Do you find chick-lit dumb or do you enjoy it?

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IdahoRose
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08 Jul 2011, 1:45 am

Do trashy romance novels count as chick lit? I love those things! I read them for the same reason I watch shows like MANswers, The Soup and World's Dumbest - It's mindless entertainment that helps me to forget my worries for a little while and enjoy some light-heartedness.



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08 Jul 2011, 9:29 pm

Standard chick lit is torture for me.

I believe Whip It! by Shauna Cross, however, is still chick lit, but it was more girl-power, anti-establishment, and that was good.

Of the few girl friends I have, my bookshelves could not possibly be more different than theirs, which all look the same - chick lit and love stories.


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11 Jul 2011, 7:37 pm

There's absolutely nothing wrong with chick-lit but I can't stand it.
The creatures that are supposed to be the main caracters in these stories are totally unfamiliar to me. I don't recognise myself in them and I don't get them either. So no chick-lit for me I'm afraid.

Sorry for my English by the way. I'm from The Netherlands and English is not exactly my first language.



pree10shun
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11 Jul 2011, 8:45 pm

pokerface wrote:
There's absolutely nothing wrong with chick-lit but I can't stand it.
The creatures that are supposed to be the main caracters in these stories are totally unfamiliar to me. I don't recognise myself in them and I don't get them either. So no chick-lit for me I'm afraid.

Sorry for my English by the way. I'm from The Netherlands and English is not exactly my first language.


Your English is actually pretty good... Well my English is not all that perfect either :)



karenina
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13 Jul 2011, 5:48 am

Some chick lit is ok occasionally... I've read through a fair bit of my mum's collection. The author I probably have the least respect for is Cecelia Ahern. "P.S. I Love You" seems to be a classic example of a reasonable idea written so poorly that all the soul is sucked out of it.

Generally I prefer the old fashioned sort of chick lit. Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell wrote some rather fantastic girly books.



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13 Jul 2011, 5:59 am

IdahoRose wrote:
Do trashy romance novels count as chick lit? I love those things! I read them for the same reason I watch shows like MANswers, The Soup and World's Dumbest - It's mindless entertainment that helps me to forget my worries for a little while and enjoy some light-heartedness.


I love mills and boon for the same reason. 8)

I hate all those stupid chic lit books and also most best seller stuff. I just can't get into it.


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Henbane
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13 Jul 2011, 6:30 am

I don't like chick-lit books, but I can see why NT women do. Same goes for books like The Da Vinci Code. When I was a bookseller those sorts of books used to annoy me. They're like a virus, the more people read them, the more people read them.

If I want an easy read then I'll get a dodgy horror or Sci-fi book instead.



trissy
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14 Jul 2011, 3:18 pm

I hardly ever read fiction, let alone chick-lit. The only fiction I ever read is short sci-fi stories. There are some really good sci-fi anthologies out there and I can read a story in one sitting. But when it comes to longer books, I pretty much stick to non-fiction about math & science.



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16 Jul 2011, 3:58 am

I have neve read any, it doesnt appeal to me enough to read it.

I like sci fi



joeyfarlz
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18 Jul 2011, 3:40 pm

Thinking about Mills and Boon makes me want to be sick... I love reading, but I prefer crime or fantasy (Jodi Picoult, JK Rowling, and Dan Brown are my favourite) but also, I like the classics.... My favourite in that genre is Jane Eyre, but I even get a bit grossed out in Jane Eyre with the connection between Jane and Mr. Rochester towards the end of the book.



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18 Jul 2011, 6:44 pm

I read every completed Jane Austen novel for a course. It's half chick-lit, half social commentary. I kind of understand why the women behave like damsels waiting for their man because that's how you got married in those days I guess. I don't know if I read any modern "chick-lit" or not. If so, I would probably get annoyed with the characters for being dumbasses. XD



pree10shun
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18 Jul 2011, 10:52 pm

joeyfarlz wrote:
Thinking about Mills and Boon makes me want to be sick... I love reading, but I prefer crime or fantasy (Jodi Picoult, JK Rowling, and Dan Brown are my favourite) but also, I like the classics.... My favourite in that genre is Jane Eyre, but I even get a bit grossed out in Jane Eyre with the connection between Jane and Mr. Rochester towards the end of the book.


I read jane eyre in school when I was 11 so yes I was grossed out too by the ending a bit.

Quote:
I read every completed Jane Austen novel for a course. It's half chick-lit, half social commentary. I kind of understand why the women behave like damsels waiting for their man because that's how you got married in those days I guess. I don't know if I read any modern "chick-lit" or not. If so, I would probably get annoyed with the characters for being dumbasses. XD


I know what you mean. Even though Austen got onto my nerves in the beginning... I had to read for school and it made me realize that in the past their romantic life (of, pertaining to, or of the nature of romance; characteristic or suggestive of the world of romance) was romantic (fanciful; impractical; unrealistic) lol. But some of todays chick-lit is too dumb I agree.



pree10shun
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18 Jul 2011, 10:54 pm

Henbane wrote:
I don't like chick-lit books, but I can see why NT women do. Same goes for books like The Da Vinci Code. When I was a bookseller those sorts of books used to annoy me. They're like a virus, the more people read them, the more people read them.

If I want an easy read then I'll get a dodgy horror or Sci-fi book instead.


I can't stand horror and when I am bored of reading Sci-fi I usually turn to chick-lit or classic dramas.



joeyfarlz
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19 Jul 2011, 11:22 am

Chick-Lit is so predictable: Boy meets Girl, they start dating, they have Sex, they break up, they get back together again. More Sex and Breaking up and the cycle just repeats itself and if they are really lucky, they can get married.



karenina
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19 Jul 2011, 11:54 am

Not always. It frequently seems to be:

Girl has boyfriend --> boyfriend dumps her --> girl heartbroken --> girl gets over it and discovers her own sense of self worth --> girl gets new and better boyfriend --> girls ex boyfriend wants her back and she turns him down, therefore winning.

Erisad wrote:
I read every completed Jane Austen novel for a course. It's half chick-lit, half social commentary.


I think that's a lot of why I like the older books. Elizabeth Gaskell is particularly good for that.