Trashionista

FRIDAY FLICK: Shakespeare In Love

It is a windy and wet February 29th and I'm feeling a little blue... What better way to cheer myself up than with a filmic favourite? An incredibly romantic, well-acted filmic favourite, that's what!

Shakespeare In Love came out at the end of the nineties and enjoyed huge success. Gwyneth Paltrow wowed audiences and critics with her performance as the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (managing to shine despite the show-stealing turn from Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth).

Shakespeare In Love has a fabulous screenplay by Oscar-winning writers Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. It manages to be self-referentially funny, clever, and genuinely touching all at the same time.

The cast is star-studded with Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, and Ben Affleck, ably directed by John Madden (Mrs Brown).

Shakespeare In Love isn't just for English Literature students. It's a sunny smile of a film, filled with exuberant performances and good cheer.   

Related posts: Friday Flick archives

Top 30 rude writers

Something for the weekend? Nudge nudge, wink wink... Time Out has compiled a list of "London's 30 most erotic writers".

The list is depressingly light on female writers, though, with only three out of thirty: Molly Parkin, Mary Robinson and Lady Caroline Lamb. Surely women are better represented in erotic fiction than that?

Related posts: Erotic fiction on your 'pod | Book of the year lists

BOOK COVER: New Puffin Classics

Puffin Books have redesigned the Puffin Classics collection. Aren't they gorgeous?

But the pretty new covers aren't the only change, each of the twelve titles is introduced by a top author such as Sophie Dahl, Meg Rosoff or Louise Rennison.

Related posts: Louise Rennison | New covers for Virago Classics | Penguin Celebrations' gorgeous covers

BOOK NEWS: Water Cooler Diaries

I love the sound of this book - hundreds of women sharing a day in their lives:

Go behind the scenes with a hot new fashion designer trying to keep her business afloat; a  McDonald’s manager who is also captain of her pro football team; a government worker  buried in paperwork; a trauma surgeon who has to piece together the pelvis of a teenager  who forgot to wear his seatbelt; and a university librarian with four scheduled meetings  and a child with a 103.4 degree temperature. 

Plus there's a mix of, um, civilians, and celebrities like model Angie Everhart and “Go Fug Yourself” blogger Heather Cocks. Read more here.

Related posts: Go Fug Yourself book | First Kiss (Then Tell)

BOOK REVIEW: Forget Me Not by Isabel Wolff

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

The cover of Forget Me Not by Isabel Wolff made me think the story was going to be a bit ‘wishy washy’. Neither the design nor the title does the book justice; they don’t look or sound promising, unlike the plot and the main character (who incidentally is nothing like the character drawn on the front).

Anna Temple is a former city career woman, who decided to swap her fast paced life for garden design after her mother suddenly died. On the night of her leaving do, she meets Xan resulting in Milly nine months later. Xan, with no sense of responsibility (so much so you want to throttle him) leaves soon after she breaks the news, for Indonesia, leaving Anna pregnant and having to raise their child alone. She tries to forget about her daughter's father and concentrates on putting her life back together.

This book is packed with subplots featuring a host of characters, including a nanny, a maternity nurse called Elaine with her nephew Jamie and a new man for Anna called Patrick.  We also learn about Anna’s father and his new secret life as well as her new best friend, Jenny - why won’t she open up to Anna? There is also a ‘shocking’ family secret, which to be fair I saw coming. I think Jenny’s secret was also a little obvious which made me wonder why a seemingly intelligent woman such as Anna didn’t grasp things sooner. Despite this, I really enjoyed the book.

Wolff has created believable and real characters that you could envisage living around the corner from you and the story flows along well. It also has the unputdownable factor, so I did have a few late nights. There is plenty of detail for the book to come alive, including as an added bonus for any green fingered people out there, an array of gardening tips.

Forget Me Not is a realistic, enjoyable story, touching on a few sensitive issues, with a fully rounded leading character. Just open it up quickly and don’t dwell on that cover.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Solo by Jill Mansell

BRAND NEW BOOK NEWS: The Celeb Diaries: Tears, Tantrums and Excess

Mark Frith, editor at heat magazine, has stepped down from his job in order to write a book called The Celeb Diaries: Tears, Tantrums and Excess.

Frith promises to dish the never-seen-before dirt (sorry, 'anecdotes') from celebrity culture. A behind-the-scenes peek from his days at the gossip magazine that will include the likes of Robbie Wiliams, Sharon Osbourne and the Beckhams. Cor.

[Via Bookseller]

Related posts: Poor show from celebrity memoirs | Celebrity memoir mania

BOOK REVIEW: The Personal Shopper by Carmen Reid

The Personal Shopper of the title is Annie Valentine. A single mother of two children, Annie works at an exclusive London department store. She's also sick of handling absolutely everything on her own, and is looking for love.

Fashionista Annie is a very endearing heroine. She works hard - with property development projects and ebay selling as well as her main job - to keep her two children in a good postcode and private school.

Annie wants to better her situation and give her children an idyllic schooling (something she had just a small taste of when she was young). She is a brilliantly determined character and you can't help but root for her.

Carmen Reid has the magical light touch, coupled with humour and plenty of warmth. Even though The Personal Shopper is  somewhat predictable - with a boss from Hell and dating woes - it's very readable, too.

However, one fairly major plot twist felt rather forced (and false), which spoiled things for me a little.

Still, the plot romps  along at a good pace, making this a great beach read.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try: The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

A blog about bookshelves

Now I'm happy. You know how much I love bookshelves (you do, don't you?), well I've just discovered a new blog. Called simply Bookshelf, it does exactly what it says on the tin - it's a blog about bookshelves. [via Booktrade.info]

Like the Cave (above), which just makes me sigh with wanting, and the cut-out cat and bird shelving (very pretty, but doesn't actually hold that many books...). Also the bookstairs that Katie mentioned. I can see what I'm going to spend today reading...

