Trashionista: March 2008

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March 31, 2008 6:05 PM

April is ... big giveaway month!*

I thought I'd tell you about this today because if I told you tomorrow you'd think it was an April Fool (wouldn't you?).

During the month of April, we're going to be giving books away EVERY SINGLE DAY!

You'll need to be quick because the deadlines are going to be tight, but don't worry if you miss the chance to win one, another one will be along the next day.

Make sure you drop by tomorrow for your first chance to win. No foolin'!

*I wanted to call this something exciting and alliterative, but I couldn't think of anything to go with April...

Posted by Keris on March 31, 2008 in Announcements | Permalink | Comments (9)

The new Sweet Valley High books are already leaving a sour taste

How excited was I to hear that the Sweet Valley High series was being reissued? This excited.

And then today I learned that the books aren't just being reissued, they've been updated. Ominous, no? Well, yes, particularly when you discover that in the original books the Wakefield twins "wore a perfect size 6" and in the new books they are now "a perfect size 4".

As Gawker puts it "just to make sure preteen and teenaged girl readers are sufficiently insecure about their bodies, the publisher made the "perfect" clothing size a couple of notches more restrictive".

Puts the new Famous 5 into perspective, doesn't it?

(Thanks, Gemma.)

Posted by Aigua Media on March 31, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (8)

BOOK REVIEW: Since I Don't Have You by Louise Candlish

Reviewed by Amy Sheehan

Since I Don’t Have You is based on a sad premise. Rachel, Mariel and Jenny are best friends who share everything, and their children Emma, Catherine, and Daisy are best friends too. The women make a promise that they will look after each other’s daughters if anything should ever happen to one of them. It never crosses their minds that tragedy could strike elsewhere.

Then the unthinkable happens and Rachel’s life is changed forever. Unable to continue in her marriage to husband Oliver, she leaves him and her friends behind to start a new life on the Greek island of Santorini. There, with the help of new friends Eleni and Ingrid, she slowly starts to rebuild her existence. At the same time, she keeps in contact with the past by hiring a private investigator, Johnny Palmer, so she can keep watching over Catherine and Daisy, and secretly intervene in times of crisis. The interaction between Rachel and Johnny was especially touching and beautifully written.

The book reminded me quite a bit of Cecelia Ahern’s PS I Love You, apart from the writing being more mature; and instead of Rachel receiving guidance in the form of letters from a guardian angel, she is the one guiding others, acting as guardian angel to the children she left behind. Throughout the book, the reader also learns why Rachel chose Santorini of all places for her retreat, as well as about her family’s history with the island, especially linked to the earthquake there in 1956.

Like PS, it has a hopeful, if bittersweet, ending, and the descriptions of Greece are beautiful. This and the gentle, relaxing pace of the book would probably make it a good holiday novel. It’s not just a book about grief and coming to terms with loss; it’s about searching for your path in life; celebrating friendship, and finding out ways to be happy. It’s a very moving, well-written, inspirational read.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson

Posted by Keris on March 31, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

GUEST BLOG: Robin Gerber

I'm so excited about this book *and* this guest blog!

Robin Gerber's Eleanor Vs. Ike is a novel featuring real historical characters, which I know some of you aren't sure about, but just listen to the premise: it's 1952 and Eleanor Roosevelt is running against Dwight D. Eisenhower for President. Will she win?

If you can resist that, you're a better woman than me.

Carry on over the cut for a guest blog by Robin Gerber and the chance to cast your vote on gripping issues to win one of the three copies to give away!

Over to Robin...

For the first time in American history, a woman is the Democratic Party's candidate for President of the United States. This might happen in 2008, but in my novel, Eleanor vs. Ike, it happens in 1952 and the woman is Eleanor Roosevelt. Welcome to my fantasy!

There were a lot of parallels between 1952 and today. In 1952, America was caught up in a war in Korea that the public hated and wanted to end. There was fear of foreign infiltration by Communists, and civil liberties were curtailed because of that fear. The incumbent President, Harry Truman, wasn't running for reelection. There was an open primary with fierce competition for the Democratic and Republican nomination. And, similar to the looming fight over the Michigan and Florida Democratic delegates today, the Democratic nomination in 1952 came down to a fight over seating delegates. In the end, none of the candidates who ran in the primary got the nomination. Instead, Governor Adlai Stevenson was drafted to run at the Democratic Convention.

So, watch out! If the Democrats go to the Convention still fighting over Hillary or Barack, all bets are off. It's even possible that someone else could get the nomination. Perhaps Al Gore?

Of course, if Hillary Clinton pulls it off (and the odds are against her now), a former First Lady would be running against a respected military man, just like Eleanor vs. Ike. In the midst of war, could a woman be a credible enough Commander-in-Chief? In Eleanor's case, she had traveled the world, especially during WWII, visiting the troops and foreign leaders. She had fully supported Truman's decision to end the war by dropping the hydrogen bombs on Japanese cities, and had backed his decisions in Korea. But I doubt that would have been enough against Ike, the heroic General of WWII. In the book, Eleanor confronts this problem by saying she would make Ike her Secretary of Defense should she win the presidency.

I don't think Hillary Clinton would have to reach out to John McCain, as Eleanor does to Ike. Clinton has experience on the Armed Services Committee, is well-respected by military leaders and has had extensive foreign policy experience from her years as First Lady. Still, if U.S. security is threatened, especially by another attack on home soil, she will struggle with McCain's background as a war hero and leader.

I don't want to give away the ending of "Eleanor vs. Ike," but I will say that it's an exciting race, with lots of twists and turns, and an outcome that's hard to guess -- much like the Presidential race this year!

For the chance to win one of three copies of Eleanor vs. Ike, simply vote in one of the following two polls (created by Robin) and then leave a comment (don't forget to include your email address so we can tell you if you've won.

Everyone is free to vote and comment (we'd love to hear your thoughts!), but I'm afraid only US entrants can win a book.

POLL QUESTIONS

more at twiigs.com...

Posted by Keris on March 31, 2008 in Guest blogs | Permalink | Comments (7)

MORE ON MONDAY: Lucky by Alice Sebold

Lucky Alice Sebold's memoir of the brutal rape and beating she suffered as an eighteen-year-old college student is something I have been meaning to read for a long time. Knowing it was going to be tough, I kept putting it off, but I am so glad I got round to it in the end...

Yes, it is very hard to read in places, but the majority of the book is about Sebold's (interesting - and a little crazy) family and her triumphant battle to convict the man who raped her.

Sebold writes with amazing honesty and insight. The account of her horrifying attack is given with terrifying, startling candour and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Sebold to write it.

She is amazingly brave, not just for the account of the attack, but for honestly recounting the reactions of people to her after the event and her slow recovery.

Lucky is also a book of hope. Sebold survives. She wins against the man in a rape trial and she wins against him by healing and by going on to help others with this important book. Having read and adored The Lovely Bones, I already thought Sebold was an amazing writer - now I believe she is an amazing person, too.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 31, 2008 in American Authors, Memoirs, More On Monday, Non Fiction, Rating: 5/5 | Permalink | Comments (3)

March 28, 2008 4:31 PM

The return of the Bonkbuster?

Vintage While I'm not certain they ever went far away, The Times has an article on their triumphant return, citing Kerry Katona, Katie Price and Olivia Darling (Vintage - pictured).

They claim that women are moving back towards utterly escapist, glamorous, sex-filled romps a la Jackie Collins and away from "angst-ridden chick lit."

Interesting note - Olivia Darling is the pen name of Chick Lit staple, Chris Manby!

Related posts: Bonkbusters archives

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 28, 2008 in Bonkbusters, Book News, British Authors, Celebrity Authors | Permalink | Comments (4)

BOOK COVER: Janet Evanovich's romances

I've just read Janet Evanovich's How I Write (review coming ... whenever) and it inspired me to have a google around for her romance novels.

Look at these covers! I know this is fairly typical in the romance genre (certainly in a book series called "Loveswept"), but I just can't get my head around the creator of Stephanie Plum having written books that look like this.

Aren't they fabulous? (Oh and Naughty Neighbour? Genius.)

Posted by Keris on March 28, 2008 in Book covers | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ladybird notebooks

Helen tipped me off about these adorable Ladybird notebooks.

The same size as actual Ladybird books, they're actually filled with blank pages to fill with your hopes and dreams or shopping lists (or just demented ramblings in the manner of Kevin Spacey in Seven...). Check out the full range at kiss me kwik, but I'd avoid checking out anything else they sell, if you're easily shocked...

Posted by Keris on March 28, 2008 in Bookish products | Permalink | Comments (4)

BOOK REVIEW: Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble is, I think, the only Meg Cabot book that actually disappointed me. Of course, it's Meg, so it was still funny and sweet, but it reminded me too much of Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret (my favourite Kinsella book).

Queen of Babble in the Big City is the second book in the Lizzie Nicholls trilogy and I enjoyed it much more than the first.

Following their summer romance, Lizzie is staying with Luke in his mother's New York (Fifth Avenue, no less) apartment. She wants to find a job restoring wedding dresses, but, since the only job she can find is unpaid, she has to take a morning job as a receptionist in her friend Chaz's father's law firm.

Best friend Shari is staying with Chaz (her boyfriend) until she and Lizzie can get a place together, but it seems like things aren't going well in her relationship with Chaz. Her job, however, is fabulous. So fabulous, that she's spending all her time there (and with her new boss).

Can Lizzie find a job doing what she loves (and getting paid for it)? Can she get Luke to commit? Can she help Shari and Chaz sort out their problems? And can she cope when Luke's parents come to visit?

Queen of Babble in the Big City is charming, sweet and funny and Lizzie seemed much more mature than she did in the first book (although this time she reminded me of Becky Bloomwood!). She's still sweet and naive, but this time it was more endearing than irritating so I'll definitely be reading the final book (Queen of Babble Gets Hitched).

Rating: 4/5

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

Now can we talk covers? The UK cover above is offensively boring, in my opinion. It's almost as if they just couldn't be bothered and so copied the pattern from some leftover wrapping paper... And what's with the back-to-front "B"? Disappointing.

The US covers (hardback, left, and paperback, right) are much nicer.

Which is your favourite?

Posted by Keris on March 28, 2008 in American Authors, Rating: 4/5, Romance, Series | Permalink | Comments (4)

FRIDAY FLICK: Catch Me If You Can

Catchmeifyoucan Based on the true-life story of Frank W Abagnale, master-con-man, Catch Me If You Can is adapted from Frank's autobiography of the same name.

Frank's story as a charming fraudster is an amazing one. Before his nineteenth birthday he had spent millions of dollars passing fake cheques and had impersonated a Pan Am pilot, a doctor and a prosecuting lawyer.

The film features Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale and Tom Hanks as the FBI agent hot on his trail and is directed by Steven Speilberg.

It would be hard to make a dull movie out of material this good, but I particularly like the way Frank's character and relationships are exlored.

From his adored father (played by Christopher Walken) to Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent who pursues and eventually catches him, Frank shows himself to be strangely upstanding in his relationships and is a sympathetic anti-hero.

A thoroughly entertaining tale, if a little over-long. I now want to read the book!

Related posts: Friday Flick archives

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 28, 2008 in American Authors, Book related, Crime / Mystery, Friday Flick | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 27, 2008 1:20 PM

Read the Adventures of Saffron Sally online

I still haven't read Melanie Lynn Hauser's Confessions of Supermom (it's on my list!), but I can at least read the Adventures of Saffron Sally, an online fiction serialization about a "well-seasoned woman" who is forced to reinvent herself.

New episodes are added twice a week.

Related posts: Melanie Lynn Hauser on YouTube | Serial thriller

Posted by Aigua Media on March 27, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK NEWS: Have I Got a Guy for You

I love the sound of this new essay collection. Edited by Alix Strauss and subtitled "What really happens when Mom fixes you up", Have I Got A Guy for You features true stories of well-meaning matches by writers including Brenda Scott Royce ... and I haven't been able to find out who else! (And, yes, I've tried!)

I have found an extract, though - read it here.

Posted by Aigua Media on March 27, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (1)

Chick Lit Heroine Grudge Match: Buffy v Wonder Woman

In the last grudge match, we had a battle of the side-kicks and Lula won out. Well, she's pretty handy with a Taser... This week, we turn to comic books for two female super-heroines; Buffy (the vampire slayer) and Wonder Woman.

Buffy

The comic books: Buffy (created by Joss Whedon) was originally a terrible film and then a wonderful, seminal TV series and, finally, a comic book. The books continue where season seven of the TV series finished, with young women around the world waking up to Slayer strength.

Likes: Shoes, shopping, her friends (the Scoobies) and pointy sticks.

Dislikes: Bumpy foreheads, The Master, math.

Loves: Angel (yum!), Spike (bad boy yum!) and Giles (in a totally platonic Watcher-Slayer kind of a way).

Preferred Method of Kicking-Ass: Kick-boxing, karate, slayer-strength, amazing jumps and, of course, the sharp pointy stick.

Wonder Woman

The Comic Books: Created by William Moulton Marston and first published in All Star Comics in 1941, Wonder Woman is looking pretty damn good for her age. In 1975, Wonder Woman got a TV series starring Lynda Carter and in 2006 the comic book incarnation got a relaunch with some of the stories written by Jodi Picoult.

Likes: Animals, Greek mythology (Wonder Woman was often described as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules" and her friend Etta Candy.

Dislikes: Bad guys. Wonder Woman has had a fair few enemies over the years, including Doctor Poison, Doctor Psycho, and the Duke of Deception.

Loves: Steve Trevor, her crime-fighting partner.

Preferred Method of Kicking-Ass: Well, she has super-human strength and throws some painful-looking 'kapow' punches and flying kicks, but Wonder Woman has another trick up her sleeve... The Lasso of Truth. Oh yes.

Conclusion: It's a very tough call. Both Buffy and Wonder Women are strong women with more ass-kicking power in their little pinkies than the rest of us put together.

Wonder Woman has been around a long time and been credited with too many powers and weapons to list. However, Buffy is a resourceful fighter and tough-as-nails; as well as saving the world several times, she has died twice. Will Wonder Woman's show-stopping costume tip the scales in her favour? You decide...

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 27, 2008 in American Authors, Book related, Supernatural, Television | Permalink | Comments (3)

Anne of Green Gables is 100

We all seem agree that the Famous Five update isn't a good idea, but what about prequels to classic novels? How do you feel about those? And what if the prequels aren't written by the original author? Still in favour?

