Chick Lit

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I like Marian Keyes but her last couple of books (both non-Walsh ones) were boring, boring, boring. So I'm looking forward to reading Anybody Out There just to see if it's any better.
Her recent collections of her nonfiction were hilarious though.

[tinyshoes]

See? I hated Girl's Poker Night. All the characters seemed to blend together and I couldn't bring myself to care about the main character. I love sarcastic bitter humor, but that book missed the mark with me. Of course, I like my humor a little more sick and cringeworthy.

I have a chick lit confession. I haven't read any Marian Keyes or Jane Green. I have a copy of Jemima J sitting on my shelf but after hearing that she switches from first to third person (and quite a bit), I'm a little trepidatious. I'm a total nazi when it comes to POV shifting.

[kanding]

Trust me, tinyshoes, leave Jemina J on the shelf. It's that bad. In all honesty though, I never got beyond the first thirty pages. I riffled through the rest to see if it would get better, but it only seemed to head downhill fast. I enjoyed the Bridget Jones books, but this was terrible, very trite and breathy. Easily one of the worst books I spent money on.

[sleepy]

See, I really like Jemina J ... for the first half of the book. After she loses all the weight, it totally gets weird and lame.

I hated the Shopaholic book (I only read the first one), but I have to say that I enjoyed her Can You Keep a Secret? There were elements of the annoying Becky Bloomwood in the main character, but I could overlook them in exchange for a quick, fun read.

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I liked Jemima J. It wasn't my favorite of the Jane Green books, and there were parts of it that I just wanted to strangle her, but I could definitely relate.

I didn't hate the Shopaholic books, but Becky annoyed the ever living piss out of me, so after the first two, I don't know if I can read anymore. I haven't read any other Kinsella books, but I heard the newest one (something about an undomesticated goddess, or something like that) was just plain awful.

Watermelon was the first Keyes book I read, followed by Last Chance Saloon, Lucy Sullivan... and Rachel's Holiday. By the time I got to the last one, I think I was burnt out. I may try reading it again sometime, now that it's been awhile and see if I can get through it. I just didn't like Rachel and it's hard for me to get into a book if I can't stand the main character.

I don't know if she qualifies as Chick Lit (I'd put her in the category, but I don't know about the rest of you), but the two Maeve Binchy books I've read, Circle of Friends (which ends differently than the movie) and Evening Class were both quite enjoyable.

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I like Maeve Binchy, too. If her books were being published now, I wonder if they would've been marketed as chicklit. Somehow, I don't think that was the effect she was going for, though.
What I like about her books is that I can reread them every few years, and it's almost like reading them for the first time because I don't remember much about plot. Not that her books are that forgettable, it's just that they're all very similar and sort of blend together.
My favorite of hers would be the same as yours, sarcasticcheese.
There was one that I absolutely hated, though; I don't remember the title but it was about two girlhood best friends named Elizabeth and Aishling (one Irish, one English)--it had a horrible ending and left me just loathing all the characters.

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stargirl said:

There was one that I absolutely hated, though; I don't remember the title but it was about two girlhood best friends named Elizabeth and Aishling (one Irish, one English)--it had a horrible ending and left me just loathing all the characters.

That's Light a Penny Candle, which I remember liking as a teenager many moons ago.

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Yes! That's it.
I think what I didn't like was there there was no real resolution. I mean, one of characters
[font=Verdana][/font]puts up with an abusive, cheating husband for several years then finally kills him with her friend by pushing him down the stairs; they are able to cover it up[/color]
and that's the end of the story. It just left me with such a blah feeling.

[piscessiren]

sleepy said:

See, I really like Jemina J ... for the first half of the book. After she loses all the weight, it totally gets weird and lame.

Totally agree with you. Felt the same way about Jennifer Weiner's Good in Bed. Gave up on Mr. Maybe, too.

[franticjoy]

I think the only reason I read Mr. Maybe more than once was that there was a sex scene early on that I really liked at the time. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I only reread the sex scene, because the main character was so awful. Her other books either pissed me off (Jemima J) or bored me silly (Babyville).