Related posts: Me, Myshelf & I | Fold-down bookshelves

GUEST BLOG: Lola Jaye

Lola Jaye's monthly blog on the road to publication...

Babble alert: So the first uncorrected proofs have arrived. And they actually look like REAL BOOKS. You know, with a back, front, middle, printed pages, picture on the back; basically REAL BOOKS!

They arrived at my place of work wrapped in a HUGE package. Savouring the moment as I opened them up, I smelt them and basked in the experience of seeing my first ever… book.

Okay, this is what really happened: I ripped open the package in front of a startled receptionist and couldn’t actually catch my breath as I set eyes on them for the first time. The receptionist asked what they were and I just said, "These are my books!!! Sort of."

"Wow!" she said. (Yet another person, I hadn’t yet told…). And she wanted to talk. Whilst I just needed to bask in ‘the moment’. Alone. So I finally went in search of a quiet corner. A bit tough as the office was packed and the corridor was full of workmen refurbishing the building.

Where to go?

I finally ended up in the staff toilets (hey, its private, there) where I was fully able to embrace my happiness, flick through and smell the pages. By the end of the day, the corner of my eyes began to ache because of all the smiling (and will probably need emergency Botox at some point). 

I still refuse to get attached to the cover, as it’s not been agreed yet, but I have to admit the book’s looking great so far. Very nice. I handed them round to work colleagues like chocolate covered gold, and they swooned, whilst I continued to smile like a madwoman. And because they seemed incapable of not taking overlong peeps at the first few pages, I allotted a two minute ‘look per person’ because, as I kept reminding: “You have to wait until its published to read it.” (Plus, I need the royalties).

I have an ‘official’ picture (please see above) which will be appearing inside or on the book. Yes, I’m in the ‘pink’ again… I know. Ironically enough, I only embraced my true ‘pinkness’ as I got older – and I don’t think I’m alone in this, am I? Help me out here ladies..!

What else happened this month? My Writers News magazine piece has now been put online and you can read it here.

I also now have a Facebook page so feel free to add me as a friend (uh oh, this feels like being at school again…).

I’ve also been hard at work on the new book and that heady exciting stage of wondering if what I’ve written is complete tosh, has hit me again … Oh the joys of being a writer!

Until next month…

By The Time You Read This…  By Lola Jaye (Harper) is out July 2008, £6.99 (eek!).

Read Lola's previous entries: November | December | January

(Shopaholic) MOVIE NEWS: Hugh Dancy *is* Luke!

It's still not listed on IMDb, but the most recent newsletter from Sophie Kinsella seems to confirm it:

... the Shopaholic movie is finally underway! I have been in New York recently, attending rehearsals, talking to the actors, director and producers, and seeing the story come alive before my eyes... and it's given me goosebumps :) Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy and Krysten Ritter are going to be SO fabulous as Becky, Luke and Suze.

Surely Sophie knows who's playing Luke?

Related posts: More Shopaholic casting news | First photo of Shopaholic movie

Waterstone's The Writer's Year

Waterstone's wants to celebrate the most important part of the book-bookseller-reader cycle; the credit card. No. Not really. Waterstones will be celebrating The Author, of course.

With a variety of activities planned throughout 2008, both online and in-store, The Writer's Year kicks off with the Waterstone's Guide To Getting Published (here).

Related posts: A novel in a year | Virtual bookshops

MOVIE NEWS: Suburban Girl... again

Did any of you watch the recent David Duchovny series, Californication? Duchovny played an author whose best-selling novel, God Hates Us All, is turned into a romantic comedy starring Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, with the title changed to Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

I was reminded of it when I saw this cover for Suburban Girl, which, you may remember is based on Melissa Bank's best-selling novel, A Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing.

Suburban Girl has gone straight to DVD, with the tagline "rewriting her dream in the big city" (I just can't *think* what they're trying to cash in on there!).

BOOK NEWS: Beginner's Greek

I was attracted to James Collins' debut novel Beginner's Greek because of... well, can you guess? Yep, the cover. Any book with New York on the cover will call to me. Put my favourite, the Chrysler Building, on there and I'm pretty much sold.

It sounds good too. It's the story of Peter Russell, who works for a prestigious financial firm on Wall Street, and Holly Edwards, who teaches Latin at a private girls' school. When Peter and Holly sit next to each other on a plane journey, "an intoxicating tale of romance, coincidence and thwarted plans starts to unfold".

But that's not why I'm telling you about it.

I'm telling you about it because it was reviewed in The New York Times Sunday Book Review. As Jennifer Weiner has pointed out on a number of occasions, the NYT doesn't review chick lit.

And yet the reviewer, James Caplan, describes Beginner's Greek as "Part comedy of manners, part chick lit in male drag ... a great big sunny lemon chiffon pie of a novel." (He also describes James Collins as "intelligent, rather aristocratic, ruggedly handsome", but that's another story.) 

So it looks like chick lit. It sounds like chick lit. But it's not chick lit. Why not? Ah. Because it's too good:

One of the great pleasures of this novel — and what sets it quite apart from chick lit — is the sheer felicity of its prose. I am certain Collins could write virtually from birth, but as a middle-aged first novelist, he brings burnished style, wisdom and compassion to the enterprise. Speaking of the wrong woman Peter has married, the writer conveys in a single sentence — “He could not think of a single reason not to have married her” — a whole universe of wistful comedy.

"He could not think of a single reason not to have married her"? That's what sets it apart from chick lit?

One wonders just how much chick lit Mr Caplan has actually read...

Related posts: If it's good it can't be chick lit | More "chick" and less "lit" | Old timey chick lit bashing

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Pauline McLynn

Pauline McLynn is probably still best known as the fabulous Mrs Doyle in the much-missed Father Ted, but she's also a best-selling author. A review of her latest novel, Bright Lights and Promises, is coming soon. In the meantime here's an interview!