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables, Puffin has published Before Green Gables, written by Canadian author Budge Wilson, who was chosen from hundreds of writers.

[via The Puffin Blog]

Related: Five books

Posted by Aigua Media on March 27, 2008 in Classic Novels, New Releases, Series | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK REVIEW: Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

Fastwomen Fast Women is the first Jennifer Crusie I ever read and as such it retains a very special place in my heart.

It's also a fantastic, fast-paced read with some of my Crusie favourite characters. In fact, I've read this book so many times, I have difficulty remembering that they're not real...

Recently divorced, Nell Dysart seeks work at a down-at-heel private investigation firm. Gabe McKenna, the owner, is in need of a secretary to organise his office and Nell is in need of a paycheck.

Nell is feeling decidedly grey after her divorce. She has been so focused on being controlled and grown-up about the break-down of her marriage, she has forgotten her own needs and desires.

Gabe works with his cousin, Riley, but is used to being the boss. He inherited the agency from his father and wants everything to stay exactly the same. Utterly in control, he also feels utterly miserable.

As Nell organises the hell out of the office sparks fly, and Nell, slowly, returns back to life.

Much as I love the romance between Nell and Gabe (and I do), I love the supporting cast and subplots in Fast Women even more. Nell's two best friends are also her ex-sisters-in-law. There's sweet Margie, who obsesses over her china collection, and Suze - a gorgeous blonde with an older-man husband who is continually searching for meaning in her life.

There is also a lovely subplot between Nell's son, Jase, and Gabe's daughter (from his previous marriage) Lu. They have fallen in love and the way they mirror and reinforce the mistakes their parents are making/have made in relationships is brilliantly poignant and funny.

It's a book full of spectacular arguments, dog-napping, mystery, Clarice Cliff pottery, astrology and strong, smart, funny women. What more do you need?

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 27, 2008 in American Authors, Crime / Mystery, Rating: 5/5, Romance | Permalink | Comments (9)

March 26, 2008 3:24 PM

BOOK NEWS: Instructions For Living Someone Else's Life

We loved Mil Millington's debut Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About so have high hopes for his latest... It's got another whopper title: Instructions For Living Someone Else's Life and it sounds high concept and rather brilliant.

It's the end of the eighties and Chris, a twenty-five year-old, hates his job in advertising and spends all of his free time with his girlfriend and two best mates from university. He goes to sleep drunk and wakes up in 2006 - hungover, married and with an unnerving about of body hair. Genius.

Apparently, it's for 'anyone who has ever felt like a twenty-five-year-old stuck in a middle-aged body'.

According to Orion, it's out in July, but look out for the Trashionista review coming soon.

Related posts: Top 10 Lad Lit | Lad Lit blogs

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 26, 2008 in Book News, British Authors | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Ivy Chronicles casting news

The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn is being made into a film. Yes, I know we already told you this but wait - there's more!

Having worked together on Ocean's 12, producer Jerry Weintraub is being reunited with Catherine Zeta Jones. I assume she'll be playing the main character Ivy Ames. It's been a while since I read the book, but she strikes me as a good choice. What do you think?

[Via Hollywood Reporter]

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 26, 2008 in American Authors, Book related, Movie News | Permalink | Comments (0)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Elise Chidley

Elise Chidley's debut The Wrong Sort of Wife? is getting rave reviews, so we were delighted to have her answer our questions:

Describe your book in 15 words or fewer?

Fairy-tale ending goes pear-shaped when motherhood wreaks havoc on Lizzie Buckley’s joie de vivre.

Lizzie marries her prince, has twins—then wants to sleep for a hundred years!

Where do you like to write your books?

I used to write in a dismal attic surrounded by junk, so that the children wouldn’t bother me. They much preferred the sunny playroom complete with TV downstairs. We’ve moved house and there’s no attic, so now I write on my laptop, mostly lying on my bed, but sometimes sitting cross-legged watching my son at soccer practice, or even at the car wash. My dream is to write in Starbucks, but I never seem to manage to get there before the school bus brings the children home.

Your favourite chick-lit book?

Catherine Alliott’s latest (A Crowded Marriage) made me laugh out loud. There’s an absolutely hysterical scene where the heroine raises a false alarm about foot-and-mouth disease. Her portrayal of motherhood in the book is both touching and hilarious.

Your favourite female heroine and why?

I love Bridget Jones for charming us with her imperfections.

Tips for readers who may want to become writers?

Be prepared to work hard when you don’t feel inspired. Inspiration often comes after you’ve picked up your pen and paper, or opened your Word file. Try to make constructive use of any rejections you receive; the comments of a rejecting agent are often priceless in helping you edit your work. If you don’t get any useful feedback, send your manuscript to an objective third party such as The Literary Consultancy. Above all, if you think you have talent, don’t give up.

What are you reading at the moment?

At the moment I’m reading Josie Smith in Spring by Madgalen Nabb with my eight-year-old daughter. When I’m in the middle of writing something, I find that reading anything in the same genre is too distracting.

What are you working on now?

I’ve nearly completed my second novel, which is about a woman who has to morph from busy publisher into stay-at-home mum when she marries a widower with a young daughter. A bit like I Don’t Know How She Does It in reverse.

Do you have a theme song?

My husband says it’s Irving Berlin’s “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.”

Thanks, Elise!

Posted by Keris on March 26, 2008 in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson

I first read about Joshilyn Jackson's The Girl Who Stopped Swimming when we interviewed her in August 2006 and I've been keen to read it since. I loved Jackson's first book gods in Alabama and former Trashionista co-editor Diane adored her second, Between, Georgia (it's been on my bookshelf for over a year).

It's an inspired idea - Laurel wakes up one night with a ghost beside her bed. It's her 13-year-old daughter's best friend, Mollly, and she shows Laurel her body, floating in Laurel's swimming pool.

The police rule it as an accidental death, but Laurel's not so sure. Didn't she see a shadow in the garden just before finding Molly's body? And wasn't that the hair of local oddball, Stan Webelow, she glimpsed as the police arrived? She's also concerned about her own daughter, Shelby's, evasive behaviour.

And then there's the family's houseguest, Bet, who has come to stay from DeLop, a beyond-depressed and depressing former mining town where Laurel's mother grew up and got away from.

To get to the bottom of everything - and particularly to stop Shelby becoming a suspect - Laurel needs her sister, Thalia, but she and Thalia are no longer speaking. Neither approves of the other's lifestyle and any attempts at finding common ground always seem to end in misery. Inevitably, Thalia's visit results in the exposing of family secrets that Laurel, not to mention her mother, have been trying to deny for years.

I could barely put The Girl Who Stopped Swimming down, although it would be hard to say I enjoyed it. I found it such a sad book on a number of levels. Pretty much every relationship in the book is painful and strained. It's beautifully written and evocatively imagined, which is probably why, by the ending, I felt utterly drained.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Be Mine by Laura Kasischke

Posted by Keris on March 26, 2008 in American Authors, New Releases, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another reason we love Meg Cabot

This really needs no introduction. (Except that one.)

Posted by Aigua Media on March 26, 2008 in Book related | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 25, 2008 7:31 PM

BOOK NEWS: No Good Girls by Jean Marie Pierson

Nogoodgirls No Good Girls is the debut novel of Jean Marie Pierson. It started life as a screenplay (Pierson has a degree in film and video production) and focuses on four best friends in New York.

I'm not in love with the cover, but the book trailer is fantastic. Take a look here, I promise you won't regret it.

Related posts: Book Trailerpark | Book Video Awards 2008

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 25, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Book covers, New Releases | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another reason we love JK...

Reason I love JK Rowling Number 67: She has spoken (again) about the depression she suffered in her twenties. It warms my heart when people in the public eye speak candidly about mental health issues (I'm thinking of you, Mr Fry!)

While talking to an Edinburgh student magazine, JK explained that she had had suicidal thoughts and that counselling was "absolutely invaluable". She added: "The funny thing is, I have never been remotely ashamed of having been depressed. Never." Finishing by urging anybody suffering to "go and get help".

[Via BBC]

Related posts: JK Rowling's £40,000 book | Self development archive

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 25, 2008 in British Authors, Opinion | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK REVIEW: Finding Margo by Susanne O'Leary

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

Margo Hunter feels trapped. Her husband is sitting beside her in the car swearing at her, calling her a half-wit with venom in his voice and she has had enough. In a split second decision she decides to hitch a lift to Paris, leaving her husband whilst he is sitting waiting his turn for the petrol pump.

Margo and her husband Alan had been driving on the French motorway when he asked her which exit they needed. But Margo hadn’t read the map correctly and Alan goes into his usual rage. This time, however, enough is enough. To be fair, if I had been driving all the way through France and my husband had lost the way I would have been pretty annoyed too. So in that respect I can see where Alan is coming from and I did mentally roll my eyes a little as I assumed what kind of woman I was going to have to read about for the next 400 odd pages.

Realising she is in France with no money, Margo looks for a job and gradually she starts to win me over. I realise she isn’t a silly woman, but one who was driven to taking this drastic action because of the man she was married to. My initial assumptions were incorrect (which is fabulous because it means I didn’t guess the plot of the story straight away). As I found out more about her and see how she reacts to her new employers I began to really enjoy the story. Then I found I couldn’t put the book down. So even though I had the onset of flu I read the book late into the night.

Yes the characters are clichéd. Her employer, a spoilt Comtesse with her two sons, one a playboy, one a career man in high office. Alan, the highly strung husband who puts his career before everything (including his wife) and Gráinne, the earthy Irish woman who offers Margo no-nonsense advice. But I didn’t care about the clichés. I just enjoyed the plot, which had some good twists including a few I didn’t see coming – always a bonus. I enjoyed the well described French setting. I liked the relationship between Margo and The Comtesse. Margo wasn’t put upon but answered her back, with respect of course, and took absolutely no nonsense from the sons. What I liked most though was how Margo came to realise she is actually doing all right on her own. Did she need Alan after all?

So from a slightly nervous start this book surprised me. If I looked hard enough there may be a few faults but the flow of the story didn’t let me see them. It kept me highly entertained (and my mind off the impending flu).

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try When to Walk by Rebecca Gowers

Posted by Aigua Media on March 25, 2008 in Rating: 5/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

HELEN'S HEROINES: Celie

Helen Redfern's weekly column on her favourite fictional females...

The Color Purple by Alice Walker, in which Celie appears, is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Since it’s publication in the 1980’s it has been used as a subject for English literature exam texts the world over. Anything I say here about Celie, in the next few hundred words is going to be brief, and will not in any way touch the enormous scope, meaning and layers of this book.

Celie, a young black girl, born into poverty during the 1930’s in the American South, is the narrator of the story through her letters to God and then later to her sister, Nettie. This book has a wealth of strong secondary characters who I could also have chosen to be this week’s heroine. Shug, Sofia, Squeak. A group of women who, despite the racial and sexual oppression of the times, come together and unite, finding strength in each other.

The opening of the book shows Celie to be poor, uneducated, confused, having just been raped by the man she believes to be her father. Behind the raw and honest words she uses in her writings to God, she demonstrates an unknowing powerful strength, an instinct for survival.

Over the coming years that is what she does. She survives. She is given to a widower to be his wife. Someone to look after his motherless children, someone to cook and clean for him. He beats her, forces himself on her, but she just behaves like a plank of wood. Knowing she will never be good enough for him as she isn’t Shug Avery, her husband’s mistress, she has no self respect, no confidence and no fight. Then one day Shug comes to stay. Shug is mean to Celie at first but eventually they become close, and Shug awakens Celie’s mental strength leading to Celie seeking the truth from her ‘father’ and standing up to ‘Mr___’, her abusive husband.

Through it all the love for her sister keeps her going and Celie matures into a strong, wise woman. No longer is she the woman who advises her stepson to beat his wife to make her ‘mind’.

Through Celie’s journey we see how, not just one woman, but many women, can do anything they set their minds to. Her story is encouraging and inspiring to anyone who has suffered.

If you have never read this book, or did so for A-level (like myself) and not re-read since, then do so. I have gained so much more from Celie, Shug, Sofia and Squeak this time round than I did the first.

More Helen's Heroines

Posted by Aigua Media on March 25, 2008 in Classic Novels, Helen's Heroines | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 24, 2008 10:17 AM

MORE ON MONDAY: When You Eat At the Refrigerator, Pull Up A Chair by Geneen Roth

I know, I know, I'm always reviewing non-diet books, but they're such a revelation to me after years of reading actual diet books (okay, WeightWatchers magazine). Geneen Roth's When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair is a classic, given credibility in my eyes by having a foreword by Anne Lamott (who I love).

When You Eat... consists of 50 very short chapters (some are only a couple of pages in length) with titles like "Carry a chunk of chocolate everywhere" and "Remind yourself that it's already broken." Weirdly, the word that came to mind when I was typing that was "Californian" so I checked the About the Author page and discovered that Roth does indeed live in Northern California - what was my point? Oh yes, if you're not comfortable with self-development, if, like Beth Lisick, it's way outside your comfort zone and you're smirking now, I'd say read the book anyway.

I found it reassuring, funny, inspiring and frequently more down to earth than the chapter headings (and that "Californian" business) would have you believe. The subtitle is "50 ways to feel thin, gorgeous, and happy (when you feel anything but)" and that's not to be sniffed (or smirked) at, surely?

I kept it on my bedside table and read one short chapter each day. Now that I've finished it, I've turned back to the beginning to read it again until I get the chance to read another of Roth's books.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The 4-Day Win by Martha Beck

Posted by Aigua Media on March 24, 2008 in American Authors, More On Monday, Non Fiction, Rating: 4/5, Self development | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 22, 2008 12:29 PM

TELEVISION NEWS: The New Famous Five

I admit I was kind of horrified when I saw this picture of Disney's new, updated Famous, um, 5 series, but I know that I have to accept that things move on and classics have to keep up with the times in order to find a new audience.

Don't worry, though, pictured aren't the characters you grew up loving, no - Jo, Max, Allie and Dylan are the children of Enid Blyton’s original characters and together with their pet dog Timmy embark on a new series of adventures. The new series starts in May.

What do you think? A relevant update or Blyton blasphemy?

Posted by Keris on March 22, 2008 in Classic Novels, Series, Television | Permalink | Comments (6)

March 21, 2008 7:30 AM

BOOK REVIEW: The Meaning of Sunglasses by Hadley Freeman

Despite having no discernable interest in fashion (I work from home, mostly in pajamas, so there's no real need), I absolutely love Hadley Freeman's Guardian newspaper column. She's so dry, funny and down to earth. I think I gave a little squeal when I heard she'd written a book.

