A Secret Indulgence

No one else knows this. I own quite a few, and every ten days or so, or every time the stress is too much, I indulge in one. No, I'm not talking about that shot or snort, or even chocolate. I'm talking about Chick-lit.

Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries - 1 is the book that made me a fan. I read it when I was a young teen and couldn't wait for the next book. The first book remains my firm favourite in the series. I read upto Book 6 and gave up, until I chanced upon the last book recently. Feeling nostalgic, I bought books 7 to 10. I think that 10 is the second-best book. I love reading anything by Meg Cabot. Guaranteed stress busters, and great fun.

I soon moved on to Sue Townsend, M.C. Beaton (Marion Chesney), Melissa Bank, Lauren Weisberger, Zoey Dean, Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, Jennifer Weiner and Candace Bushnell.

Chick-lit is different from Feminist fiction (another favourite genre of mine). It is written by women for women, and the plot revolves around everyday life and issues such as career, relationships, friendship, love (these are different from romances - here it could be love of mother and child, for instance), obesity, illness, addiction and de-addiction, studies and so on. The writing style is usually personal, even confiding, and very, very humourous. The protagonists are usually intelligent women, but never boring. Even in the midst of the huge crisis, the character's tone is always humourous and the characters laugh at themselves. Serious issues are treated in a lighter vein, and the plot is most often realistic.

Don't get me wrong - when I said "no one else knows this", I did NOT mean to imply that I was or am in any way, ashamed of reading them. Were it so, I would not have revealed it here. It's just that for some unkown reason, Chick-lit novels have never come up in any of my lists or discussions of favourite books and authors, and therefore, no one I know knows this about me (until now - Friday, 13/Feb/2009. Why is Friday the 13th a revelation day for me?). I have no idea why there are so many brickbats hurled at chicklit novels and their authors. These are definitely NOT trashy and some of the plots, writing styles and characters could put to shame any of the self-proclaimed "serious writers". So go read them. You can never have enough humour and laughter in life, especially during these troubled times. Which is where Chicklit novels are extremely valuable. Here's a hint - pick up one when you're upset about something, grab a bar of your favourite chocolate, and I dare you to tell me you didn't feel better after reading the book.