Wednesday, June 30, 2010

File under: Things that don't happen in my life

Diary of a Working Girl - Daniella Brodsky (Berkley Books, 2004)

Sometimes, you just need some chick lit. (Well, maybe you don't, but I do.) And the lovely and talented Siel happened to have one, and was all-too-happy to get it out of her apartment.

This novel struck me as almost shockingly derivative of Confessions of a Shopaholic. Brodsky even has her main character namecheck the book and its author at some point. (She also mentions thinking of Bridget Jones as a real person, which is a bad habit I have had at various points in the past.) But I actually liked this way more than COAS. (In fact, I'm surprised I gave the book a good review on my blog, b/c in my memory I was kind of horrified by how mediocre it was.) I found Becky vapid and annoying. But Lane, even if she was doing the same ridiculous things - like going shopping when you're late to work on your first day?!? wtf - was somehow endearing. I felt like it lost a little steam toward the end, when the inevitable happy ending arrives, but these books are more about the buildup than the actual payoff, right?

It also doesn't hurt that I've always liked the name Lane (actually, preferably Laine) thanks to the Babysitters' Club books and also my girl Lelaina Pierce.

1 comment:

Don said...

I remember Reality Bites being a painful thing to watch as I saw it in the aftermath of a really bad break-up. But then, most movies were painful in those months (I remember finding Mrs Doubtfire depressing because of the divorce storyline).