The Meaning of Sunglasses is subtitled "A guide to almost all things fashionable" and it's certainly that. Set out in alphabetical order (which took me a shameful amount of time to work out - I kept wondering how the topics had been organised. D'oh.), the book features everything from Accessories to Yoga.

The thing I love about Ms Freeman is that she often says just what I've been afraid to admit (sometimes even to myself) about fashion (see Coats, stuck at the nexus point between dull and stressful). She's totally straightforward in her criticisms of magazines (the products are featured because the companies have paid for the advertising - I know this and yet I still always fall for those "must-have" or "products of the year" articles) and even certain designers, and she's practical about the ridiculousness of much fashion.

And yet ... I didn't enjoy this book anywhere near as much as her column. Often, either me or my husband (yes, my utterly fashion-ignorant husband loves her too) will read bits out to each other. I didn't feel the need to share any of this book with him. Her column frequently makes me laugh out loud. The book had me smiling once or twice. Granted, I did read it straight through and it may be a better book to dip in and out of.

If you haven't read any Hadley before, I'm confident you'll enjoy it as a common sense explanation of the madness of modern fashion, but Hadley fans may be disappointed.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones

Posted by Keris on March 21, 2008 in Fashion-Lit, Girly Stuff, Non Fiction, Rating: 3/5, Recent Release | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 20, 2008 2:49 PM

BOOK NEWS: The Love Of Her Life

Harriet Evans continues with the fine romantic fayre that has served her so well in A Hopeless Romantic and Going Home.

The Love of Her Life is out in July and it features a woman who lost everything she had worked for on one, catastrophic day. Ever since, Kate Miller has hidden in New York, working for a literary agency and trying to put the past behind her. But when her father becomes ill, she has to return to London.

Facing her friends - Zoe, Francesca and Mac - and everything she left behind is hard. Mac is the man she thought was the love of her life but now they don't even speak. Can Kate be happy in her old life again?

There's no cover available yet, but we'll keep you posted!

Related posts: Book News archive

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 20, 2008 in Book News, British Authors | Permalink | Comments (2)

BOOK COVER: Beginner's Greek

This, left, is the US cover of James Collins' debut. And if I'd seen this I certainly wouldn't have picked it up. In fact, I might have specifically avoided it. And it certainly doesn't say chick lit, does it?

I'm not sure what it does say, in fact (flight manual?), but I much prefer the UK cover.

Related posts: Beginner's Greek | US versus UK covers | Petite Anglais covers

Posted by Keris on March 20, 2008 in Book covers | Permalink | Comments (7)

Why chick lit authors love Lizzie Bennet

In our weekly interview, we always ask authors to name their favourite heroine. Some say Bridget Jones, others Jane Eyre, one even chose her own granny, but the most common response by a long chalk is Pride & Prejudice's Lizzie Bennet.

"I'm sure that I am in no way alone in this choice," said Zoe Rice, perceptively, "but my favorite will always be the very first chick-lit heroine: the feisty, intelligent, warm-hearted, and witty Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice."

Glossing over Jane Green's answer - "I feel like I ought to say someone like Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, but that feels horribly pretentious" - I thought I'd take a look at the reasons the authors give for loving Miss Bennet.

Tanya Lee Stone: Because she's strong and stubborn, speaks her mind, follows her heart, and is brave - including, brave enough to swallow her pride when she is wrong and right things properly.

Laura Ruby: It's her wit and generosity that make her beautiful. After the book was published, Jane Austen herself said, "I must confess that I think her as delightful a character as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know."

Polly Williams: Her intelligence, wit and withering asides.

Lorelei Mathias: She knows her own mind, and she doesn't give up on things.

Libby Street: She is confident and smart, but willing to recognize that she has faults. I want to be just like her.

Other Elizabeth fans include Sarah Webb, Gil McNeil, Shannon Hale, Sarah Bilston, Lauren Baratz-Logsted.

If you too love Elizabeth Bennet, tell us why. (And if you can't stand her, we'd love to hear about that as well!)

Posted by Keris on March 20, 2008 in Classic Novels, Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lee Harrington

I loved Lee Harrington's memoir, Rex and the City and Lee did this interview ages ago, but I haven't had a chance to put it up until now. I know I seem to be saying this more and more, but it's a good thing, really - it's because so many authors want to answer our questions. No really! They're clamouring! Anyway, back to Lee...

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:

A witty city memoir about adopting an abused spaniel that has been called "The ‘Sex and the City’ for the dog set."

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

I do my best writing at Starbucks in Soho in New York City. Something about the lethal strength of their French roast coffee, combined with the presence of so many artists, writers, trendsters, and hipsters, really gets my writer-brain whirring.

When I am upstate (I live part time in Woodstock, NY and part time in New York City), I write in a gorgeous office with huge windows facing pine trees, birch trees, elms and oaks, and a well-landscaped lawn that slopes down toward a little swimming hole. (Well, it used to be a swimming hole; now it’s more of a frog pond).

This is quite different from Starbucks in Soho, needless to say, and the writing I do in this space is softer and more languid.

Oddly enough, I always have to be facing south when I write. No matter where I am. It has something to do with the energies of the planet, I think, or the polarities or something. I’m no scientist, but I would advise anyone who is interested in writing to face South!

Your favourite chick-lit book?

I still think Jane Austen writes the best chick-lit out there, especially because her heroines are plain and bookish, and yet they always get to marry wealthy, titled, English lords who love their heroines for their wit and brains. Beauty, in Jane Austen’s world, is secondary. I think women really respond to that, because even the greatest beauties among us are still convinced we have some hideous physical flaw. Austen leads us to believe that goodness is the most essential quality—in men as well as women. And who doesn’t lust after good, rich Mr. Darcy??

I also often cite Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City as a seminal chick lit book for me. I was lucky enough to have been living in NYC when Candace was a columnist for the New York Observer. (Her first book was a collection of these columns). She has a wacky, cunning sense of humor, that Candace. And her columns were full of what the eventual TV series is famous for: a focus on food, friends, fashion, and useless men. What I loved about Candace’s writing is her eye for detail, and, again, that wacky humor that often only a real New Yorker will get. And I loved that all of the “characters” she wrote about in that column (who were real) were so matter-of-factly and unapologetically shallow. New York is full of shallow people—crammed with them, as a matter of fact. But Candace was one of the first trendsters to admit that.

In fact, I loved this notion—of the unapologetically shallow narrator—so much that I decided to mimic it in my own book, REX AND THE CITY. That’s why we chose that title, after all. It’s sort of an homage to Candace.

When I first adopted my dog, I was a completely shallow, money-hungry, clothes-and-status obsessed city chic. I was so shallow I didn’t even realize I was shallow. If you’re a dog person, you’re going to understand how my dog cured me of all that. If you’re not, well, read the book anyway and see!

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

I love Bridget Jones. I wish I could be more like her, but I don’t smoke or drink (all that much). I also love Elizabeth Bennett and Jane Eyre, but you better believe I would never have left Mr. Rochester the way she did. And I love Carrie Bradshaw, for aforementioned reasons. I love how she used to date men she didn’t like just so that she could spend the summer at their Hamptons beach houses (and meet other men at parties)!

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

You’re asking a writer who secretly wants to be a rock star! Can anyone out there tell me how to become a rock star?

But seriously, I’ve always like the maxim: “Success is 10% talent and 90% applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” If you want to be a writer, sit down and write. I hate to be simplistic, but now that I am approaching Middle Age, I am encouraging people to just sit down and do what you say you want to do. That’s why I am forming a rock band called MidLife Crisis.

What are you reading at the moment?

I actually just re-read Jane Eyre! It’s a good hole-up-by-the-fire-in-the-winter book. Right now, in the States, PBS is airing all sorts of programs based-on-popular-Victorian-romance-novels. This month Masterpiece Theater is doing a different Jane Austen novel every week. They must know that, in winter, in New England, everyone wants to shoot him/herself because of the darkness and the cold, and that the only thing that can cheer us up is to watch period pieces set in Great Britain.

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

I’m working on a literary novel called NOTHING KEEPS A FRENCHMAN FROM HIS LUNCH. Well, I’m calling it literary but the plot is definitely chick lit! It’s about a jilted woman—her lover breaks up with her on page one—who decides at the spur of the moment to move to the South of France, hoping that he’ll follow her and beg her to come back. Instead, he moves in with another woman; leaving Gayle, my main character, stranded in France. She decides to stay there, and befriends a bunch of kooky British ex-pats, and has her fair share of affairs, shenanigans, etc. She meets a good man, a bad man, and a very old man, and ultimately has to choose among the three. Blah blah blah. See, I’ve already said too much--

Goodness, books sound so stupid when you try to describe them. This is why a lot of writers choose to say nothing until the book is done. NOTHING KEEPS A FRENCHMAN FROM HIS LUNCH also includes lots of sex, attempts at lucid dreaming and astral projection, lots of food and wine (it’s set in France after all), and trips on yachts with gorgeous male triathletes, none of whom Gayle sleeps with.

Do you have a theme song?

I love this question! No one has ever asked me that before! I have at least a hundred theme songs, for the hundred different moods I can cycle through in a month (or sometimes all in one day if I have PMS.) Two musicians have also written songs about me, but I cannot disclose the bands or the song titles, for the sake of preserving my reputation. Today, this minute, my theme song is “Celebration” by Led Zeppelin.

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’s it like being married to Viggo Mortensen?

A: I’ll never tell. :)

Thanks, Lee!

Posted by Keris on March 20, 2008 in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes

Reviewed by Jennie Hughes

Ignore the little tag-line on the front cover – “You have nothing to lose but your heart” – because this book is not the heap of slush that that phrase would imply. (Publishers must really annoy their authors sometimes, because I suspect that Jojo Moyes would have taken those simpering little words and thrown them overboard to rot on the beach.)

Silver Bay is a sparsely-populated paradise in New South Wales where Lisa McCullen is hiding herself and her daughter Hannah from past tragedies and communing with the whales which pass by on migration every year.

Then, real-estate developers arrive in the shape of Mike Dormer who has come to scope the place out for a hotel and leisure complex designed to make mega-bucks for his boss in London, his future father-in-law. The different pace of life, the beauty, the whales, the dolphins, Hannah – and Lisa - all get to him, however, and his priorities change.

This is a well-crafted book with an interesting plot-line revealed in appropriately timed snippets. It is written from the alternating first-person point of view of each of the main characters which serves to bring them alive extremely well. It can sometimes be difficult to remember whose skin you’re in as it is difficult to write an authentic voice for everyone from an 11-year-old girl to an Aussie beach-bum who thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but confusion is surprisingly rare.

As the story of Lisa’s past life is gradually unfolded, along with the tales of the other residents of Silver Bay, there are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you reading, and although you know from the start there’s going to be a happy ending (it’s a romantic novel, okay?) the actual ending is so impossibly happy that you really don’t foresee it. I cried, dear reader, real tears.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try: Truffles By The Sea by Julie Carobini

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 20, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 19, 2008 2:32 PM

SPOTLIGHT: Jojo Moyes

Jojomoyes2 I only heard about Jojo recently - her book Silver Bay was shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award (look out for the review coming tomorrow!) but when I did my research, I discovered she's been writing books since 2002 and Silver Bay is actually her fifth.

She won the RNA Novel of the Year Award in 2004 for Forbidden Fruit and was short-listed in 2006 for The Ship of Brides.

Jojo was born in 1969 in London. Prior to writing fiction, she worked at The Independent for ten years, including stints as Assistant News Editor and Arts and Media Correspondent.

Jojo now writes books full-time and lives on a farm in Essex with her journalist husband and three children, plus some "badly-behaved animals including an ex-racehorse and several rescued battery hens."

Jojo's third child, Lachlan, was born profoundly deaf. He had cochlear implant surgery and Jojo wrote about his (and her) experience of this for the Mail On Sunday.

Want more? Well, since it's you...Jojo has a blog and has just announced the title of her next book - Night Music. It's due out this summer and this is the blurb from Amazon:
The Spanish House has long been known as an architectural folly to locals, and is now nearly derelict to boot. When its reclusive owner dies intestate the Spanish House is left to his city-dwelling niece. For Isabel, recently widowed, the house is a potential lifeline -- the only hope she has of providing for her two children. But for neighbour Matt McCarthy, the house is revenge -- on the family who ruined his father. For his wife it's the key to the perfect family life, while a struggling property developer sees in it a whole new future. As desires clash and intertwine, lives and loves are demolished -- and the Spanish House becomes a true folly indeed...

Jojo's Bibliography:

Sheltering Rain
The Peacock Emporium
Foreign Fruit
The Ship of Brides
Silver Bay

Related posts: Spotlight archive

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 19, 2008 in Book related, British Authors, Romance, Spotlight | Permalink | Comments (2)

BOOK REVIEW: When to Walk by Rebecca Gowers

Reviewed by Sarah Hague

Do you know the feeling of meeting someone and immediately all your hackles rise? For some reason, you dislike on impact the person before you.

There are books like that too. It may have nothing to do with the quality of the book but everything to do with a clash between the mindset of the author and yourself. When to Walk is one of those books for me.

One lunch time, Ramble's husband declares, in an offensive speech, that he is leaving her mainly due to her own shortcomings which have come to grate to a degree he can no longer stand. He gets up and goes out and leaves her to contemplate... well, everything.

Which is why the story grates on me. It is oppressively contemplative. I felt sucked in to the inner workings of a brain I didn't wish to know. Brains are notoriously unconnected when distressed and hers left me with an impression of irritation rather than compassion. Basically I didn't care what became of her.

Despite my antipathy to the story, it is very well written, and if you like that sort of thing, you'll probably find it funny in places and a beautiful portrait of a bewildered woman.

Me, I just wanted to smack her.

Rating: 1/4

Like this? Try The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn

Posted by Keris on March 19, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 1/5, Recent Release | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK NEWS: Don't Hex with Texas

I loved Enchanted Inc, the first book in Shanna Swendson's Katie Chandler series, so why it's taken me two years (two years!) to read any more I don't know. But I have indeed ordered the second in the series, Once Upon Stilettos, and it will be with me in time to read over the Easter weekend (which I did plan to spend with family and friends, but will now be spending with my chicken pocked child - all the more reading time for me!)

Anyway, as I was ordering the second book, I noticed that a fourth will be out in April. It's called Don't Hex with Texas and features Katie returning to Texas for a family visit, but finding things have become a lot more magical there since she left.

