New Book Sources and Shopaholic Review

Some of my favourite sources of information on new books:

• BOOKS section of the Globe and Mail Weekend Edition (in-depth reviews)
• CBC TV's "HOT TYPE" program
• Powells.com DAILY DOSE e-newsletter
• Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
• harpercollins.com, harpercollins.ca, and harperteen.com

Today's review:

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella ("chick lit")

Summary: Becky is back in debt again. She's looking forward to a bright future and sees her purchases as "investments". She and Luke travel to New York and make plans to further their careers there. But Becky's debts, and her spendthrift habits, have followed her across the pond. It is only with a little luck that complete disaster may be averted.

My thoughts: Like the other Shopaholic books, reading about Becky's shopping habits can be stressful, which is a bit much for light "chick lit". On the other hand, there is enough humour to relieve the tension, and enough plot (romantic and otherwise) to keep the reader from closing the covers before the end. Becky's shopping and her justifications for her purchases are at once outrageous and ridiculous and all too familiar to some of us. Maybe some lessons here for shopaholic book-buyers?

~Happy reading!~