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:

What happens when you lie for a living, can't control your son and your mother comes to live (18 words and it doesn't BEGIN to cover it!!).

Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?

I am currently stuck to the kitchen table where I can spread out - we have been having dinner on our laps for months now...

Your favourite chick-lit book?

Anything by Marian Keyes

Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?

Scarlett O'Hara - indomitable spirit, gorgeous and a great dress sense.

What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become  writers?

Just do it, don't talk about it - there is no substitute for actually writing it down.

What are you reading at the moment?

My copious, scattered and sometimes illegible notes for my next novel - a painful experience.

What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)

A novel about a woman with Alzheimers and her daughter

Do you have a theme song?

Depends on the day/mood/crisis that's in it

What question have you never been asked in an interview, but think you should have been? (Tell us the question and answer it too, if you like!)

There are plenty of questions I could have been asked, I guess, whatever about should have, but I am glad they remain unspoken ... hope this makes me sound a little mysterious (though I am not).

Thanks, Pauline!

BOOK NEWS: The Secret Shopper's Revenge

The Secret Shopper's Revenge by Kate Harrison is out on 1 May. It promises a twist on that chick lit stalwart - shopping.

Emily, Sandie and Grazia all turned to mystery shopping for different reasons, but they found they're good at it. They're Charlie's Shopping Angels, controlled by a mysterious figure who sends them assignments. But when they're sent to stitch up a shop owned by Will, the angels begin to feel divided loyalties...

Related posts: Fashion Lit | Book News

BOOK REVIEW: Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

Reviewed by Deborah Riccio

It's not the waking up in hospital that freaks out Lexi Smart. It's the fact that she's got nails to die for, porcelain veneers, a glossy mane of hair, a Louis Vuitton handbag, she's Manager of a whole department ... and, oh yes, she's married to a drop-dead gorgeous millionaire husband.

The only drawback she can see is that she's aged three years.  But then so has her mother and (not-so-now) little sister.

How the hell did all that happen?

And what happened to the last three years?

As she begins to read the Marriage Manual written by her practically perfect husband, Lexi begins to wonder whether she will ever miss her crooked teeth, frizzy hair, loser boyfriend, crappy job and poverty-lifestyle. Ah� and her best friends and co-workers who now seem to quite simply hate her.

What has she done? What�s happened? Who is that great-looking guy in the black jeans? And why can�t she find any bread or crisps when she so desperately needs them?

The incomparable Sophie Kinsella's latest stand-alone novel is an utterly believable suspended-belief story with endearingly drawn characters which I defy anyone not to want to devour in one sitting. From the first page you'll feel a part of Lexi's life and be urging her to find the answers she so passionately needs to start piecing together her missing years.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try Forget About It by Caprice Crane

TELEVISION NEWS: The Tenth Circle

Wow, Jodi Picoult's work is certainly adaptation-friendly. In addition to a TV movie of Plain Truth and the Hollywood version of My Sister's Keeper, Lifetime has made a movie of The Tenth Circle.

It stars Kelly Preston, Ron Eldard and Brittany Robertson and it airs on television in June this year. Jodi has put a couple of photos from the set here.

Related posts: Author Interview: Jodi Picoult | Jodi Picoult spotlight

Lani Diane Rich reads to you

You know I told you about Lani Diane Rich's new book, A Little Ray Of Sunshine, and how fabulous it sounded?

Well, the book is out now, but there's more... Lani has made a recording of herself reading the first chapter and it's available for download on her website. Thanks Lani!

Related posts: Lani Diane Rich interview | Jennifer Crusie, Lani Diane Rich and Anne Stewart podcast

BRAND NEW BOOK NEWS: Supergirl

Daphne Uviller's Supergirl, in which an overly-educated 27-year-old discovers that all the degrees in the world are no help when she becomes the superintendent of a Greenwich Village building whose former super was taken away in handcuffs. [via Publishers Marketplace]

Sounds a lot like Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series, don't you think?

Brand new book news archives

HELEN'S HEROINES: Cannie Shapiro

Helen Redfern's weekly column about the fictional females she loves...

Candace Shapiro, more commonly referred to as Cannie, is the heroine from Jennifer Weiner’s debut novel Good In Bed. Happily beavering away as a writer of weddings for a Philadelphia newspaper, her life is thrown a curveball when her ex writes a magazine column about her being a ‘larger woman’ with him needing an ‘act of courage in our world’ to love her. This, quite understandably, plunges her into misery, bringing a lot of feelings she thought she’d conquered back to the surface and dramatically starting a chain of events that changes her life.

Cannie has similarities with the author. Both she and Weiner are Princeton Graduates, both were journalists in Philadelphia, both have a dysfunctional family and both have body-confidence issues. They also share the same fabulously ‘snarky’ (as Weiner describes it) sense of humour.

Cannie is bright, independent, sharp, and funny. She is ambitious; she had to be as her father left leaving the family with little money. She states that ‘With my college debts I was always scrambling for the next rung on the ladder…’ But she also has flaws and this is what makes her such a wonderful person. She is vulnerable. She quietly craves her fathers love and attention, only to be knocked back again and again. Her neuroses about her body stem from her father telling her that she was ugly, fat and hideous. It is little wonder she thinks so little of herself sometimes. ‘So here I am. Twenty eight years old, with thirty looming on the horizon. Drunk. Fat. Alone. Unloved. And worst of all a cliché, Ally McBeal and Bridget Jones together, which was probably how much I weighed…’ Even feeling at her lowest she still manages a sense of humour. But don’t be misled by this quote. She is nothing like Bridget (or Ally). She is bothered by her weight but her days aren’t consumed by number of calories eaten.

The main reason why I am inspired by her is summed up by her agent when describing the female lead in Cannie’s screenplay. “I loved that your lead character had such faith in herself. So many romantic comedies, it seems, the female lead has to be rescued somehow…by love, or by money, or a fairy godmother. I loved that Josie just rescued herself, and believed in herself the whole time.”