Related posts: Shanna Swendson guest blog | Enchanted Inc movie news

Posted by Keris on March 19, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Series, Supernatural | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jane Green writes for Dove (and Alicia Keys)

Dove - the toiletries company - has created a micro-series called "Fresh Takes," which has been "inspired" by author Jane Green and stars singer Alicia Keys.

I don't know what "inspired" by Jane Green means, although I did get an email from Ms Green a while ago in which she said she was writing for Alicia Keys, so I guess she's written at least some of the episodes.

The series, which follows the lives of three roommates in their mid-twenties living in New York City, will be broadcast as five 3-minute episodes each week, to be shown during The Hills on MTV (just in the US, as far as I know). Carry on over the cut to watch the trailer. [via Seattlepi.com]

Posted by Keris on March 19, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Orange Prize 2008 longlist

The Orange Prize is awarded for excellence in fiction by women and the longlist for 2008 has just been announced. I was excited to see a blast from my past - Stella Duffy - there. I read her early Saz Martin noir crime thrillers and then 1998 and 1999's Eating Cake and Singling Out The Couples (twisted, ironic tales of the heart) but had kind of lost track of her...

In fact, I haven't read a single title from the list. Not even the fabulously titled The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam. Have you? (Head over the cut for the list in full).

Tessa Hadley, The Master Bedroom
Nancy Huston, Fault Lines
Gail Jones, Sorry
Sadie Jones, The Outcast
Lauren Liebenberg, The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam
Charlotte Mendelson, When We Were Bad
Deborah Moggach, In The Dark
Anita Nair, Mistress
Heather O'Neill, Lullabies for Little Criminals
Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul
Dalia Sofer, The Septembers of Shiraz
Scarlett Thomas, The End of Mr Y
Carol Topolski, Monster Love
Rose Tremain, The Road Home
Patricia Wood, Lottery

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 19, 2008 in Book News, Prize Winners | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 18, 2008 2:43 PM

Abracadabra bookmark

Abracadabra_2 You know when you go to open your book at the right page (guided by the scrap of paper/antique leather bookmark* you shoved there) and you can't get your finger in between the pages? No? Me neither, but these designers have obviously experienced difficulty in this area...

They've designed the Abracadabra bookmark. It has an air-filled chamber, half of which is flattened by the weight of the book. You squeeze the exposed side to lift the page. Okay then...

*Delete as appropriate

[Via BoingBoing]

Related posts: Ex-libris table | Brian Dettmer's book autopsies

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 18, 2008 in Bookish products | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember when we asked if chick lit was bad for your love life...?

Well, it's not just us! Look!

Mr. Right . . . is Stuck in Traffic is a one hour documentary that investigates the impact "chick flicks" and "chick lit" have on real-life love. Using humorous re-enactments, film clips, interviews, animation and social experiments we'll explore whether chick culture is harmless fun or a ruthless relationship saboteur.

Best-selling authors Marian Keyes (Anybody Out There?) and Jane Green (Second Chance), relationship expert Dr. Michelle (The Today Show & Tyra) and many others will share their thoughts on nasty cases of "inflated expectations" and possible cures for this pop culture pandemic.

It's apparently currently in post-production. I'll keep a look out for it and let you know if I ever get to see it (and of course, feel free to tell us all about it if you see it first).

[via Canada.com]

Posted by Keris on March 18, 2008 in Jane Green, Marian Keyes, Movie News | Permalink | Comments (1)

HELEN'S HEROINES: Heather Wells

Helen Redfern's weekly look at the fictional women she loves...

I love my job. Not just because I can lie on my bed all afternoon on a Saturday reading and therefore working (this is, to be fair, one of the major highlights). It’s also because I occasionally find fascinating, gutsy but down to earth characters making for a cracking story that I just completely and utterly submerge myself in.

For the past week my attention has been grabbed by Heather Wells. Heather appears in a series of books for adults written by Meg Cabot. She is a residence hall assistant director of a New York College and amateur detective on the side, as there appears to be a series of murders at her residence hall.

This week’s heroine was going to be about someone completely different but Heather has just barged into my life and would not leave me alone until I was hooked (and a few pounds poorer as I had to go out and buy the third book in the series immediately after finishing the second one). Heather grabs you like she grabs the scent of the murderer in the books. She determinedly holds on and hunts the killer down even though people have told her to leave well alone. And this is how you feel when you are reading the books. You just have to keep going.

The titles of the books she appears in are Size 12 is not Fat, Size 14 is not Fat Either and Size Doesn’t Matter or Big Boned in the US. (I believe the size 12 referred to is a UK size 16 and the size 14 is a UK 18). The titles are great, but do not mean in any way shape or form that Heather rules her life by her weight. Far from it.

Because of her background Heather could have been a diva, as she’s an ex pop starlet, a child star used to touring the malls and then going on to live with the singer of a boy band. She is not like that though. She’s down to earth, funny, sharp yet, like most women, also worried about her looks and whether Cooper (her landlord and ex fiancé’s brother) is interested in her. Unlike a lot of so called heroines though she doesn’t sit around waiting for him to announce his love or live her life by the amount of calories she eats. No she works in Fischer Hall, which allows her to get an education, something she missed out on whilst touring the malls, and gets on with her life (and saving others whilst she’s at it).

Despite her mother disappearing with her money and her father being in prison for fraud she creates a family with those she works (and lives) with. They care for her and look out for her and she in turn for them. Some even fancy her. And when someone is murdered in her residence hall she gets angry and will not let it rest until the real killer has been caught. Even if it means putting her own life in danger. I am also happy to say that she never relies on a man coming to save her. She is well able to handle herself.

Heather is principled. She left the world of pop music because she refused to churn out any more sugary lyrics. She turns down an offer to get back into the business (of sorts) too. Refusing the easy money for her work and an education. You’ve got to admire her for that.

So. I have come to the end of the three books in the series and feel bereft. I enjoyed having Heather around. She has spunk and drive and a personality. But then all is not lost. As reported yesterday on Trashionista, Meg is writing two more books in the Heather Wells series. They will be out sometime next year and I can’t wait.

Posted by Aigua Media on March 18, 2008 in Helen's Heroines, Series | Permalink | Comments (2)

Please bear with us...

You may have noticed we're having some technical problems here at Trashionista.

It may be different on different, er, systems, but, for example, you may not be able to see the comments. Or the pictures. Or you might not be able to see this, in which case I'm talking to myself. Wouldn't be the first time.

Don't worry, the techy elves are beavering away and hopefully we'll be fully functioning again soon.

Posted by Aigua Media on March 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 17, 2008 5:29 PM

BOOK REVIEW: Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

I loved Elizabeth Scott's Bloom and, following my review, Trashi reader Little Willow commented that Perfect You is even better so I could barely wait to read it. I didn't actually prefer Perfect You to Bloom, but I loved it almost as much and that saying a lot (because I really loved Bloom!).

Kate's father has given up his job to sell Perfect You vitamins in the mall. While it may be his dream job, it's not going at all well. So badly, in fact, that the family is in danger of losing their home. Kate's older brother living on the sofa and failing to find a job isn't helping either.

Kate's not thrilled to be working for her dad on a failing mall stall, but since her best friend Anna lost a load of weight, dyed her hair and started hanging around with the popular crowd - dropping Kate like a sandbag - it's not like she's got anything better to do.

Until, that is, Will starts meeting her in the supply closet to make out. It can't be more than that, because she can't stand Will and there's no way he's interested in her. Is he?

I sympathised with Kate throughout because everyone around her was so irritating. (Irritating in a good way, I mean - realistically irritating, rather than irritatingly written!) Her grandmother is condescending and rude. Her father, inconsiderate and unrealistic. Her former friend, Anna, well, I wanted to wring her neck. I loved Will and I loved the banter Kate had with him, but he wasn't quite as sexy as Bloom's Evan.

I found Kate's mother - trying to stay positive and support her husband, while simultaneously wanting the best for her family - the most poignant character (possibly because this is a YA book and, depressingly, I'm closer in age to her than to Kate).

But really I just loved Perfect You. And I'm so thrilled to have discovered Elizabeth Scott's books.

Rating: 4/5 (I would like to give it 4.5, but I can't)

Like this? Try Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

Posted by Keris on March 17, 2008 in American Authors, New Releases, Rating: 4/5, Young Adult | Permalink | Comments (2)

BOOK NEWS: The Miracle of Grace

I enjoyed Kate Kerrigan's first book, Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, but I've got a problem with her new one.

From the Amazon blurb:

Grace's mother Eileen is a great list maker, so when Grace walks into Eileen's kitchen to drop off a postal package and sees her garish 'To Do' pad on the counter, she thinks nothing of it, until she sneaks a look. There, at No 8, ranked in importance well below bread, telephone bill and bins is 'Tell G I have ovarian cancer, probably terminal'.

Now I know this is a novel and so disbelief has to be suspended in some way, but if you had cancer and you were writing it on a list, surely you'd just write "Tell G" wouldn't you? Or even, at a stretch, say "Tell G re cancer". But "Tell G I have ovarian cancer, probably terminal"? No. I know I'm pedantic, but it's that kind of thing that can put me right off a book.

Lovely cover though (going for the Elizabeth Berg audience, I feel).

Relate: Spotlight: Morag Prunty (for that's who Kate Kerrigan really is!)

Posted by Keris on March 17, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (0)

The PM loves chick lit!

Trashi reader Jill tipped me off about this one. Author Adele Parks met Prime Minister Gordon Brown (is it just me who keeps forgetting it's not Tony Blair?) to celebrate the Quick Reads campaign and look what old Never A Frown's got in his hand? Yep, it's a copy of Young Wives Tales. I'd love to know what he thought of it, wouldn't you?

Related posts: Young Wives Tales review | A little bit of politics

Posted by Keris on March 17, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: It Must Be Love by Sharon Owens

Reviewed by Claire Allan

Belfast writer Sharon Owen's fifth book It Must Be Love is shamelessly romantic and girlie. Focusing on budding romances, broken hearts and the kind of friendships best formed when people are down on their luck, It Must Be Love is a delightfully upbeat read.

The book tells the story of professional photographer Sarah Quinn who is all set to get married to the eligible Mackenzie Campbell on Christmas Eve. But as the wedding draws nearer she overhears a conversation which leaves her running away from her life to set up a new life for herself in the quaint seaside town of Redstone.

As she rebuilds her life, we are introduced to a host of new characters and their lives. We meet Miriam who is desperate for a baby, at it seems any cost. We also meet writer and journalist Gemma, who's daughter finds herself in a whole heap of trouble in New York. And we meet Aurora, the stylish owner of the local bookshop who is nursing a broken heart, as well as a bruised ego, herself.

What Sharon Owens does wonderfully is create a sense of place. The cottage where Sarah escapes to sounds like a dream place and as for the Miriam's pink kitchen - be still my beating heart!

But it is the warmth of the characters and the strength of their friendships - mixed with a healthy dose of Owens' trademark humour that makes this book a joyful read.

Yes, it touches on many serious issues - bereavement, addiction and infertility - but never in a way that drags the reader down. What comes across most strongly in the book is not the tragedy touching everyone's lives, but their strength of character.

Dare I say, Owens paints such a nice picture that I almost wish I had a Redstone, and a Rose Cottage, to run away to myself - not to mention the hunky love interest in the form of the delectable Ethan.

Where the book falls down is that you want to know more. It rattles along at a great pace but I would have liked the story to continue on just that little bit - to see how life pans out for all the characters who I got to know so well.

We leave them feeling as if they are on the brink of something great. However, it might just be the mark of a good book that when it is done you are longing to know more.

This book doesn't require a great deal of effort and would be best read in front of a roaring fire with a cup of tea in your hand. It's smart, funny and heartwarming and sure to win Owens an even bigger following.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich

Posted by Keris on March 17, 2008 in Irish Authors, New Releases, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (4)

BOOK COVER: Thanks for the Memories

I'm not one of the biggest fans of Cecelia Ahern's books - okay, I've only actually been able to finish one of them (PS I Love You) - but I love this cover so much that it could almost convince me to read the book.

We've already told you what this latest book is about, so all that's left to say is that it's out on April the 1st. Although that may be a joke...

Related posts: PS I Love You review | Cecelia Ahern archives

Posted by Keris on March 17, 2008 in Book covers, Cecelia Ahern | Permalink | Comments (0)

More Heather Wells

Meg Cabot has revealed that there will be a further two Heather Wells mysteries in her series about the New York dormitory-manager and amateur sleuth.

There are no titles, as yet, but the books should be out next year, bringing the series total to five. The fourth will take place soon after the events in Big Boned, during the summer break. Meg says it will be about "Tania Trace Rock Camp", while the fifth will be "about Heather and Cooper's you know what."

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 17, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Crime / Mystery | Permalink | Comments (0)

MORE ON MONDAY: Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Uglies Scott Westerfield has taken our modern-day obsession with physical beauty and followed it to the logical end. In his future world, an operation is carried out on every child on their sixteenth birthday, turning them from an 'Ugly' into a 'Pretty'.

As well as bestowing physical perfection, the operation seems to lead to a life of parties and fun.

Tally Youngblood is a typical teenager. She lives in a dormitory-style school, separated from her parents (Uglies and Pretties are not permitted to mix), and eagerly awaits her operation.

Then, Tally meets Shay. Shay is also fifteen, but she has a very different view of the operation. She opens Tally's eyes to a different path - a path that leads to a secret community of renegade Uglies, living in the Rusty Ruins.

Tally cannot make the leap of faith - to sacrifice everything she has dreamed of, in order to join an uncertain and less attractive future. She returns home, only to find that the State knows about her friendship with Shay and has a mission for her: infiltrate the community and then report back on its location.

However, once back with the Uglies, Tally discovers that there is a lot more to the 'turning' operation than becoming beautiful...

This book is a real thrill-ride and the world utterly convincing - and frightening. I raced through it book and couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequels (there are three: Pretties, Specials and Extras).

As well as an adventure story (with an active female protagonist - yay!), it also has lots to say about freedom of thought, individuality and the pursuit of physical ideals. Excellent reading matter, in other words, for any teenage girls you may know...

Rating: 4/5

Like this (identity issues handled in original way)? Try: Split By A Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 17, 2008 in American Authors, More On Monday, Rating: 4/5, Series, Young Adult | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008 5:34 PM

MOVIE NEWS: Rosemary's Baby

Rosemarysbaby Yep, it's another completely unnecessary remake of a classic!

