..comments2023-10-30T15:13:22.680+00:00Comments on Strictly Writing: Into The Pink?DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-66425908081107751422010-06-08T18:54:24.971+01:002010-06-08T18:54:24.971+01:00IMO you can't beat Rosamunde Pilcher for chara...IMO you can't beat Rosamunde Pilcher for characterisation skills. I love her books - they're not exactly chick-lit but certainly women's fiction. Her 'Winter solstice' was one of those can't-put-down books, but I own and re-read regularly all her novels, long and short. <br /><br />As for chick-lit.. I turned my nose up for some years, but finally read a Cecelia Ahern, and was very pleasantly surprised. There's a surreality about them that's quite unusual. No shopping or sex, as far as I remember. I didn't much like her first and most popular one (PS I love you) which was much more typical chick-lit, but her later ones are something out of the ordinary. <br /><br />And yes, Sophia Kinsella, whom I was convinced (due to the covers) wrote rubbish, is actually rather a talented writer. I started with 'The Undomestic Goddess' and loved it, then finally gave in and read some of the Shopaholic books, which were a bit irritating, but also rather fun. Light-weight but good for holiday reading. <br /><br />For very thought-provokign women's literature, there's always Jodi Picault, another writer whom I put off reading for far too long.Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-55785135284501363422010-06-06T00:16:16.280+01:002010-06-06T00:16:16.280+01:00Hear, hear for Barbara Trapido! Not chick-lit, fo...Hear, hear for Barbara Trapido! Not chick-lit, for sure, but fabulous women's fiction. And Jane Gardam, who is simply brilliant. And Wendy Perriam. And Mavis Cheek...<br />SusiexSusie Nott-Bowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08428000582406338267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-65563947903142804652010-06-05T15:06:38.873+01:002010-06-05T15:06:38.873+01:00My brother once gave me a boxed set of Cecilia Ahe...My brother once gave me a boxed set of Cecilia Ahern books for Christmas. That's your type of book, isn;t it? he said proudly. Um, no. I donated it to the school as a raffle prize in the end.Kath McGurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02526923882402757423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-16313018529684872912010-06-05T14:07:11.927+01:002010-06-05T14:07:11.927+01:00I have made a point to give Celia Aherne a wide be...I have made a point to give Celia Aherne a wide berth. I am not into her brand of chick lit. I do love Maeve Binchy though and enjoy this genre esp. when traveling. My reading taste is a mixture. I love the chick lit books like Knits Two,Revenge of the Middle Aged Housewife, etc.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07524878248746427258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-16357630534032922572010-06-05T09:07:57.213+01:002010-06-05T09:07:57.213+01:00Rosy, that's just what I was trying to say. I ...Rosy, that's just what I was trying to say. I was certainly not suggesting that AT or AS were chick-lit. Far from it.<br /><br />Chick lit is only a part of what might be called women's contemporary fiction and there's a whole continuum of writing that that starts at the fluffiest of fluffy and ends at the most highbrow of literary. (There's probably a sideways dimension too, but that's getting too hard to explain!)<br />If you don't like one end of it, move a bit more to the middle (or sideways).Sherrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288574214855156268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-41732264203425935042010-06-05T08:58:18.914+01:002010-06-05T08:58:18.914+01:00Drat, Tastes, not tatses!Drat, Tastes, not tatses!Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-56366697408349657102010-06-05T08:56:36.815+01:002010-06-05T08:56:36.815+01:00I could have written this article from the opposit...I could have written this article from the opposite pov - I'm a WF reader but not a literary reader!Lol.<br /><br />I cringe whenever someone says they only read literary books, because to me they sound too superior and intelligent for my tatses - the books not the people who read them - hmm, well maybe both!Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-58228118741337447632010-06-05T00:55:34.889+01:002010-06-05T00:55:34.889+01:00I'm wary of chick-lit as I hate to read things...I'm wary of chick-lit as I hate to read things that seem to have been mass-produced for my gender! However I've thoroughly enjoyed Sopie Kinsella and Marian Keyes who are good storytellers and fun writers. <br />Perhaps less obviously - as there are no spidery sketches of shoes on the cover - is Barabara Trapido. Although my shelves are groaning, I always find room for another Trapido as soon as it comes out. If I need a warm duvet of a read that also tickles my intelligence and seems to tie everything up in a classically pleasing way, she's my girl.Roz Morris aka @Roz_Morris . Blog: Nail Your Novelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088813423467048081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-75677518062201525292010-06-04T22:17:20.945+01:002010-06-04T22:17:20.945+01:00Thanks for the comments/suggestions and I'm gl...Thanks for the comments/suggestions and I'm glad the debate wasn't too heated!Gillian McDadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02758782108258244355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-64457051003969006072010-06-04T21:31:37.136+01:002010-06-04T21:31:37.136+01:00I've been keeping a wide berth from commenting...I've been keeping a wide berth from commenting all day as this is such a contentious issue... I KNOW - Chick Lit gets serious!