By describing the lead in the screenplay the agent is also, unknowingly, describing Cannie. Cannie achieves success and happiness despite her ex and her father. I can identify with her not only as a fellow writer, but as a woman and the journey that she goes on (not that any ex-boyfriend of mine has, to my knowledge, written about me). I am motivated by her almost to the point of leaving this book by my computer so I can see it and be reminded by her everyday.

Cannie’s life may have been changed by something out of her control. Initially she may have been made miserable by it. But she didn’t just roll over and accept it. On a rollercoaster ride she grabs the situation with both hands and turns it around into one big, huge advantage. All by herself.

The sequel to Good In Bed entitled Certain Girls comes out in April this year. I, for one, cannot wait.

Helen's Heroines archives

Look out for a special Jennifer Weiner giveaway in the next couple of weeks!

BOOK REVIEW: Good Vibrations by Ayn Carrillo

Ayn Carrillo's Good Vibrations has been on my shelf for a little while, but I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. First there's the title. Then the subtitle - "One good girl's hilarious exploration of all things bad..." Funnily enough, I spotted the US version which is titled Pornology and has a much more sophisticated cover (see it over the cut). The US is often accused of dumbing down (the title of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone being changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone springs immediately to mind), but they're certainly winning in the chick lit cover wars!

Anyway, back to Good Vibrations. When Carrillo's boyfriend accused her of being "pornophobic" she made a list - she really loves making lists - a "Porn to do list" in fact. On the list were items like "meet a porn star", "visit a strip club", "test vibrators", "check out a brothel" and more. Here's a tip: if the previous sentence offended you, you're not going to enjoy this book.

I'm not easily offended and I enjoyed this book. Carrillo has a chatty and easy writing style, in particular she's good at writing about pretty full-on stuff in a lighthearted and informative way. Having said that, even though I'm no prude and am pretty open-minded about most things, there was one bit of the book that quite literally turned my stomach. Chapter 8. Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.

As is often the case with memoir, I didn't believe bits of the book, usually bits that were meant to be funny. There's also a relationship with a man Carrillo met in a sex shop running through the book and that didn't ring true either (although, judging by the acknowledgments, the man exists, at least!). Mostly Good Vibrations is an entertaining and informative addition to the sex memoirs that have flooded the market lately. (Ew. Now I've reminded myself of Chapter 8.)

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

Book News: Where Demons Dare

This news is especially for one of our regular reviewers, Angela Richardson: the sixth instalment in Kim Harrison's urban fantasy series about a bounty-hunting witch is due out in April.

Angela chose Rachel Morgan as her favourite heroine, and Where Demons Dare (published as The Outlaw Demon Wails in the US) certainly sounds like an exciting read. The bounty-hunter becomes the hunted, with no less than three hellions on her tail...

I must admit, I haven't read a great deal of supernatural chick lit, but considering how much I adore Buffy perhaps it's time I started...

However, the cover of Where Demons Dare isn't doing much for me. It looks a wee bit scary for my tastes. Stop shouting 'wimp' at the screen; I can't hear you.

Related posts: Supernatural archives

BOOK REVIEW: Dangerous Admissions by Jane O'Connor

Jane O'Connor has written a raft of books for children, but Dangerous Admissions is her first adult book. It's classic chick lit mystery with a gutsy heroine - single mother Rannie Bookman - a fantastic Manhattan setting and lots of romance and thrills.

Rannie is a freelance copy editor and part-time tour guide for the exclusive Upper West Side private school her  son Nate attends (courtesy of her rich WASP ex-mother-in-law).

When the Director of College Admissions is found dead at his desk - and Nate is a suspect, Rannie turns amateur sleuth.

Unlike most chick lit suspense I've read, Dangerous Admissions is written in third person. As well as Rannie's point of view, we get insight into Nate's life and thoughts.

I also really liked the character of Olivia, Nate's friend and fellow Chapel School student. She has an older brother who is a recovering drug addict and another suspect for the murder.

Jane O'Connor's characterisation is truly excellent; the teenagers had distinctive, believable voices, and I really bonded with Rannie.

The plot is suspenseful, with lots of twists and turns, and there is  a dash of romance, too.

A fabulous new sleuth on the chick lit mystery scene.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try: Size Doesn't Matter by Meg Cabot

BOOK NEWS: Hadley Freeman video

Everyone loves Hadley Freeman, don't they? I've got her book, The Meaning of Sunglasses, on my bedside currently, but until I can finish it (and review it), here's this video of Shiny's Isabelle interviewing the fabulous Hadley about her book and more.

Disraeli Avenue now available

We told you about Caroline Smailes' Disraeli Avenue last month, but I haven't  had a chance to tell you that it's now available.

Go here to download it (you can also donate to One in Four UK).

Related posts: Caroline Smailes interview | In Search of Adam review

MORE ON MONDAY: The Poison that Fascinates by Jennifer Clement

Reviewed by Sarah Hague

Some people have a morbid fascination with death, others with the means of death. Emily Neale, half British, half Mexican, collects facts about women who poisoned others. Abandoned as a baby by her mother, she's brought up in Mexico City by her father and Mother Agata, head of the orphanage that Emily's great-grandmother founded and where Emily now often helps out.

We hear that there are saints for almost everything in a devote Catholic Mexican society that is painted with bright, evocative words : the street sellers, the market sellers, the traffic, the smog.

Interspersed with Emily's story are the facts she collects about stories of women who have killed and why. Emily knows that some things are worth killing for.

Finally she meets her cousin Santiago from a remote farm in Chihuahua who has been watching her and disturbing her things.

Jennifer Clement has made a peculiar book sensuously palatable. Emily inhabits a small, restricted world of Mexican superstition, mythology and faith. Santiago changes that world forever bringing with him love and secrets.

It's a fascinating book written with masterful ease.

