on "Chick Lit" books

I remember there was a meme going on and as a part of it I was asked about my opinion on chick lit genre. I answered then that I like the books but hate the name "chick lit". Now I came to the conclusion is not the "chick lit genre" as it is, but as I want it to be: a light, fluffy and humorous story centered on a female protagonist - or several protagonists, with or without a romantic subplot. In fact, there are some books that fit this definition that I liked, "English as the Second Language" by Megan Crane, for example. And those I hate to call "chick lit".

The most of it though, seems to be all about brand-names, shoes, shopping and glamorous life of whomever, and I am desperately bored just to leaf through them at the bookstore. Of course, one may always said that 80% of every genre - or mainstream literature is crap, but in the case of chick lit they do represent the essence of the genre for the public. When we think about fantasy, we think about "Lord of the Rings", when we think of "Chick lit" we think "Devil Wears Prada". Which is telling, right?

So, I think I should put it this way: I love light and witty books about women, I don't like "chick lit".

In my travels I saw "Nanny Diaries" - the book, not the movie - for $1 and bought it, figuring that it won't be a big loss if I don't like it. I mean, here is another shining example of the genre, and maybe it really is as good as it is popular. No, I didn't like it. I haven't even finish it - though I did check the ending. There are so many reasons why I disliked it, and they all covered by hundreds of one- or two-star reviews on Amazon. To be fair, there are much more positive reviews there.

So what did I hate?
( Nanny Diaries review )