Rosemary's Baby, Roman Polanski's chilling horror, is being remade by Platinum Dunes. Based on Ira Levine's 1967 novel, the original film starred the wonderful Mia Farrow. She played the pregnant woman who is disturbed by the increasingly strange behaviour of her husband and neighbours, and who begins to wonder what she is going to give birth to...

I have enjoyed some remakes (The Thomas Crown Affair springs to mind), but I can't help feeling they are rather pointless... What do you think?

[Via Empire]

Related posts: Movie News archive

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 14, 2008 in Book related, Movie News, Opinion | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK NEWS: My Best Friend's Life (and Shari Low's column)

No, I'm not on about book covers again. Okay, I'm not *just* on about covers again, but Shari Low's latest is a perfect example of why covers are so important (and why I'm always going on about them!).

On the left we have Shari Low's new book (out now!), My Best Friend's Life. On the right is her last book, The Motherhood Walk of Fame.

Don't you think the new one looks about twenty years more modern? Also, it's cute. (And, yes, a bit of a Dorothy Koomson rip-off, but let's gloss over that.)

Also, you can read Shari's hilarious Daily Record column online.

Related posts: Motherhood Walk of Fame review | Why Not? review

Posted by Keris on March 14, 2008 in Book News, Book covers | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: The Glamorous (Double) Life of Isabel Bookbinder by Holly McQueen

22nd May sees Isabel Bookbinder launched on an unsuspecting public. Being touted as the new Becky Bloomwood, Isabel is a chick lit by numbers character; head in the clouds, heart on her sleeve and just a little bit stupid. The book follows her attempts to secure a publishing deal and become a literary star. The only problem is she's so caught up in dreaming about the lifestyle she associates with being a 'novelist' that she forgets to actually put pen to paper. And thus the problems begin.

The novel is definitely one for Sophie Kinsella fans, as Bookbinder borrows heavily from the Shopaholic series. Not only is the character similarly infuriating at times, the love interest is very Luke Brandon-esque and the novel is broken up with Isabel's fake newspaper and magazine articles (about herself), much like the Shopaholic books were broken up with Becky's letters to her bank manager.

As fun Summer reads go, this is probably the ultimate beach novel. It's fluffy, light and easy to read. McQueen is a good writer who knows her audience and weaves together a tale that'll have you giggling and sighing with frustration in equal doses.

Sadly, I had serious issues with the title character. I loved the idea of her, I thought the faux magazine articles where she imagined herself as rich, beautiful and successful were great (ok, maybe I've done that too...) but she was just a bit too silly for my liking. At one point, I actually threw the book down in disbelief. While there are moments of sheer brilliance and plenty of laugh-out-loud funny lines, I couldn't really feel an affinity for a woman who is so ridiculous she lets herself get carried away to the extent that we see in the novel. It's one thing to daydream, it's another to ignore reality all together.

Rumours suggest that Isabel Bookbinder is set to become a series character, and I must confess, as much as I enjoyed this book for what it was - pure fluff - and could see why people would love it, I'd much rather have more Little Lady instead. Isabel was just a bit too dim and ridiculous for me.

3/5 - So much potential, but Isabel drove me mad!

PS. If you think you can tolerate the silliness, Isabel has a rather lovely website where proof copies are up for grabs. You can also pre-order the novel for £6.99 through Random House.

Posted by Gemma on March 14, 2008 in British Authors, Girly Stuff, Rating: 3/5, Series | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK COVER: Maria Beaumont

This, mes petits choufleurs (sorry, bit giddy this morning), is the same book.

On the left, we have the US cover and title ("37"), on the right, the UK cover and title ("Motherland").

For once, I'm kind of okay with both. I prefer the US, but I don't hate the UK one. And I like them both better than the UK hardback.

What do you think?

Related posts: Maria Beaumont interview | Rubbish Boyfriends

Posted by Keris on March 14, 2008 in Book covers | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK REVIEW: Bright Lights & Promises by Pauline McLynn

Reviewed by Fionnuala Kearney

When I realised the author of this book was accomplished actress Pauline McLynn of Father Ted fame (“Go wan, Go wan”), I have to admit I was surprised. Not only is she the author of this book but several others too – some people have all the talent eh?

Bright Lights and Promises is a lovely read introducing sassy main character Susie Vine, a deal making agent with successful London Theatrical agency Arland and Shaw. Susie’s already busy life is further complicated when her mother Valerie, recently separated from her father arrives in London – to stay. Her mother living with her, the demise of her love life, her teenage hormone fuelled son Milo, and the arrival of an old flame all add to a story that’s easy to read and introduces many interesting characters.

These range in age and gender from thirteen to eighty and each one is well drawn and immediately draws the reader in to the glitzy world Pauline McLynn has created. There’s John Forbes, the hunky successful star with a heart, his elderly father Reg, also an actor in his twilight years. I think though that she succeeds particularly with her main character. Just for a while, I thought I was Susie Vine. I lived her life, felt her love and pain, and yeah even cried her tears. No mean feat.

If I had to be picky, I think the book was a little too long and without offering spoilers, could perhaps have got to the love bits a little sooner – but that’s being picky! I really enjoyed the read and will definitely keep an eye out for some of her other books. Red this book – Go wan, go wan!

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes

Posted by Keris on March 14, 2008 in Irish Authors, New Releases, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

More on My Sister's Keeper movie

Jason Patric (The Lost Boys, Sleepers) has joined the cast of My Sister's Keeper. He will play the girls' firefighter father.

Hollywood Reporter also tells us that Thomas Dekker (Heroes) is to play "the older sister's boyfriend and fellow cancer survivor." I don't remember that character in the book (although it is a long time since I read it). Does anyone else?

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 14, 2008 in American Authors, Book related, Movie News | Permalink | Comments (3)

March 13, 2008 6:41 PM

BOOK REVIEW: Daisy's Back In Town

Daisyback When Daisy Lee Monroe walked out of Lovett, Texas fifteen years ago, she was a frightened eighteen-year-old with a secret.

Now she's back in town, forcing herself to confront the bad boy she left behind - Jackson Parrish.

Unfortunately, her sister is acting even crazier than usual, her mum can still talk the hind legs off a donkey and Jackson still makes her stomach flip with one glance.

Jackson is (understandably) very upset with Daisy and wants nothing to do with her. She was his friend and lover, and when she left Lovett it was with his best friend, Stephen.

What Jackson doesn't know is that Daisy's betrayal was even worse than that; she was also pregmant with his child and has waited until now to tell him.

All credit to Rachel Gibson for managing to make me care for a protagonist who has acted so badly. Although I couldn't help but like Daisy Lee, I did feel it was very out-of-character that she had waited fifteen years to tell Jack about his son.

Daisy has to chase Jackson all over town to try and deliver her news. To complicate things further, the lusty attraction that Jack and Daisy felt as teenagers is still alive and kicking.

The Texan setting is lots of fun - a real escapist treat for a Brit like me - and Jack is a very sexy, very alpha hero. Daisy's Back In Town is a raunchy romance from an accomplished writer.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try: The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom by Jo Barrett

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 13, 2008 in American Authors, Rating: 3/5, Romance | Permalink | Comments (1)

THURSDAY TRAILBLAZER: Grace Metalious

Gracemetalous Born in 1924, Grace is most famous for writing Peyton Place (1956). The book sold millions worldwide and remained on the New York Times bestseller list. It was also made into a successful film starring Lana Turner and Lee Philips.

Peyton Place explores the dark secrets of the residents of a small New England town, and was denounced by critics as 'trash'.

She went on to write a further three novels, although none (unsuprisingly) enjoyed the same level of success.

Grace was criticised in the day for writing a racy, popular book - sound at all familar? In reply, she famously said, "If I'm a lousy writer, then an awful lot of people have lousy taste."

Grace was born in New Hampshire into a poor family with an absent father, but began writing at a young age. She married in her teens and became a housewife and mother, but despite financial hardship, never stopped writing.

Sadly, she died of alcholism in 1964.

Bibliography:

Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place
The Tight White Collar
No Adam in Eden

Related posts: Thursday Trailblazer archive

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 13, 2008 in American Authors, Book related, Thursday Trailblazer | Permalink | Comments (0)

GUEST BLOG: Miss Couturable

I discovered 17-year-old budding fashionista Noel's wonderful blog when she wrote a post about chick lit. I asked her to expand on it for Trashionista readers. Enjoy!

‘Don’t you see? That Birkin gave her a reason to live! You simply cannot kill yourself with you’re that close [to being first on the waiting list for the Birkin]…it’s just not an option.’ […] Elisa looked positively radiant from her retelling of the story, as though it had inspired her to live her own life to the fullest. I thanked her for educating me in the ways of the Birkin and wondered what, exactly, I had gotten myself into.”

As I finished this passage from Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger (author of The Devil Wears Prada), I also wondered what I had gotten myself into. The formula for this novel is pervasive among other bestseller works of chick lit, from The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus to Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes: An intelligent and gorgeous girl lands herself in a career that is completely unfulfilling, canoodles with dozens of shallow metrosexual men before she meets her handsome down-to-earth soulmate, and finally discovers and gets what she truly wants in life (which luckily for her always includes great sex with her rugged soulmate).

The formula is predictable – and yet, I’m enraptured by every single novel that these glamorous socialite authors churn out. I used to think chick lit was extremely shallow literature, but I’ve discovered that many of the books in the chick lit genre are cleverly written social satires. Sometimes I wonder if in a century from now, high school and college English classes would be teaching 21st century social satire with excerpts from works by Candace Bushnell or Sophie Kinsella. Chick lit authors present a not-too-exaggerated view of our modern materialistic world and balance it with fairy tale devices to please our hearts.

Admit it, you’re fascinated by the idea that fashion editors are 4-inch stiletto glamazons who dedicate half their lives to making the “little people” so miserable and by the crazy antics of New York City socialites who celebrate their divorces in Pucci swimsuits on “divorce honeymoons”. You’re also emotionally attached to the fabulous protagonist, who is just as glamorous as her shallow counterparts. You’re probably also jealous that the protagonist’s soulmate also happens to be your dream guy.

Chick lit authors know there is truth within the slight exaggerations that they make – they portray the publicist that is dressed to the nines and the Upper East Side mom with the Chanel clutch as shallow products of American frivolity that we openly scoff at – but will guiltily digest the next novel for. Even if all of us could scrutinize society so clearly and precisely as Sophie Kinsella or Plum Sykes could, most of us still couldn’t make these accounts as entertaining to read as they do.

Ever since Noel was 6-years-old, she's been obsessed with the novel, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett -- and she still believes that every girl is a princess, no matter if she's in rags or the latest Chanel minidress. She loves fashion and cannot imagine life without costume, and hopes to become the editor-in-chief of a respectable and innovative fashion magazine someday. She's obsessed with chick lit and dreams of writing her own novel in the future -- but right now she just wants to maintain an A in her Honors American Literature class.

Posted by Keris on March 13, 2008 in Guest blogs | Permalink | Comments (6)

Whatever happened to Jezebel Bright?

I think I'm almost as intrigued about the books authors didn't write as the books they did. In fact, Mslexia magazine has a regular item called "Bottom drawer" which is about just that.

Do you remember reading that Jennifer Weiner was writing a book called Jezebel Bright, about a female superhero? I couldn't wait to read it! And then ... it didn't come out. Jennifer explains why on her website:

"I wrote it, read it, decided that I wasn’t in love with it, and set it aside for the time being. I hope to get back to it some day."

And I hope to read it some day!

And if there are any authors reading this (and I know there are!), I'd love to hear about the books you haven't written.

Posted by Keris on March 13, 2008 in Book related | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK NEWS: Belong to Me

Marisa de los Santos's debut, Love Walked In, was one of my favourite books of 2006, so I can't wait to read Belong to Me. Also, I love the cover.

Belong to Me follows Cornelia Brown, "as she struggles to forge friendships with the women in her new town and discovers that even the most joyful marriage can encounter unexpected, and sometimes frightening, hurdles". Read an extract here. [via Southern Comfort]

Related: Love Walked In review

Posted by Keris on March 13, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 12, 2008 5:10 PM

Birdside table

I saw this in a magazine a couple of months ago and actually emailed the store to ask for more details and a photo. Sadly, I got quite a terse reply telling me the item was no longer available, but thankfully, Apartment Therapy spotted it and featured it too.

In case you can't tell, it's a birdhouse and you can use the roof as a "bookmark". Genius.

Posted by Keris on March 12, 2008 in Bookish products | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yet more Shopaholic casting news

Joancusack Eep! One of my favourite actresses - Joan Cusack - has signed up to the Shopaholic movie along with John Goodman. They will play Becky Bloomwood's parents.

Then, I read on Digital Spy that John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lynn Redgrave, Leslie Bibb and Julie Hagerty have also joined the cast.

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 12, 2008 in Book related, British Authors, Movie Magic, Movie News | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK NEWS: Out Of The Blue

Outoftheblue Belinda Jones, chick lit favourite, has penned another globe-trotting beach-friendly read.

Twenty years ago Selena Smith saw Shirley Valentine and developed a chronic phobia of having a plate of egg and chips shoved in her lap by an ungrateful husband. Since then she's successfully avoided becoming a lost housewife by relentlessly travelling the world as an excursions rep on a luxury crusieship.

But with her 36th birthday approaching she finds herself experiencing a strange sensation - how can she be homesick when she has no home? And why has she agreed to spend a week on a Greek island with one of the ship's most notorious womanisers? (Amazon)

Out Of The Blue is published 25 September. I may have to book a late-package-deal somewhere hot and sunny as the perfect complement to this novel... Well, a girl can dream!

Related posts: New Belinda Jones book | The Paradise Room review

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 12, 2008 in Book News, British Authors | Permalink | Comments (0)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tanya Lee Stone

After choosing A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl as one of my favourite books of 2007, I was supposed to run this interview in early 2008 ... March is still early isn't it? Anyway, my tardiness means that I can use this interview as an excuse to show you the new, beautiful cover, of Tanya Lee Stone's fabulous book, which is out in the UK next month! There! Now over to Tanya...

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:

I can do it in 9: Three girls. One guy. Who comes out on top?

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

I go back and forth between my favorite chair and my bed, pretty much always working on a laptop.

Your favourite chick-lit book?

I'm not positive it's categorized as chick lit, but I love Judy Blume's Summer Sisters.

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

Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, of course! Because she's strong and stubborn, speaks her mind, follows her heart, and is brave--including, brave enough to swallow her pride when she is wrong and right things properly.