Rating: 4/5

BOOK NEWS: Yet another Jordan "autobiography"

Our reality TV sister site, Available For Panto, reminded me of this latest memoir by Katie Price (is she Katie Price? Is she Jordan?). I had seen it in Borders, but I must have blanked it out...

Yep, this is Katie's third autobiography and - guess what? - it's already out of date! See that cover? That's her old nose. And hair. And possibly (there's not enough of them on show that I can be sure) boobs. New, plastic surgery-related, autobiography coming soon. Probably.

Related posts: Angel review | Crystal by Katie Price | Celebrity authors archives

MOVIE NEWS: The full Sex and the City trailer

Enjoy!

Books at bedside

You wait and wait for a bedside table that looks like a pile of books and then two come along at once...

The one on the left is Nightstand / Poetry by Marian Laššák, while on the right we have the prosaically named Pile of Books by Josefin Hellström-Olsson.

[via Apartment Therapy]

Which one's your favourite?

Related posts: Bedtime Stories bedding | Bibliochaise from Nobody & Co | The Self-Shelf

PREVIEW REVIEW: Split By A Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Occasional Trashionista reviewer Luisa Plaja's first novel is out at the beginning of March (on the 6th, World Book Day, in fact). Luisa was my first crit partner a few years ago and while I'm still beavering away on the same book, Luisa's gone and got published. But I'm not bitter. No, I'm really not. Because Luisa is lovely and Split by a Kiss is wonderful.

It's the story of Jo who moves to America with her mum and soon finds herself kissing the school hunk during a session of Seven Minutes in Heaven. When Jo has mixed feelings about Jake's attentions - on the one hand he's hot and he seems to like her, on the other he's groping her and he barely knows her - she splits into two: Josie the Cool and Jo the Nerd.

The rest of the book alternates between Josie's and Jo's experiences. While Jo befriends school misfits, Rachel and David, Josie is sucked into the cool crowd, led by Chelsea, but the beauty of this book is that neither Josie nor Jo are stereotypes. Both of their paths show that there's no "right" way to be. Except for being yourself, that is.

But will Jo ever get to be herself again? You'll have to read it to find out. And, since Split by a Kiss is funny, inspiring, original, moving and sweet, you're in for a treat.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try Me vs Me by Sarah Mlynowski

Best children's book of all time

A new survey by independent charity Booktrust has named The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis as the best children’s book of all time with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle taking second place.  (Apparently, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has sold one copy every minute since its publication in 1969!!)

I didn't read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a child, but I did read it a few years ago and ... well, it's not my favourite.

Third place goes to Enid Blyton’s Famous Five Series. (Enid Blyton was my childhood favourite, but not this series - I was a Malory Towers girl, myself.)

Related posts: Helen's Heroines - George Kirrin | What book first got you hooked?

BOOK NEWS: Helping Me Help Myself

Similar in scope to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, Beth Lisick's Helping Me Help Myself is about the year she spent following the advice of different self-help gurus.

It's just come out in hardback (Rubin might be a little gutted, as her book isn't out until 2009), and  Beth has made some promotional book trailers. Hop over here to see them.

Related posts: The Joy Diet | Career Helium

FRIDAY FLICK: High Fidelity

This week I'm going to revisit one of my favourite book-to-film adaptations, High Fidelity.

There was a great furore when this film was being made, because the director relocated the story from London to Chicago. I may even have joined in with the hand-wringing over the Americanisation. However, I, and the rest of the Hornby-loving world, need not have fretted...

High Fidelity is a triumph of a film. The script is witty, the characters just as quirky and brilliant as in the book, and, and this is such a big bonus, it stars John Cusack.

Jack Black and Todd Louiso are funny, but also touching, as the assistants in Rob's record store, and Iben Hjejle is perfect as Laura, the love of Rob's life (if only he could admit it).

Plus, it's got Joan Cusack (one of my all-time favourite actresses) as Laura's best friend, Liz, and Tim Robbins as the new-age new-boyfriend.

I just re-watched High Fidelity for this piece, but typing this makes me want to go and press play on the DVD again.

The Best of the Booker prize

A new, one-off prize has been announced to celebrate forty years of The Booker prize. Called The Best of the Booker Award, it will honour the best overall novel from the previous winners.

The public will be asked to choose from a shortlist of six books (created by a judging panel). The bookies have already picked Yann Martel's Life Of Pi as favourite to win.

Related posts: Booker Prize longlist | Carnegie Medal winners

BOOK REVIEW: Smart Vs Pretty by Valerie Frankel

Two sisters - one labelled the smart one (Frank) and the other pretty (Amanda) - are left running a Brooklyn coffee bar after the sad demise of their parents.

Unfortunately, a chain coffee house has opened next door and the cafe's finances are in dire straits. Enter Clarissa, a business studies student who offers to take on the coffee house (for free) as a project.

Not even the smart sister is suspicious, and Frank and Amanda start vying for Clarissa's friendship, while giving her free reign over their business.

Then, about a third of the way in, what had seemed to be a book about sibling rivalry and a 'Mr Coffee' of the week competition, abruptly transforms into a murder mystery.

Although sharply written, with plenty of great descriptions of the characters and the setting, this novel is just too uneven. Now, I love chick lit mystery, but this is one of those books that reminds you just how damn hard it is to get the balance right.

Characters and plot twists come thick and fast, but, unfortunately, these are so convenient as to appear farcical. Plus, the sisters are frequently TDTL (Too Dumb To Live). 

Ultimately, Smart Vs Pretty is a missed opportunity. With a scaled-down plot and more attention given, instead, to the character development of the sisters, this would have been a far more enjoyable read.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try: One For The Money by Janet Evanovich

BOOK NEWS: Lost for Words trailer

Lorelei Mathias's trailer for Step On It, Cupid is the best book trailer I've seen so far, but this new trailer - an affectionate take on Woody Allen's Manhattan to promote her latest book, Lost for Words - comes a close second.

