Book Recommendaton #2: Attack of the Pink Books

Have you noticed the plethora of pink books that assail you every time you visit a bookstore? They are impossible to miss.

It used to be that the "romance novels" were always kept in the back of the store, their bodice ripping covers hidden as they were stacked on the bookshelves. But at some point recently, these books have made a comeback. They are no longer your traditional romance novels with sex and heavy breathing instead they are slightly more sophisticated books about the "plight" of the modern woman looking for success and love, usually in all the wrong places. There are no scantily clad men and women on the cover. They are still loud and proud, but in a more tasteful don't be embarrassed for picking me up type of way. As far as I can tell they are usually pink or some other relatively bright color with fun stenciled lettering and sketches of women on the cover.

I confess that every once in awhile I have been known to pick up such a book. Although in my defense, on a few occasions I thought I was purchasing a legitimate novel only to discover that I had fallen into the black whole of "chick lit". Here are some of the silly pink books I have read in the past year...

1. The Devil Wears Prada: Everyone was talking about this book, so I thought I should read it too, especially since it is going to be turned into a movie starring Meryl Streep as the evil, fashion editor, boss and Anne Hathaway as the wide-eyed, magazine assistant. I did not like the book. The narrator is boring and the boss is a total caricature. Apparently, the author based the story on her real life experience working with Anna Wintour. I sincerely hope the movie will be better.
2. The Nanny Diaries: Yet another book that everyone was talking about that ended up sucking. It's essentially just like The Devil Wears Prada but instead of being a magazine assistant, the narrator is a nanny.
3. Last Chance Saloon: So I bought this book because the cover looked fun. It was used, so it was super cheap - huge plus! It's really a stereotypical chick lit novel (girls searching for success and love). If you have already read Sushi for Beginners, this is essentially a rehash. So don't waste your money.
4. Can You Keep a Secret: My sister bought me this book. I read it on a roadtrip to a wedding in Toronto. It was actually funny. I hate to admit it, but I almost laughed out loud a couple times. (Shameful, I know!) Then a girl friend of mine borrowed it. And then she loaned it to another friend. If there are actually any pink books worth buying, this would be one of them.
5. Hand-Me-Downs: So I bought this book with/for my little sister for our trip to Italy. It is about the youngest of three sisters who is sick of hand me downs and living in the shadow of her older more successful sisters. But then she falls for her sister's ex-boyfriend... the hand-me-down boyfriend. The book was pretty ridiculous. But as the older sister, I would have been the swinsuit model, so that's kind of cool.

Hopefully, I haven't committed a major faux pas by letting you know of my less than intellectual reads. But perhaps you will think better of me if you know that I am currently reading Everything is Illuminated and The English Patient. The pink books are just a great guilty pleasure.