Notable Books: “Chick Lit”

Who You Know Alan, Theresa

Three friends go through work, men, and life. Avery's a free spirit trapped in a mindless corporate job, Jen needs to control her self-destructive tendencies, and Rette has to deal with her mean boss and even meaner mother while preparing for her wedding.

Boy Meets Girl Cabot, Meg

Kate is a HR person at a NYC newspaper. When she has to fire someone unfairly, she is sued and ends up falling for the handsome lawyer representing her. Told as a series of emails, memos, and voice mails, this format is a fast read that's a lot of fun.

Boy Next Door Cabot, Meg

Told in a series of emails, Mel, a newspaper columnist, meets the "boy next door" - who is an imposter, posing as her neighbor's grandson. The neighbor has been attacked and Mel and the "grandson" decide to try and find the attacker.

Not So Perfect Man Frankel, Valerie

When young widow Frieda begins to date, her sisters go overboard in trying to help out. She meets someone that she thinks is perfect, but everyone else can't stand.

Smothering French, Wendy

Claire, a telemarketer in Portland , is not happy when her overbearing mother comes by for an unexpected and open-ended visit. Between trying to find a boyfriend, pressures at work, and unreliable pals, she pretty much has a breakdown.

Guilty Feet Hart, Kelly

Acting on the belief that her boyfriend is cheating on her, Jo moves out and is disappointed when he doesn't come begging for her back. She starts emailing him under a fake name with interesting results.

Gossip Hound Holden, Wendy

Grace is a publishing PR hack waiting for her big break - and true love. She gets them - but it's a long (often very funny) wait.

One Hit Wonde r Jewell, Lisa

When one-time 80's pop star Bee Bearhorn dies alone, her half-sister has to go through her things and meets her friends. Through many secrets, she finally learns more about the sibling she never knew.

How to Meet Cute Boys Kizis, Deanna

Benjamina Franklin is a magazine staffer in LA who falls for a much younger guy. Clever formatting of this book includes lots of magazine-style things, quizzes, fake articles, etc.

Starting from Square Two Lissner, Caren

When 29-year old Gert's husband dies in a car accident, she must look for her happily ever after – again. Her cynical pals aren't much help in the dating world however.

Devil May Care McInnis, Sheri

Aspiring NYC actress Sally gets a streak of good luck after meeting th head of a network. They begin a romance - with one problem. He's Satan.

To Be Someone Voss, Louise

A former pop star-turned-DJ is disfigured in a fall and decides to write her biography - set to 8O's Brit-pop tunes.

In Her Shoes Weiner, Jennifer

Two radically different sisters finally come to be friends after meeting their long-gone grandmother.

Devil Wears Prada Weisberger, Lauren

Andrea wants to break into the magazine world, so she becomes an assistant to a very demanding fashion editor. Instead of doing any editorial work, she ends up playing personal shopper, errand girl, and all around slave.

Diary of a Mad Bride Wolf, Laura

Diary of a woman who goes through all the typical hurdles of planning a wedding. Gramma's jealous, future in-laws are nutso, and her best friends include a skeptic and a previous mad bride.

Followed by…

Diary of a Mad Mom-to-Be

The Mad Bride-to-Be is back, this time ready to get pregnant - or is she really ready? A funny look at the countdown to motherhood.

Resources

Categories

• Lad lit or to be cruder, “dick lit” – Chick lit for men. More popular in the UK . Not doing as well as Chick lit is sales wise. Jonathan Tropper, Mike Gayle, and Nick Hornby are some authors.

• Brit Lit or “Singletons” – where it all began, with Bridget Jones' Diary. Notable authors include Jane Green, Isabel Wolff, Catherine Alliot, Carole Matthews, Lisa Jewell, Wendy Holden, and Anna Maxted.

• Workplace tell-all: Focus is more on the career trials and tribulations or disastrous workplace instead of a romance. Standouts include The Devil Wears Prada; Nanny Diaries.

• Ethnic Lit: You could say that Waiting to Exhale began this trend but it just hasn't grown the same way as regular Chick Lit.

• Mommy- Lit: Think Bridget Jones has a baby. Classics include Watermelon by Marian Keyes, I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson; and Diary of a Mad Mom-to-Be.

• Young Widow Lit: Now think Bridget Jones loses her husband! Cropping up very recently in 2004, titles include Good Grief by Lolly Winston (which isn't really chick lit but gets categorized as such because the character is in her early 30's when her husband dies), Not So Perfect Man ; and Starting from Square Two .

Authors to know

Marian Keyes (Irish, very funny, real characters)
Jane Green (British, can be racy)
Sophie Kinsella (Shopaholic Series)
Jennifer Weiner (American, realistic characters, less romance, more on personal growth of characters)

Publishers to know

Red Dress Ink: Imprint of Harlequin, new titles monthly, quality varies widely.
www.reddressink.com

Strapless: Imprint of Kensington, leans toward the racy, features several British titles.
www.kensingtonbooks.com/

Downtown Press: Imprint of Simon and Schuster, just starting out, includes short story collections and non-fiction. www.downtownpress.com

Avon Trade: Imprint of HarperCollins, features several African-American authors. www.harpercollins.com/hc/features/romance/avontrade/index.asp

Websites/Articles of Interest

www.citypaper.com/2003-09-10/bigbooks.html
“Chick Lit 101” from the Baltimore City Paper. Great article detailing all aspects of chick lit, different authors.

www.authorsontheweb.com/features/0402-chicklit/chicklit.asp
“Chick Lit Author Roundtable” from authorsontheweb.com, featuring a Q&A session with Chick Lit authors.

www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/03/24/lad.lit.ap/
“'Lad Lit': The Men Have Their Say” fromCNN.com

www.africana.com/articles/daily/bk20040413chicklit.asp
“Chick Lit for Black Chicks” from Africana.com

www.chicklit.us/home.htm
Chick Lit USA – an online British bookseller featuring UK-published chick lit titles; includes a useful “Chick Lit Dictionary” for Brit-speak.

www.readersclub.org/features/feature.asp?year=2004&month=3
Chick Lit List from the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (NC).

www.reginalibrary.ca/index.cfm?page=487
Annotated Chick Lit List from Regina Public Library in Saskatchewan .

www.chipublib.org/001hwlc/litlists/chicklit.html
List of Chick Lit Authors from Chicago Public Library.

www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/booklist/single.html
www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org/booklist/singletons.html

Presented April, 2004 by Rebecca Vnuk, EPL. 125 Prospect Ave Elmhurst , IL 60126 . 630-279-8696 ext 329. rebecca.vnuk@elmhurst.org

Chick Lit Booklists from the Elmhurst Public Library