MOVIE NEWS: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Yes, I loved Rachel Cohn's Gingerbread and I'm intrigued by the sound of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which she wrote with David Levithan, but I'm mostly interested in the forthcoming movie because it stars Michael Cera, who I lurve. 

You know, he was George-Michael in the (sublime) Arrested Development, Paulie Bleeker in the (fabulous) Juno, and Evan in the (hit and miss) Superbad? Well, he's playing Nick and Norah will be played by Kat Dennings (who I don't know).

Related: Movie news archives

BOOK COVER: Kits off!

Remember how Meg Cabot raved about this cover of Liza Palmer's Seeing Me Naked? Well, might this be why?

The cover of Meg's (fabulous) Size 14 Is Not Fat Either has the same "kit off" theme!

Thanks to reader Lisa for the tip-off :)

Related posts: Seeing Me Naked review | Size 14 Is Not Fat Either review

MOVIE MAGIC: The Yiddish Policeman's Union

Michael Chabon (The Wonder Boys) and the Coen brothers in the same sentence? Yep, it's my dream come true. Well, one of my dreams. There's the one with Clooney and Depp and Cusack, but we'll gloss over that...

The Coen brothers are going to adapt Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union. It's a tale set in an alternate-reality Alaska, with an alcoholic cop investigating the death of a heroin-addicted chess prodigy who may or may not be the Messiah. Can't wait.

Related posts: Movie Magic archives

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lesley Lokko

We're huge fans of Lesley Lokko's books here at Trashionista and here she is, answering our questions!

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:

Three girls from very different backgrounds search for a place to call home.

Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?

In my ‘office’ at home in Accra, overlooking the garden and the cashew-nut tree just outside my window. Bliss! Alternatively, in my study in Hackney, overlooking a fire station. 

Your favourite chick-lit book?

Does Lace count? Or is that pre-chick-lit? If not, anything by Marian Keyes.

Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?

It’s got to be Hillela Capran in Nadine Gordimer’s novel, A Sport of Nature. I read it when I was in my early twenties and was absolutely taken by the story of a wayward beach girl who becomes a President’s wife, becoming so many things along the way…dancer, aid worker, revolutionary, lecturer…a real Renaissance woman, fearless in her choices. 

What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers?

Stick at it. Nothing compensates for hard work. 

What are you reading at the moment?

I’ve got a fairly short attention span so I tend to read several things at once (though not simultaneously!). Next to my bed I’ve got Michael Ondaatje’s new novel, Divisadero, Madeleine Thien’s Certainty, The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies, Theft by Peter Carey and The Mitfords, a collection of letters between the six Mitford sisters … a lovely Christmas present.

What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)

A novel about four brothers and the women they bring into a wealthy, middle-class English family … a couple of cats amongst the pigeons in there!

Do you have a theme song?

Er, no. 

What question have you never been asked in an interview, but think you should have been? (Tell us the question and answer it too, if you like!)

Q. What went through your mind when your father announced he’d just read your first novel?

A.  Horror. How on earth had I acquired such in-depth knowledge about the birds and the bees…?

Thanks, Lesley!

BOOK REVIEW: The Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie

I've wanted to read Gigi Levangie's The Starter Wife since I read an interview with the author in the Guardian and just thought she sounded fascinating. Plus then, of course, there was the TV adaptation of the book starring the wonderful Debra Messing. Well, I finally got around to reading it and it was worth the wait.

Gracie Pollock is married to studio head, Kenny. She's a Hollywood wife, with a Hollywood house, Hollywood friends and a Hollywood beauty maintenance programme. She's not happy, but even so she's shocked when Kenny summarily dumps her just before their tenth wedding anniversary, i.e. he "Cruised" her - ended the marriage before the date at which he'd have to pay maintenance.

At first Gracie is devastated. She hasn't just lost her husband, she's lost her entire lifestyle, because no-one in Hollywood is interested in a former "Wife of...", but thanks to the generosity of one of her "real" friends, she and her daughter are able to move, temporarily, to Malibu and start to rebuild their lives.

I really enjoyed this book. I could quite happily have read it in one sitting, so it would be a perfect plane or holiday book. It's got problems - the fact that the lead character is called Gracie and she has a gay friend named Will (and I was already picturing Gracie as Debra Messing), pulled me up every now and then. Also Britney Spears plays quite a major role in the book, which is unfortunate given her recent problems.

Some aspects of the plot (particularly Gracie's love interest) are also pretty unrealistic. But none of that really troubled me, because The Starter Wife is well-written, funny, and packed with Hollywood gossip (all the more credible because Gigi Levangie is married to Hollywood heavyweight Brian Grazer (producer of The Da Vinci Code, 24, and one of Time Magazine's 's 100 Most Influential People in The World).

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try You'll Never Nanny In This Town Again by Suzanne Hansen

COMPETITION: Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2008

If you're an aspiring author, the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook might well be invaluable. Not just a useful directory of media contacts, including publishers, agents, magazines and newspapers, it also features advice from authors including Jane Green, Isabel Losada and a little-known children's author called JK Rowling.

And we've got one to give away!

To be in with a chance of winning, please email us at the usual address (you'll find it on the right side of this page under "Site Info"), subject line "Yearbook" before the 29th February. Please include your name and address otherwise, if you win, we won't be able to send you the book!

BOOK NEWS: Mrs Perfect

No sooner are we telling you that Jane Porter's Flirting With Forty is being made into a movie, but we've got some more Jane-related news...

Her latest book, Mrs Perfect, is out 5 May . It's about a control-freak wife and mother who loses the good life she has built so carefully. Take a sneak peek at the beginning on Jane's website.

Related: Trashionista Recommends: The5Spot

Classic romance comic-book-covers

Yes, again this would've been better posted on Valentine's Day, but what can you do? Entertainment Weekly has a selection of 25 classic comic-book romance covers for your delight and delectation.