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

It's a bit cliche, but I truly believe that it is quite difficult to write in any particular genre until you are very well read in it. I would say read at least 100 books of the type you intend to write. The other piece of advice is to have a trusted reader or two who can read your best draft and not be afraid to point out its flaws as well as its strengths.

What are you reading at the moment?

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

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

I am revising a YA novel, which I hope to finish this week, and just putting the finishing touches on a picture book.

Do you have a theme song?

No, I don't, but I'm becoming increasingly aware of the fact that I should! Any suggestions?

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!)

I adore this question because it invites me to be bad. I have never been asked: "To where shall I address these chocolates?" The answer would be most forthcoming!

Thanks, Tanya!

Posted by Keris on March 12, 2008 in Interviews, Young Adult | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK REVIEW: Helping Me Help Myself by Beth Lisick

I am a self-confessed self-help junkie, so I was really looking forward to reading Beth Lisick's second book, particularly since I'd heard great things about her first, Everybody into the Pool.

Unlike me, Beth is a self-help skeptic, but following the realisation that, at age 37, she was sleeping in a room with plastic sheeting covering a damp patch on the wall, doing a job for which she had to dress up as a banana, and too unfit to keep up with her four-year-old son, she decides self-help can't, well, hurt and so undertakes to examine (and hopefully improve) one area of her life each month for a year.

From Jack Canfield's book The Success Principles to a Richard Simmons weightloss cruise, via (Men are From Mars author) John Gray, The Artists' Way and a parenting book entitled 1-2-3 Magic!, Lisick repeatedly steps out (way out) of her comfort zone.

I approached Helping Me Help Myself expecting to find Lisick disagreeing with or mocking every self-help method she tries, but she really doesn't. She genuinely seems to approach them all (okay, almost all) with a totally open mind. She's charming, funny, enthusiastic and self-deprecating and (and I know I always say this) by the end I felt like we were friends. So much so that I kept thinking of books to recommend to her before remembering that I don't actually know her at all.

Plus it genuinely contains good self-help information while, at the same time, cheerfully (and without malice) exposing the money-making opportunities inherent in the self-help industry. I loved it.

Self-help addict or self-help skeptic, there's something here for everyone. Oh and it'll make you look at Richard Simmons in a totally different way...

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try Give it Up! by Mary Carlomagno

Posted by Keris on March 12, 2008 in American Authors, Non Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Recent Release, Self development | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 11, 2008 5:48 PM

TELEVISION NEWS: No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Ladiesdetective Do you remember we told you about Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series being turned into a film?

Well, we were right about it being directed by Anthony Mingella and about jazz singer Jill Scott playing Mma Ramotswe, but the film failed to materialise at Christmas (sorry, but Trashi does not rule the world... I admit, it would be so much better if it did.)

Instead, the adaptation is now going to be followed by a thirteen-part-TV-series, with the film-length pilot to be broadcast this Easter. According to the BBC, anyway...

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 11, 2008 in Book related, British Authors, Television | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK NEWS: Curse of the Spellmans

Lisa Lutz's debut, The Spellman Files was one of my favourite books of last year and I finished it already anticipating the sequel (and a movie - surely there must be a movie!).

So I actually went "Ooh! Ooh!" out loud when I saw that the sequel - Curse of the Spellmans - is already out.

And then, because I'm me, I got caught up in the different covers. The cover on the left is the US cover. There's no UK cover on Amazon yet. But there is a new UK cover for The Spellman Files and I don't know how I feel about it... which is where you come in!

So on the left we have the US cover. Again, it seems to me that the US cover isn't primarily aimed at women, which is a good thing. I think.

The centre cover is the one on the book I read - the UK large format paperback. It doesn't thrill me and it seems like it's perhaps aimed at Janet Evanovich fans.

On the right is the new, small format, UK cover. Clearly aimed at chick lit fans. You may remember that Daphne Unfeasible, Maureen Johnson's agent, said that The Spellman Files "fits no one's idea of chick lit" and, while I disagreed, I'm not sure the cover entirely suits the book. I'm not even sure if I like it. I do like the ~~combination of illustration and photography~~ illustration (squinting at it, I'm not sure that is a photo of a dog!). It may just be the pink (or lilac). It's really not a pastel type of book.

What do you think?

Posted by Keris on March 11, 2008 in Book News, Book covers | Permalink | Comments (2)

HELEN'S HEROINES: Samantha Sweeting

Helen Redfern's weekly look at the fictional women she loves...

Even though I was highly entertained by The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella, I didn’t feel the main character, Samantha, was inspirational. She is clever and in a position of great importance, soon to be a partner of a law firm, yet I felt, a tad stupid at real life. As the story unfolds the message her character expressed to me is that women cannot cope with highly stressful jobs and should stay out of the city. Then, she is waiting for a man to ‘save her’. I thought this was a book with a plot set in the dark ages only dressed up as modern because the woman has a fancy career.

Yet when I was talking to a few of my friends this woman came up as a good inspirational character. A woman who had inspired them to look at their life differently and make a few changes. So I looked at her afresh. I saw she had turned her life around. She didn’t put up with the pompousness of city life. She saw through it and realised that there is more to life than working yourself to the bone. And maybe there is something in that. I gave up my city job when I’d had my child as I couldn’t face the politics, the egos, the trying to impress someone all the time. Until I rediscovered my love of writing I was disappointed with myself giving up on my old career, so maybe I was transferring some of these issues onto the unsuspecting Samantha. But then it isn’t a sleight at the feminist movement to not work all hours and have a brilliant city career. True equality surely means a woman has a choice.

Samantha Sweeting is a workaholic. Her working life is divided and dictated by six minute chunks. Every six minutes she is supposed to bill a client. She doesn’t have time for anything else. For sorting out her home life, for life with family, or even for having a life. As Samantha says “You get used to measuring your life in little chunks. And you get used to working. All the time.”

Samantha is also highly intelligent. She has a fantastic head for figures but her office looks like a bomb has hit it. When she realises she has made a mistake she leaves the office in a daze and walks onto the nearest train, finding herself at the door of a household that requires a housekeeper. She is undomesticated, in her own words she admits “OK, maybe I can’t sew on a button. But I can restructure a corporate finance agreement and save my clients thirty million pounds.” This fails to impress her neighbour leaving Samantha to call out “Did you never hear of feminism?” And Samantha is right. Why should it be expected that women be domesticated. But by the same argument why are domesticated women seen as letting the feminist side down?

Of all the characters I have studied for this column, so far, Sophie Kinsella’s creation has been the character I have had to think about the most. She is not straightforwardly brave, like George Kirrin, or Nancy Drew. She isn’t doing a dangerous job like Tonks, or Jane Rizzoli. In this day and age where much is expected of women in the working world but there still aren’t the same opportunities as men, it is incredibly brave of Samantha to take on the law firm that accused her of messing up a £50 million deal, to clear her name, but then to turn her back on the partnership and the money for a calmer life. The man in the story didn’t save her. He just demonstrated that there is more to life than working. Samantha saw she had a choice and saved herself.

More Helen's Heroines

Posted by Keris on March 11, 2008 in Helen's Heroines, Sophie Kinsella | Permalink | Comments (1)

TELEVISION NEWS: Tess Gerritsen

A couple of weeks ago, Helen raved about Tess Gerritsen's character Jane Rizzoli and now she's tipped me off that TNT Entertainment have just announced that they are planning to make a TV series out of the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series of books. [via Tess Gerritsen's blog]

Any casting suggestions? Helen? Anyone?

Television news archives

Posted by Keris on March 11, 2008 in Crime / Mystery, Television | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK REVIEW: The Sisterhood by Emily Barr

Reviewed by Deborah Riccio

The Sisterhood surprised me in many ways. Not least the way in which teacher, Liz Greene's long-standing boyfriend leaves her and heralds the first shocker right at the start. Confused and incredibly hurt, she embarks on a one-night stand and finds herself pregnant. This, rather unexpectedly, doesn't tip her over the edge but makes her realise that it might be what she needs and so sets out to deal with it. On her own.

Meanwhile in a chateau in France, the privileged Helen discovers a secret her mother has been keeping from her - she has a sister she never knew existed and she lives in England. This, Helen believes, is the reason for the restlessness throughout her own life. If she brings her sister back, she is certain she will earn the love and pride she so desperately craves from her mother. So she leaves for England with nothing but her father's credit card.

Helen's search leads her to Liz and the story follows their lives as separate people becoming united by the strangest, measured means.

The twists are subtle, surprising and multi-faceted. Reading it makes you realise things are never entirely what they seem - that nobody's life is as straightforward as it appears or sounds and we only get to see what is portrayed to us by others. And the ending is as inspired as the beginning. A cracking good read that made me want to read more by Ms Barr.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try A Tale of Two Sisters by Anna Maxted

Posted by Keris on March 11, 2008 in British Authors, New Releases, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Book Video Awards 2008

We've been banging on about book trailers for a while now and they've certainly been growing in both popularity and quality, but the new Book Video Awards should up the ante across the board.

The awards are a new scheme between the National Film and Television School (NFTS), Random House, The Bookseller and Play.com. Students at the NFTS were challenged to make a book video for Matt Beaumont's Small World, Lauren Groff's Monsters of Templeton and The Outcast by Sadie Jones. Hop over here to see the winning trailers.

Related posts: Book Trailerpark | The Manny's trailer

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 11, 2008 in Book related, Competition | Permalink | Comments (2)

March 10, 2008 5:44 PM

BOOK NEWS: The Accidental Virgin

Accidentalvirgin I've heard of accidental brides, The Accidental Husband and even an Accidental Werewolf, but an accidental virgin is a new one on me...

Valerie Frankel's latest is out as a Little Black Dress book on 3 April. I can't find out much about the plot except that the main character is 'almost a virgin again'. Huh?

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)

COMPETITION: Good in Bed

Certain Girls, the long-awaited sequel to Jennifer Weiner's debut, Good in Bed, is out next month and to celebrate we've got five copies of Good in Bed (complete with lovely new cover) to give away.

To be in with a chance of winning, just email us with your name and address and "Good in Bed" in the subject line before midnight GMT on 25 March (2008!).

Posted by Keris on March 10, 2008 in Competition | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK NEWS: Holly's Inbox - it's back!

Big news for Holly's Inbox fans - the site is back! You can once again read Holly's real-time emails which will, this time, end in a cliffhanger, the result of which you'll be able to find out when Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City is released in June. There goes all my free time...

Oh and the first book has been optioned by Granada TV! We'll let you know more details as soon as we get them.

Related posts: Holly's Inbox site | Holly's Inbox book review

Posted by Keris on March 10, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (0)

MORE ON MONDAY: The Strawberry Picker by Monica Feth

Reviewed by Colin Mulhern

A killer seeking the perfect partner. All he wants is beauty and innocence. But when he gets close he notices imperfections, the image is shattered and the papers report another murder.

Caro is his latest victim, and at her funeral, Jemma - Caro's flatmate - swears revenge and decides to track down the killer, but in making her very public oath, she attracts the attention of a hansom, mysterious strawberry picker.

It all sounds pretty good - certainly the makings of a good thriller, but the point of thrillers is, by definition, to thrill - to involve the reader by invoking emotions, to convince them that the characters are so real that they believe and care. You can only really do that if you allow the reader to see what is happening as it is happening. The Strawberry Picker is way too passive in its delivery, telling the reader what people have said or done or doing rather than showing these things in real time. The only thing the characters do actively is make espresso - in so many scenes that you wonder if this is something the author has only just discovered.

The result of this passive, wishy-washy hold-my-hand style is that by the half way mark the characters are as lifeless as they were on page one, the scenes are painfully dull and any aspect of a mystery has withered and died before we even reach the moment where Jenna swears revenge. This, incidentally, is well past the halfway point, and to be honest, by the time I'd got there, I really couldn't care whether she fell in love with the killer, helped her mother edit another successful crime thriller (writers writing about writing - yawn) or make another bloody espresso.

There are too many other things you can spend £5.99 on. Don't buy this.

Rating: 1/5

Like this? Try Be Mine by Laura Kasischke (an adult book)

Posted by Keris on March 10, 2008 in American Authors, Crime / Mystery, More On Monday, Rating: 1/5, Recent Release, Young Adult | Permalink | Comments (0)

PREVIEW REVIEW: Crossed Bones by Jane Johnson

Reviewed by Jennie Hughes

If the sub-title of Crossed Bones - 'the all-true adventures and most unlikely romance of a pirate’s slave girl - puts you off a little, don’t worry; there’s not a ripped bodice or heaving bosom anywhere. Well, apart from on the cover, but we'll gloss over that...

It’s the story of a seventeenth-century Cornish girl, Cat, who is a talented needlewoman dreaming dreams of a more exotic future than the one that seems likely – marriage to her cousin, drudgery, babies – when a pirate ship raids her village and carries her and several of her neighbours and relatives off to be slaves in Morocco.

There Cat eventually ends up teaching embroidery to her master’s womenfolk and, of course, falling in love with him and rejecting her Cornish cousin who has braved hell and high water to rescue her.

The tale is interwoven with the story of Julia, also a needlewoman, who finds Cat’s story written in the margins of an old embroidery pattern-book. She thinks she may be distantly related to Cat and goes to Morocco to research the story further, where she meets her own destiny, and true love.

The historical and Moorish details are convincing, interesting and well-described. The two stories are neatly stitched together and the writing keeps you reading on. Altogether an enjoyable book, and one which leaves you feeling you may have learnt something as well – an added bonus!

Crossed Bones is out (in hardback) on 3 April.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try: The Vanishing Point by Mary Sharratt

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 10, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 9, 2008 12:43 PM

Megan Crane's new UK covers

Megan Crane's books Frenemies and English as a Second Language have just been released in the UK.

We've already told you what we think of the books (click links above), but what about the covers? I'm undecided. I like the colours and the typeface, but I'm not convinced by the illustrations.

Related: Megan Crane interview

Posted by Keris on March 9, 2008 in Book covers | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 8, 2008 9:14 AM

Beautiful book art

I've been staring at this picture for a good five minutes now and I still can't get over it.

Go here and see more breathtaking book art. [via Petit ver épicurien de livre]

Posted by Keris on March 8, 2008 in Bookish products | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 7, 2008 4:21 PM

BOOK NEWS: The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew

Harrietcarew I've never read Cristina Odone's weekly column 'Posh But Poor' in the Telegraph. If I had, perhaps I would've been aware of this new release - The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew.