<br />I don't want to bang on about pink covers and designer shoes/handbags because these books also irritate the heck out of me but sorting out wheat from chav, these would be my (not Chick Lit-but-also-not-'intellectual') recommendations:<br />'Vince & Joy' Lisa Jewell<br />'Bet Me' Jenny Crusie<br />'Love The One You're With' Emily Giffin<br />'One Day' David NichollsDebs Ricciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10837598374947020855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-28720875021683618582010-06-04T17:49:41.306+01:002010-06-04T17:49:41.306+01:00I got into reading the genre on account of having ...I got into reading the genre on account of having a touch of eyestrain and having to leave off the paper books, taking to cassette/cd. I've been through a few but always can't remember much about them after. I even got to reading a few off the paper page and the only one I have felt rewarded by reading has been "Double Wedding" by Patricia Scanlon. It is a very realistic and funny account of two young ladies' courtships and agreement to marry together.<br /><br />Not much else has come near it but 'Circle of Friends' by Meave B. - god bless her! - is another tolerable novel with fairly interesting realistic character studies. <br /><br />With those two under your belt I'm pretty sure you could hold your own with any insipid reader who tries to pull a fast one on you and make you feel outside the loop as a serious reader.Fidelitynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-50853405527883563002010-06-04T14:31:18.640+01:002010-06-04T14:31:18.640+01:00Anita Shreve and (especially) Anne Tyler are wonde...Anita Shreve and (especially) Anne Tyler are wonderful! But not chick lit, surely? I find it frustrating when the whole range of women's fiction gets reduced to the pinkest common denominator by being lumped under the label of chick lit.Rosy Thttp://www.rosythornton.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-53458719742443411352010-06-04T09:50:29.528+01:002010-06-04T09:50:29.528+01:00I think also that I lack an understanding of '...I think also that I lack an understanding of 'women's fiction'. It's probably very wide-ranging in terms of theme, as Rosy, Karen and Bernadette pointed out. I have an Anita Shreve box set filed away in the spare room! I must rip open the cellophane.Gillian McDadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02758782108258244355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-80514348176423347222010-06-04T08:10:09.624+01:002010-06-04T08:10:09.624+01:00I'm with Karen on the misery memoirs - though ...I'm with Karen on the misery memoirs - though I've yet to find one with depth or literary merit (I suppose Angela's Ashes was Ok if that counts) so maybe I have the same 'thing' with them that you have with chick lit.<br /><br />Even within the more chicky areas of chick lit there are good and bad and someone like Marian Keyes has a lot of humour and does address wider issues. There are a lot of authors in that genre though that I can't stand (naming no names).<br /><br />But women's contemporary fiction is wider than chick lit. Try a bit of Anne Tyler or Anita Shreve.Sherrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288574214855156268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-38562961255986111422010-06-04T08:03:51.253+01:002010-06-04T08:03:51.253+01:00Maybe it's the covers that do them a disservic...Maybe it's the covers that do them a disservice. Mine will be classed as chick-lit (if and when it's published!), but it's definitely not about shoes and shopping - it's got time-travel in it!<br /><br />A lot of commercial women's fiction has an underlying theme at the heart that isn't always frothy - to be honest I can't read the 'Sex and the City' type stories, I prefer something laugh-out-loud funny if I'm going to read in that genre, or something with 'issues' underneath the humour. Ciara Geraghty for instance is fabulous at both.<br /><br />I have a wide reading range, including literary fiction, but must admit I can't stand 'misery memoirs'and yes I have tried a couple!<br /><br />Still, we'd be a rum lot if we all liked the same things :o)Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986874444030474719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-38828129148198225572010-06-04T06:20:24.414+01:002010-06-04T06:20:24.414+01:00Gillian, interesting piece! I have to admit I hate...Gillian, interesting piece! I have to admit I hate pink covers with a vengeance, and hardly read any chick lit, either... which is made worse, in my case, by the fact I seem to write the stuff (pink covers an' all). <br /><br />When I have dipped, it's often been a great pleasure. But not always. My difficulty is that I have less than no interest in clothes, shoes, make-up, dieting, celebrity culture or shopping - but I lap up humour, and well-observed personal relationships, which is the very fabric of most chick lit. I should read more - and, probably, so should you. But I do think they should come with a little Gucci handbag symbol in the corner if there is more than 5% 'lifetsyle' content.Rosy Thttp://www.rosythornton.comnoreply@blogger.com