Chosen from the golden age of pulp romance, this retro treat harks back to a simpler time; when the only lipstick was red and lines like 'my scandal-smeared love' were just the beginning...

Related posts: Women in comics | Avril Lavigne Manga

HELEN'S HEROINES: Jane Rizzoli

Helen Redfern's weekly column on her female fictional faves...

Jane Rizzoli. 'Who’s she?' I hear you ask. This heroine is not as well known as some of my others. So let me introduce you to this character I only came across myself a year ago.

Jane Rizzoli is a Boston homicide detective in the Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles series of books by Tess Gerritsen. These are hard hitting, graphic and a little gory, something I never thought I’d be interested in. I am officially a squeamish scaredy cat and could never, for example, read Stephen King. But after reading my first Tess Gerritsen book I was hooked. This partly because of the interesting and inspiring character that is Jane Rizzoli.

Jane is intelligent, insightful and as hard as nails. She’s a good cop and will not rest until she has caught the perp (that’s the perpetrator to you and me). She can be volatile and impulsive and indeed, particularly in the first book she appears in, she is initially brittle and not very likeable.

She has to work extremely hard as the only female in a male dominated homicide unit. Not only is she an outsider at work, she is also the only girl in a family of brothers. She is often the object of scorn and derision by her fellow detectives and her brothers don’t treat her much better either.

Dr. Maura Isles, a Boston Medical examiner, is a friend of Jane’s. They met on the job. Maura is the cool, calm and distant character based, in part, on the author. Jane is almost the opposite being, according to Gerritsen “hot tempered, passionate and painfully blunt.” She goes on to say, “Sometimes she infuriates me. (And infuriates my readers as well.) But one thing she never does is bore me.”

As the series of books progress we see Jane’s chip on her shoulder shrink substantially. She becomes softer and happier as her life changes. In the first book she appears in, The Surgeon, she played a secondary character that Gerritsen planned to kill off at the end. But “something stopped me … She’d grown on me. She had so much heart, she’d faced so many struggles, that to end her life there struck me as appallingly unfair. So I let her live. (And I’m damn glad I did.)”

So am I, Tess, because with Jane you have introduced me to a completely different genre of reading, one I never thought I would contemplate but has given me huge enjoyment (and has also spooked me on many occasions). For that I am incredibly grateful. Discovering Jane Rizzoli was a great reward for trying a different type of book.

Related posts: Bloodstream by Tess Gerritsen review | Roberta from The Railway Children | George Kirrin

BOOK NEWS: Mummy Said The F-Word

Fiona Gibson has a hugely successful career as a magazine journalist. She used to edit More and Just Seventeen, and has written for Marie Claire, The Observer, Red, New Woman and Eve, amongst many others.

In addition to a non-fiction book on parenting (The Fish Finger Years), Fiona has written four novels. The latest, Mummy Said The F-Word, is out in hardback this week.

Firmly planted in the Mum Lit camp, it features Cait, a chaotic single mother of three.

Cait finds work as an agony aunt for a glossy parenting magazine and tries to balance parenthood with keeping up with her polished colleagues. Then she starts to correspond with a mysterious single dad, who signs his emails with the letter 'R'.

Is 'R' simply a fan, or is there something more brewing?

Related posts: Thursday Three: Busy Single Mums | What comes after "mommy lit"?

BOOK REVIEW: Waiting for Birdy by Catherine Newman

Have you ever fallen in love with a book? So in love that you just couldn't stop reading it. Or, if you had to stop, you'd be thinking about it and rushing to get things done so you could get back to it? That was me with Catherine Newman's Waiting for Birdy last weekend. (In fact, my husband was getting annoyed that I was talking more about Catherine's son, Ben, than our own son!)

Taken from Catherine's Babycentre blog, it's the story of gorgeous 3-year-old Ben and Catherine's mixed feelings about being pregnant with her second child, Birdy (don't worry, they didn't christen her that). Nothing dramatic or tragic (thankfully) happens, it's just the story of a family or, as the cover puts it "a year of frantic tedium, neurotic angst, and the wild magic of growing a family".

It's just a gorgeous book. It made me cry (repeatedly). It made me laugh (a lot). And sometimes it made me laugh until I cried.

Later that evening, we were all in the car together and a Cole Porter song came on. After we told him that it was called " 'S Wonderful" and that it was Ella Fitzgerald singing, Ben was silent for a while. "Like at the zoo?" he finally ventured, and Michael shot me a questioning look. "Like what?" I asked. "Like at the zoo. Like Elephants Gerald?"

Catherine articulates every single thing I've ever felt about motherhood. How joyful it is. How painful it is. How everything - everything - is bittersweet.

And the best thing is that, now I've finished the book, I've still got years' worth of blog posts to read! Highly, highly, recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try Mama Lama Ding Dong by Ayun Halliday

Who's your Number One Perfect Chick Lit Hero?

Members of the Romantic Novelists' Association have voted Johnny Depp as the Number One Perfect Romantic Hero in a poll to mark Valentine's Day. (Yes, I know it was last week - but there's been so much to tell you!)

According to these authors, a romantic hero should be gorgeous, deliciously sexy, intensely masculine and have a commanding presence. Well. Yeah.

Carry on over the cut for the full Top 10.

The top ten male celebrities voted the Perfect Romantic Hero were:

1. Johnny Depp
2. Daniel Craig
3. Sean Bean
4. Richard Armitage
5. Hugh Jackman
6. Colin Firth
7. Alan Rickman
8. Pierce Brosnan
9. George Clooney
10. David Tennant

Interestingly, for me this highlights a difference between romantic fiction and chick lit, since I think only half  of the men on the list would work as chick lit heroes.