Yes, Harriet is the character from the column, and yes, you could be forgiven for drawing parallels with a certain Bridget Jones... However, unlike Helen Fielding's column-creation, Harriet is a married mother of three, struggling to combine work and family.

Harriet is torn between wanting more time with her children and the need to make more money (her husband is a struggling writer), when her super-successful ex-boyfriend arrives on the scene.

Related posts: Bridget Jones's baby | Book Review: Liz Jones's Diary

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 7, 2008 in Book News, British Authors | Permalink | Comments (1)

MOVIE NEWS: Marley & Me pictures

I was a bit worried that, given his recent troubles, Owen Wilson might have pulled out of Marley & Me, but my fears were unfounded, because here he is with Jennifer Aniston filming in Miami. [via Popsugar]

I loved the book, so I can't wait to see the film. How about you?

Posted by Keris on March 7, 2008 in Movie News | Permalink | Comments (0)

BRAND NEW BOOK NEWS: Dead Beautiful

Columbia MFA student Yvonne Woon's Dead Beautiful, a teenage zombie love story. [via Publishers Marketplace]

Okay, first of all - "Columbia MFA student" makes me sigh. I don't have anything against really young people writing books, it just makes me envy their confidence and determination. Which kind of makes me bitter. But then I find the words "a teenage zombie love story" deeply thrilling. I don't know why. How about you?

Posted by Keris on March 7, 2008 in You heard it here first! | Permalink | Comments (1)

FRIDAY FLICK: Stardust

Stardustfilm I adored Neil Gaiman's book, Stardust, so was immoderately excited when I heard it was being filmed.

Better still was the news that it was being partially shot on the beautiful Isle of Skye, and that the talented Claire Danes, Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer were all on board. 'How can it fail?', I thought, with uncharacteristic optimism...

Joyously, it didn't.

With lots of british comedy actors - including Julian Rhind-Tutt, Mark Heap, David Walliams, Mark Williams, Ricky Gervais, and Sarah Alexander - playing 'spot the actor' was almost as much fun as the action.

Charlie Cox, a relative unknown, played Tristan Thorn. He has a softly handsome, 'everyman' kind of face, that is perfect for the boy-turns-to-man adventure story.

Robert De Niro does a fantastic comedic turn as a camp sky pirate and Michelle Pfeiffer is every bit as good as I expected as the witch intent on cutting out the heart of the fallen star (Claire Danes).

Jane Goldman's screenplay is good, but loving the book as much as I do, I was bound to find fault... It's a little more schmaltzy and 'Hollywood' than Gaiman's original work, but this is a minor criticism. It really is super fun and one I'd recommend even if you're not usually a fantasy fan.

Related posts: Friday Flick archives

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 7, 2008 in Book related, British Authors, Friday Flick, Supernatural | Permalink | Comments (5)

PREVIEW REVIEW: Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

You know how much I love Maureen Johnson - I've raved about her often enough - so I'm sure you appreciate how much I was looking forward to reading Suite Scarlett. So much that I was almost afraid to open it in case it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I needn't have worried.

15-year-old Scarlett Martin lives, with her family, in New York's Hopewell Hotel. The hotel has been in the Martin family for generations, but things aren't going quite so well. Due to money worries, all of the staff has been let go and so it's down to Scarlett, her sister Lola, brother Spencer and their parents to do everything: from manning the reception desk to cooking, cleaning and looking after guests. The Martins' youngest child, Marlene, doesn't have to do anything - a brush with cancer has left her with a bratty sense of entitlement.

Martin family tradition states that at age 15 each family member is given their own suite, complete with guest, to look after. The jewel in the Hopewell's crown, the Empire Suite, is now Scarlett's responsibility ... as is its latest guest, who plans to stay for the entire summer, Mrs Amy Amberson.

With Lola trying to maintain a relationship with her boyfriend, Chip, in the face of his rich friends' distain; Marlene keeping engagements with the "Powerkids", a group of fellow childhood cancer sufferers; and Spencer getting his last chance at becoming a professional actor before having to give it all up for catering college ... oh and the fact that all of Scarlett's friends are off doing improving activities for the summer ... Scarlett's feeling rather alone.

Luckily (or perhaps not) the formidable Mrs Amberson takes a shine to Scarlett and Scarlett soon finds herself working as her assistant, which involves taking the notes on Mrs Amberson's life story and, um, setting up a fake audition to get revenge on one of her former rivals.

And then there's Eric, who's working with Spencer on an off- (far, far off-) Broadway production of Hamlet and who might just be the most amazing boy Scarlett has ever met.

There's so much more, but my fingers are getting tired and I don't want to spoil anything anyway. Suffice it to say that I absolutely loved Suite Scarlett. The characters are so real, charming and funny. The setting (of course) is wonderful and evocative. I didn't want it to end, but I couldn't stop reading it. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Posted by Keris on March 7, 2008 in American Authors, New Releases, Rating: 5/5, Series, Young Adult | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 6, 2008 1:51 PM

World Book Day 2008

It's World Book Day today (in the UK) and hurrah for that! In addition to free £1 book tokens for school children, there are special edition £1 books to buy (one of which is by the wonderful Neil Gaiman).

The organisers also held a Spread The Word competition, and today the winner has been announced. Boy A by Jonathan Trigell, a controversial novel about a child offender, was crowned the Book To Talk About.

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 6, 2008 in Book related, Competition | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: The Trouble With Marriage by Debby Holt

Troublewithmarriage The Trouble With Marriage is more Joanna Trollope than Sophie Kinsella, but there is nothing wrong with that.

It's subtitled 'What happens after the 'happy ever after'?' and I was looking forward to astute observations on marriage, love and parenthood... And I wasn't disappointed.

When Robin - popular, handsome and confident - asked Tilly to marry him, it was the happiest day of her life. Ten years later and, although still utterly besoted with Robin, Tilly feels the sparkle has gone out of their relationship.

Robin is stressed at work, while at home the household bills, chores, two small children and a disobedient dog are adding to the strain.

When Tilly's holier-than-thou mother-in-law moves nearby and begins interfering, and Robin's glamorous ex-girlfriend shows up, Tilly's marriage hits crisis point.

About halfway through the book, I had predicted exactly how things were going to unfold. However, Holt's writing is very engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed Tilly's journey. It's always fun to cheer on a likeable character as she learns to stand on her own two feet.

A gentle, warm read and perfect for a rainy afternoon.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try: Hens Dancing by Raffaela Barker

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 6, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK COVER: Love the One You're With

Emily Giffin's latest, Love the One You're With is out in May in the US and July in the UK.

On the left is the UK cover. It makes me sad (but not as sad as the Baby Proof cover). While the US cover (right) is plain, it's also eye-catching and I think the daisy captures the 'love the one you're with' theme much more subtly than the UK cover does.

Plus have you noticed that more and more the UK covers scream "chick lit" while the US covers just look like, well, fiction? I don't mean that a man would pick up the green cover, but a non chick lit reading woman might. The UK cover? Not a chance.

Posted by Keris on March 6, 2008 in Book covers | Permalink | Comments (1)

BOOK NEWS: Rubbish Boyfriends

Strange duck that I am, I find it thrilling when well-known authors write books under another name. I don't know why. I got so excited when I found out that Morag Prunty was also Kate Kerrigan (but no-one else seemed to care) and then there's Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham and a couple of others that I know about, but can't tell anyone (can you imagine how hard that is for me?!).

Anyway, I'd seen Rubbish Boyfriends in the shop and thought it looked good, but it wasn't until I discovered that "Jessie Jones" is actually Maria Beaumont that I really got interested. It's sad, really, isn't it? (If you know of any more author alter-egos, please tell me. You might just make my day!)

Posted by Keris on March 6, 2008 in Book News | Permalink | Comments (1)

MOVIE NEWS: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day trailer

Because I loved the book so much, I wasn't sure about this film when I first read the cast list, but I think it looks good fun. What do you think?

Posted by Keris on March 6, 2008 in Movie News | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 5, 2008 5:24 PM

Brian Dettmer's Book Autopsies

Bookanatomy If you wince when people fold down the corners of pages or break the spines on books, you may want to look away now... Artist Brian Dettmer has cut into books, revealing the artwork within and creating these amazing sculptures.

[Via InspireMe]

Related posts: Stanford Kay | Mickey Smith's book photographs

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 5, 2008 in Book related, Bookish products | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK COVER: Jennifer Colt

I'd never heard of Jennifer Colt until recently and I still haven't read any of her books, but I do love the covers. The books above are part of the "McAfee Twins" series, which will apparently appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich. So that's me, then.

I just read that the twins, Kerry and Terry, ride a pink Harley. I like 'em already.

Anyone read any?

Related posts: Janet Evanovich interview | Crime/mystery archives

Posted by Keris on March 5, 2008 in American Authors, Book covers | Permalink | Comments (0)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Heather McElhatton

When I asked for reader recommendations way back at the end of last year, one name kept coming up and that was Heather McElhatton's Pretty Little Mistakes. I'm reading it at the moment and it's a mind-boggling achievement. Heather answers our questions below.

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:

It's a choose-your-own-adventure book with over 150 different endings.

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

Where I like to write changes almost every day. I really have to just go with what I feel like. I have a lovely desk with an expensive chair and fantastic lighting, but some days I walk into my office and I think to myself "It's not here."

I don't know exactly what "It" is, maybe it's something like "the current," or "the muse," or "the beat?" Anyway, some days I crawl right back into bed with my laptop and write there. Other days I go to a coffee shop and a few times I've actually sat in my empty bathtub. It's one of those old clawfoot ones with high sides that come up to your ears. I like how quiet it is in there. (I'm so embarrassed to admit this, but I really want to encourage any writers out there to do whatever it takes to write, including weird stuff!)

Your favourite chick-lit book?

I still love Bridget Jones! Also anything by Meg Cabot, Nora Ephron and Amy Sedaris.

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

I really love strong female characters that fight back. There are so many great female characters out there, but I think my all-time favorite female character hasn't been written yet. I want to see a woman who really kicks the world on it's head and takes over completely.

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

Write, no matter what it takes for you to do that. EVERY day. No exceptions. You musn't wait to be inspired or "feel" like writing, you must do it every day and learn to be really disciplined.

NO ONE is going to remind you or encourage you to write. In fact, lots of your friends, even close ones, will say things like "Come on, Let's go out. You can write later." They don't understand writing is your job, just like a job at an office. You must show up, you must be on time and you must get your work done if you expect it to pay off.

What are you reading at the moment?

I am reading and re-reading my current manuscript. Uck! When I'm hot on the trail of a book, I rarely have time to read anything else, which is a shame because I love reading and think it's essential for any writer to read lots and lots.

The last book I read though was Amy Sedaris' book "I like you: Hospitality Under The Influence." It's a hysterical cookbook that made cry laughing.

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

HarperCollins called me with this really fantastic idea for a book called "Average American Female." It's a companion book to one that's already been published called "Average American Male," by Chad Kultgen.

Basically the entire book is one day in one woman's life. Jennifer Johnson. She works in a the marketing department of an mid-range department store in Des Moines. A store that has a "Plus-Size Prom Dress" section.

The book takes us through all the zillions of self-loathing overly-analytical thoughts lots of women put themselves through. She chases the wrong guy, worries about her looks, judges other women, and ends up sleeping around on the first date! She's essentially a satire, a portrait of the woman all of us should strive NOT to be. I'm having so much fun writing it.

Do you have a theme song?

Definitely. It's an oldie but a goodie. Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." I defy anyone to put that song on loud and not get happy!

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!)

Well, you could ask me what gets me through a "bad" writing day, and the answer to that would be my ridiculous adorable pug, Walter.

He distracts me by doing goofy things and demanding walks and treats.

Lots of days when I just don't want to get up, Walter licks my face and harrasses me until I do. I just love him. He even has a blog at www.walterthepug.blogspot.com which I work on when I'm really procrastinating.

I think most writers have a "familiar," a pet or animal or creature that stays with them even when they aren't fit for human company, which for me, is often.

Thanks, Heather!

Posted by Keris on March 5, 2008 in Interviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: Octavia by Jilly Cooper

During my teens and early twenties I devoured Jilly Cooper books. Riders, Rivals, Polo, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, and then the "name" books, which included Emily, Imogen, Prudence and Octavia. In fact, I included the "name" books in a list of chick lit precursors.

I hadn't read any of Cooper's books for years, but when I heard that Octavia was being made into a TV series, I thought I'd give it a re-read. And am I ever sorry I did. We don't usually do spoilers on Trashionista, but I can't fully explain my feelings about this book without talking about the ending, so if you don't want to know how it turns out, don't click over the cut!

Octavia Brennan is a fairly typical Jilly Cooper heroine. A glamorous, beautiful, spoiled, bitch, who can basically have any man she wants and isn't afraid to take them away from other women. When Octavia bumps into a former schoolfriend, Gussie Forbes, she can't believe that Gussie who, according to Octavia, is boring and fat, has managed to get herself engaged to the beautiful Jeremy. So, inevitably, Octavia decides to seduce him.

She's given the perfect opportunity when Gussie invites Octavia to join the happy couple on a canal barge for the weekend. But Gussie has also invited wealthy businessman Gareth Llewellyn (in case the name didn't give it away, he's Welsh). Gussie hopes that Octavia and Gareth might hit it off, but Octavia takes an instant dislike to Gareth, mainly because he doesn't seem interested in her, but also because he knows she's after Jeremy and plans to prevent them getting together.

By about halfway, I was getting a bit bored. While there was entertainment to be had from the supposedly sexy hero coming out with a line like "I know, I know. Christ I'm in such a muddle", the characters are all fairly cliched, Octavia is so unpleasant that I didn't care what happened to her and I knew that she was inevitably going to end up with Gareth anyway so I didn't even need to bother finishing. But then...

Gareth decides that Octavia's behavior has become so bad that someone has to teach her a lesson. And do you know? It's going to be him:

Before I realized it, Gareth had me across his knee. I've never known what the living daylights were before, but he was certainly beating them out of me now. I started to scream and kick.

So, for me, that was the end of Gareth as a romantic hero. I had no love for Octavia, but a man who beats a woman? There's no coming back from that.

But what was even worse that it transformed Octavia's opinion of him. Realising that a beating was just what she needed, she finds she wants to feel Gareth's arms around her, his hands "soothing me and petting me as though I were a child again". Within a couple of pages, she realises she's in love with him.

