Shopaholic’s Relatives: Sophie Kinsella’s Other Books
I haven’t read any of the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella that inspired Isla Fisher’s new starring role as Becky in the film Confessions of a Shopaholic. I have, however, read two of Sophie’s other books: Can You Keep a Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess. Here’s a snapshot review of the first.
Novel Title: Can You Keep a Secret?
Author: Pen name Sophie Kinsella; real name Madeleine Townley Wickham.
Year: 2003
Story Behind the Book’s Name: The main character, Emma, spills her inner thoughts to the man sitting next to her on a plane when the flight experiences turbulence.
Type of Story: Friendly stranger turns out to be the new boss.
Main Setting: London office
First Sentence: Of course I have secrets.
My Thoughts: I grabbed this paperback from the used bookstore before I had heard of Kinsella, based on the bright pink cover and “New York Times Bestseller” label. The story is very formulaic chick lit - bumbling girl struggles with love, work, and finding her way in the world - but the witty dialogue and easy to relate to awkward situations make it a bit more. It’s fun and light, an entertaining, easy read.
Similar Reads: Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger. Kinsella has a similar tone and style to Jennifer Weiner.
Other Books by the Author: The Shopaholic series, which consists of five books published from 2000 to 2007. Outside of that series, she wrote The Undomestic Goddess (2005), Remember Me? (2008), Twenties Girl (2009), and contributed to Girls Night In (2004). Under her real name, she also wrote another seven novels.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I have read all the Shopaholic books and I really love them. True, they are light and frothy, not serious reading, but that makes me love them all the more, cause I need the break from real life. I’d recommend them to anyone who just wants something fun and light to read through in an afternoon.
From what I’ve seen watching the movie trailer, it looks like they may have changed it more than I would have wanted them to. But we’ll see.