I can see Hugh Jackman, Colin Firth, George Clooney and David Tennant (with Daniel Craig at a stretch) as the hero of a chick lit book. The other five? Not so much. No, not even Johnny Depp. Too grungy. (Although, you know, I still would...)

Of course, you may disagree! Who is your Number One Perfect Chick Lit hero?

Related posts: Who are your favourite (fictional) chick lit heroes? | Hollywood Cupcake competition - the result!

BOOK COVER: If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend

While we wait for more news on Alison Pace's fourth book (provisionally titled City Dog, due out September), her publisher has kindly distracted us with a new cover for the reissue of her debut If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend.

I think it's brilliant - do you agree? I've put the old cover over the cut if you want to compare them...

Here you go!

Related posts: Book covers archive | Alison Pace's books of the year

MORE ON MONDAY: For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom wrote Tuesdays With Morrie and The Five People You Meet In Heaven. For One More Day is the story of Charley 'Chick' Benetto a baseball player who spent six-weeks at the World Series and the next twenty years trying to relive the glory days.

He ends up drinking too much, alienating his family, and eventually trying to kill himself. On this darkest of days, something miraculous happens to Charley - he gets one more day with his mother (who died eight years previously). It's the fantasy of anyone who has lost a loved one; Charley  gets to say the things he regretted not saying and just, well, spend one more day...

Like Alexander McCall Smith and Anne Tyler, Mitch Albom has the gift of keen observation coupled with beautiful storytelling. These writers know that the essential truths of human existence are too damn big; we need to view them through the small details of ordinary people and ordinary lives.

In the capable hands of Albom, Charley's story is told with a simplicity that borders on poetry and a kindness that can make you weep. I read it in one tearful sitting and I urge you to do the same.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: Digging To America by Anne Tyler

BOOK REVIEW: Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

I wasn't actually too excited to read Gingerbread, since a while ago I read the next book in the series and didn't enjoy it as much as I expected too, but Gingerbread was thrust upon me and I was urged to read it, so I did. And I was glad I did, because I loved it.

I was a bit worried as I started reading because Gingerbread reminded me so much of Weetzie Bat and I found myself worrying about who (if anyone) had ripped off who(m), but this only lasted a couple of chapters and then Gingerbread became a totally different book.

The heroine of Gingerbread is (fabulously) named Cyd Charisse. She lives in San Francisco with her parents, Sid and Nancy, and her younger half-siblings. Her real dad lives in New York, but she hasn't seen him for years. In fact, not since he gave her the doll, Gingerbread, who remains her best friend (even though she's really too old for a doll).

Following an ill-fated relationship with a boy at boarding school (and, frankly, an ill-fated relationship with boarding school itself), Cyd Charisse is home, dating surfer boy Shrimp and nurturing a secret crush on his brother. Her relationship with her parents seems to be irrevocably damaged by Cyd Charisse's behaviour, but she is seemingly undaunted, even planning to sue them for legal emancipation. Instead, her parents decide to send her to New York to get to know her father.

I describe Cyd Charisse as "seemingly undaunted" because she is much more damaged than she at first seems and this is what I loved about the book. Cyd Charisse at first comes across as tough and streetwise (do young people still say streetwise? I'm so old...), but by the end of the book she's a different person. I really liked her and found her very true to life (from what I remember of being a teenager...).

In fact, I loved it so much I'm going to go back and re-read the sequel.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Sloppy Firsts by Meg McCafferty

First photo of Shopaholic movie

I know it's only tiny, but since it's the first photo from the eagerly-awaited Shopaholic movie, I thought it was worth sharing.

Yes, it's Isla Fisher as Becky Bloomwood. And, yes, it's being filmed in New York. We're just going to have to accept it. And there's still no announcement of who's playing Luke!

[via BuzzSugar]

Related posts: Shopaholic & Baby review | Sophie Kinsella in Second Life

TELEVISION NEWS: Octavia

We picked Jilly Cooper as one of our Top 10 chick lit precursors on the basis of her "name" books and now I hear that one of those very books - Octavia - is being brought to life on ITV.

Tamsin Egerton is Octavia. Richard Coyle (who* I love) is Gareth. And Patrick Baladi (who* everyone loves, don't they?) is in it too. [via Phillipa Ashley]

*I think these "whos" should probably be "whoms", but I write the way I talk (mostly) and I would never say "whom"...

Related posts: Wicked! by Jilly Cooper review | Wish You Were Here by Phillipa Ashley review

MOVIE NEWS: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants trailer

I love Ann Brachares' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series and I really loved the first movie. I can't wait to see the second (and, unfortnately, last) so I'm thrilled by this trailer.

What do you think? Will you be going to see it?

First chapter of Certain Girls!

Ooh! Ooh! Jennifer Weiner has posted an excerpt of her new book - the follow-up to her debut, Good in Bed, don't you know? - on her blog (formerly called Snarkspot, recently retitled A Moment of Jen), with the rest of the chapter available to download.

I am so very excited.

Related: Certain Girls cover

Jennifer Crusie, Lani Diane Rich and Anne Stewart podcast

We've recommended the Will Write For Wine podcast before, but this week's episode deserves a special mention.

Lani Diane Rich, Jenny Crusie and Anne Stewart get together at Jenny's house in Ohio and talk about collaboration (and wine, of course). Since Jenny and Anne worked together on The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes (with Eileen Dreyer) and they are all currently working on Dogs & Goddesses, they've got a lot to say...

What are you waiting for? Go listen!

Related posts: Podcasts archive | Crusie/Mayer writing workshop

FRIDAY FLICK: P.S. I Love You

I went to see P.S I Love You this week. It's adapted from the Cecelia Ahern novel, which I haven't actually read (gasp!)

Anyhoo, if I was a proper film critic, I would proceed to eviscerate this film. The tone is all over the place - pathos, comedy, tragedy, and slap-stick mixed up in a stomach-churning manner.

The book is set in Ireland, but the film is largely set in New York (no surprise, there) an