I was utterly outraged. I understand that this book was written in 1977 and things were different then. I find it hard to believe that things were *so* different that a woman (a woman!) could write such offensive drivel and it was supposed to be romantic and sexy, but what amazes me the most is that it's being turned into a TV series now, in 2008. I obviously can't comment on the series since I don't know what changes they've made, but they'd better have made some drastic ones!

Anyway, things go badly for Octavia. She loses her flat and allowance and has to, finally, work for a living. I'd like to say she learns from it and becomes a better person, but she doesn't. And then Gareth comes back to save her. He's realised he's in love with her too. No, really, he is. Listen:

"I'm going to put my mark on you, so no one else can get near you," he went on, his eyes suddenly serious. "But I warn you, baby, even if we have to fight like cats, I'm going to wear the trousers. You're going to do what I tell you, and if you start upstaging me, I'll put you down. The boys in the Valley are like that. We keep our women in the background and we beat them if they give us any trouble, but we know how to love them."

So that's all right then. And does Octavia say, "Sod off, you pompous misogynist"? No. She says, her knees giving way with lust: "Could we possibly do it again just very quickly before breakfast?"

I actually laughed as I typed that because it is so utterly and totally ridiculous. But it's not funny. It's incredibly offensive and, I believe, dangerous. I wish I could go back in time, knock Octavia out of my teenage self's hands and give her something better to read.

Rating: 1/5

Like this? Read The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer. Soon.

Posted by Keris on March 5, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 1/5, Rubbish Books | Permalink | Comments (2)

Stephanie Plum news and stuff!

Although the cover isn't available yet, the name for the next Stephanie Plum novel has been released on Janet Evanovich's website... It's Fearless Fourteen and release day is 17 June.

If you need a little something to cheer you up during the wait, why not treat yourself to a Rangeman t-shirt or baseball cap (only available in black, naturally)? I quite fancy the 'cupcake' t-shirt, myself. It's got a v-neck and some neat little embroidery... No sign of a free Morelli to go with it, though.

Related posts: Jenny Crusie merchandise | Spotlight: Janet Evanovich

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 5, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Bookish products, Crime / Mystery | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 4, 2008 7:25 PM

BOOK NEWS: Fear and Yoga in New Jersey

Fearandyoga Okay, I admit I hadn't heard of Debra Galant, but the cover of her new novel really jumped out at me, so I did a little digging... Fear and Yoga in New Jersey is Debra's second novel (the first is called Rattled), and she was a freelance writer before publishing fiction.

The star of Fear and Yoga is Nina Gelleman-Summer, a stressed-out yoga teacher, which is something of an oxymoron.

Instead of calmly helping her students relax and connect their mind and bodies, she is worrying about litigious students, a hurricane that is heading for her parents' home, and her husband's job.

To complicate matters, her son Adam is showing a sudden interest in having a Bar Mitzvah, and Nina long ago put her faith into crystals rather than her Jewish heritage.

If that intrigues, you here's a link to the first chapter. Don't say I'm not good to you...

Related posts: Book News archives

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 4, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Book covers | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stumbling on book sites

Are you all familiar with StumbleUpon? It's a toolbar on which you can record sites that you like and then get recommendations for other sites it thinks you might like. Or something like that. Anyway, I've been doing some Stumbling and I've found a few entertaining book-related blogs.

My favourite is Book-A-Minute. Like the Guardian's Digested Read, it's a collection of novels distilled to their essence. Like Pride and Prejudice:

Mr. Darcy: Nothing is good enough for me.

Ms. Elizabeth Bennet: I could never marry that proud man.

(They change their minds.)

THE END

Not book-related, but story-related is One Sentence, which is basically true stories told in, yep, one sentence. Romantic, sad, funny and totally addictive.

Finally, there's What Should I Read Next? I bet you can guess what that one is for. You literally just type in the title of a book you like and it suggests other books you might like. You know, like we do at the end of our reviews. The matches just seem to have been picked up from Amazon, but I still find it strangely addictive.

Trashionista Recommends archives

Posted by Keris on March 4, 2008 in Book related | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: Two Doors Down by Annie McCartney

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

A fabulous looking book, this cover twinkled up to me from my to-be-read pile. I had no idea what it was about, all I had to go on was that cover. But what a delight I found inside.

Marlborough Road is where three households rely on the cleaning (and counselling) services of Sally O’Neill. Sally is what we would have called working class (in days gone by) and the residents of Marlborough Road, middle class. Sally, Miss Black, Clare and Saffron go on a journey where their two classes meet, banishing preconceptions and prejudices on both sides, discovering a friendship they never thought possible.

Clare and her husband Tony have three children, described as free-range, out roaming the lane, with Evie the middle child bent on a rebellious phase towards her mother. Tony seems tied to the work place and isn’t much help.

Saffron is married to the increasingly distant Trevor. A lot older than the vegetarian Buddhist, how will he react to her shocking news? And will he get fed up with her mung bean stews that constantly simmer, stinking the house out?

Then there is Edith Black, a well off retired career lady; she now takes in lodgers (but only a certain class of lodger) at her home. Currently she has Fintan the opera singer and Otis, the rock poet (and waste of space).

What I loved about this book is that its like having a real good nosy around someone else’s house and lives – with no-one even noticing. The pace rattles along and not once was I bored even though it was just a seemingly tame story about the community of Marlborough Road during one particular period in time. McCartney has made some fairly ordinary lives utterly fascinating. A more contemporary Maeve Binchy perhaps (and that is high praise from me as I love Ms Binchy).

I cannot add anymore, I’ll just let the mark out of five speak for itself.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell

Posted by Keris on March 4, 2008 in Rating: 5/5, Recent Release | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK NEWS: Straight Up

I loved Catriona McCloud's debut novel, Growing Up Again, so I can't wait to read her new one, Straight Up.

It's the story of Verity Drummond - "a florist by trade and a fantasist by nature". After her husband leaves her, she deals with the pain by writing Straight Up, a novel in which a man on a mountaineering expedition (bearing a striking resemblance to her former husband) dies all alone in a hole in the ice, starving, wretched and with his broken bones poking through his skin.

But when Verity goes to LA to discuss a film adaptation of Straight Up, she finds that people are under the misapprehension that her book is fact and so to protect her dream, Verity has to make sure no-one finds out the real truth (or, should I say, the "true reality").

While the story sounds good, the cover's disappointing (as was the original cover of Growing Up Again).

Posted by Keris on March 4, 2008 in Book News, Book covers | Permalink | Comments (0)

HELEN'S HEROINES: Nancy Drew

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

Whilst watching the film The Swiss Family Robinson the other day, I was struck at how the woman, ‘mother’, was left out of doing the work and therefore, it seemed to me, left out of having any fun. She was just sitting on the beach watching her husband and three sons, day after day. Being female looked really boring.

I couldn’t help but mutter to my son about women and their portrayal on the TV. I know The Swiss Family Robinson is meant to be about a family about 200 years ago, but I still continued to mutter (though my four year old wasn’t that interested to be honest). Growing up I was drawn to strong heroines which was also reflected in my choice of toy. I didn’t want a pretend ironing board; no, I wanted a train set. Or a magnifying glass so I could look for clues and be an ‘amateur sleuth’ just like this week’s heroine, Nancy Drew.

Nancy Drew was written by one of my writing heroines, Carolyn Keene. Imagine my shock when I discovered only a few days ago, that Carolyn is a pseudonym for the syndicate behind the series. Where have I been?! It has even been mentioned on Trashionista, and I am now reading about books* that have been written on the Nancy Drew phenomenon which will cover far more than I can here. So I am writing this as an innocent fan of both Nancy Drew and Carolyn Keene (who was really, amongst other writers, Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams).

But another shock was to hit me. Nancy Drew is over seventy five years old. She was created in 1930 and in those times was portrayed as independent, active, driving at high speeds and carrying a gun – the latter is not something I’m advocating you understand – just a demonstration of how different she was from the era she lived in. A feisty girl was something different but something the girls’ living in the 1930s wanted and was ready for. From the 1940s onwards she became less reckless, and had more respect for adults but still retained that independent and active spirit.

She is neither a tomboy nor into the glamorous side of being a girl. She has her friends George and Bess to fulfil those roles. She falls somewhere in between. She isn’t boastful about her achievements (and in seventy five years she has solved a lot of mysteries for an eighteen year old) “I blushed slightly … I can face down a hardened criminal or recalcitrant witness without batting an eye, but its always a little unnerving when regular people recognise me based on my reputation for amateur sleuthing.”

She has her faults, as her good friend Bess says “…I don’t know how you can be so sharp and organised about solving mysteries and so scatterbrained about everything else…” But this just helps to make a fully rounded, inspirational heroine.

Nancy Drew is brave, confident and daring (so called male traits) and also polite, kind, sensitive and caring (so called female traits). She doesn’t give up on her passions or hobbies for a date with her boyfriend (poor old Ned Nickerson), but is plucky and goes out into the dark, on her own, with her trusty flashlight. She doesn’t wish that she were a boy. She doesn’t sit around looking bored. Instead she shows just how great and exciting it can be to be a girl.

* Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak

Related: Helen's Heroines archives

Posted by Keris on March 4, 2008 in Helen's Heroines | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another false memoir...

Best-selling Holocaust autobiography, Misha: A Memoir of the Holocaust Years, turns out to be false.

Released over ten years ago, the story tells how the six-year-old Misha went looking for her parents (who had been taken to Auschwitz), and was saved from starvation by a pack of wolves, who accepted her as part of their family.

Now, after being presented with irrefutable evidence, Misha (real name, Monique De Wael) has admitted to making the whole thing up.

Monique claims that "it is not the true reality, but it is my reality." Huh?

Here's an idea; why not just label it 'fiction' in the first place and avoid the nasty tarnish to your karma?

[Via Independent]

Related posts: And in hoax news... | Yay or Nay: misery memoirs

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 4, 2008 in Book News, Memoirs, Opinion | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 3, 2008 8:01 PM

MORE ON MONDAY: The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen

Louisdrax I am a big fan of Liz Jensen. I loved Egg Dancing, Ark Baby and My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time. Always acerbically funny, some of Jensen's books have been more light-hearted than others: The Ninth Life of Louis Drax is not one of them.

It's a dark, twisted story, with chillingly real characters. But don't let that put you off!

Narrated by nine-year-old coma patient, Louis, and Dannachet, his doctor, the story is both a mystery and a gothic ghost tale.

Despite being attracted to Natalie Drax, Louis' mother, Dannachet begins to question her version of the events that led to Louis' near-fatal fall into a ravine.

Through Louis and his mother, we piece together Louis' personality and life before his fall - he is accident-prone, dysfunctional and sees a therapist - but is this the whole story?

Louis' voice is startlingly original and utterly compelling. This book stayed with me long after I closed it and I urge you to give it a whirl.

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 3, 2008 in British Authors, More On Monday, Rating: 5/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK COVER: Change Of Heart

Changeofheart When we interviewed Jodi Picoult, she told us about her latest book (at the time she had just finished writing it). Well, it's called Change Of Heart and is out in the US this month, April in the UK.

I just saw the UK cover and I find it utterly haunting. I love the blue eggs, but the way they are all broken at the child's feet... I'm guessing that's the way it's supposed to make me feel. Good job.

And, for once I prefer it to the US cover. Carry on over the cut to see if you agree.

Changeofheartus_2 Here's the US version. It's certainly in keeping with Picoult's previous covers, but it lacks the atmosphere and impact of the UK one.

Related posts: Book Covers archives

Posted by Sarah Painter on March 3, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Book covers, New Releases | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, even more Sophie Kinsella

I know, I know, I'm kind of obsessed. But it's only because I love her books and am intrigued by the Shopaholic movie and wish I was as successful as her.

Anyway, you can watch a video of Sophie discussing both her latest novel, Remember Me?, and the forthcoming film here.

And if Deborah's review has whetted your appetite, you can read an excerpt from Remember Me? here.

Now I'll do my best not to mention her again this week, but I'm not making any promises!

Related: Sophie Kinsella archives

Posted by Keris on March 3, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

BRAND NEW BOOK NEWS: A Book for Carley

Tanya Egan Gibson's novel is the story of Carley, a young girl living in the insular community of Long Island's North Shore. As she struggles between her unrequited love for her best friend, her parents' decide to buy her a love of reading by commissioning a desperate novelist to write a book especially for Carley's 16th birthday.

I like this idea because I like reading about writers, but I know that irritates some people. What do you think?

Posted by Keris on March 3, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOOK REVIEW: The Ballroom Class by Lucy Dillon

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

I was very excited when I received ‘The Ballroom Class’ by Lucy Dillon for two reasons. 1) I love Strictly Come Dancing (who doesn’t – even my Dad is a massive fan) 2) like the character Lauren in the book I too dragged my husband-to-be to dance lessons for our wedding (we learned the rumba to ‘I’ve had (the time of my life)’ – ahh).

This is a story about couples forming friendships and repairing relationships on and off the dance floor. Katie believes her husband Ross has become more like a brother to her. She is a working Mum and he a stay at home Dad. She can’t help working late – her boss demands it – so would it hurt him too much to put the Hoover around during the day?

Lauren, the bride to be, is having increasingly ambitious plans for her wedding day extravaganza, encouraged by her mother-in-law to be. Lauren’s mother, Bridget, is having sleepless nights over the sheer cost of it all. Angelica has returned to the town where she grew up, where her past is about to catch up with her. As an ex professional dancer (with fake tan, caked on make up – the lot) she decides to set up weekly dance lessons in the local dance hall.

Whilst learning rock ‘n’ roll, the foxtrot and the tango relationships start to unravel. Can the dancing eventually put them back together?

Sometimes when you are really excited by a new film or a new book you can end up disappointed. Not in the case of ‘The Ballroom Class’. The relationships are intense and real. There are no superficial characters out of a large cast. Ross and Katie’s relationship was one which I could completely empathise. As a fan of ballroom dancing I can imagine what they are doing on the dance floor but you don’t have to be a fan of dancing to enjoy this book. If you enjoy reading about relationships and all the complexities that go with it then this is for you. The Ballroom Dancing is the entertaining scenery.

About three quarters of the way through though I did feel the plot lost its pace which was a little frustrating. This is what is stopping me from giving this fine debut novel a five out of five. (But it is a high four.)

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Dancing With Mules by Morag Prunty

Posted by Keris on March 3, 2008 in British Authors, New Releases, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 2, 2008 11:45 AM

BOOK NEWS: 31 Dream Street

I love Lisa Jewell (her second novel, Thirtynothing, is one of my favourite ever chick lit books) and I loved her latest book, 31 Dream Street, when I read it in hardback.