I've been up way past my bedtime the past couple nights. This is, in fact, not an uncommon thing for me. Outside of emergency situations and that hacking cough I had last week, there is really only one thing that keeps me up late, but it keeps me up late reliably–reading a damn good book.
I may tread on some toes here, but hear me out. The book I'm reading right now is surprisingly good. I purchased it because I'm familiar with the author and love her writing (not to mention I also consider her a life-saving compass when I'm in Sephora!), but I wasn't expecting her recently published book to be so good it makes me forget to sleep!
I'll not lie, I'm not a huge fan of the chick lit genre. I don't enjoy reading "fluffy" books because they're over too fast! At the rate I read, I don't have time to feel like I got to know the characters. If I'm going to breeze through something that quickly, it might as well be a Sex in the City rerun on TBS (which totally have their place in the world and my life). Additionally, I don't often relate to the characters in chick lit. When I'm in a bar, I don't wonder if that guy is really looking at me, or at someone else just past me. I'm pretty damn sure he's looking at me, because people who walk into walls with the frequency I do just garner attention like that.
An interruption: When I'm in a bar, I generally spend my wondering on questions like, "If there is a three drink limit and you have your choice of Dog Fish Head 60-Minute IPA on draft (16 oz) or Dog Fish Head 90-Minute IPA in bottle (12 oz), which one will get you the drunkest?" Boy and I figured it out once, but I forget the answer. Probably because I had circumvented the three drink limit myself with ONE BOTTLE of wine.
ANYHOW… I love Real Girl's book! I can't sleep! I keep reading! And while it's blessedly not a Faulkner, it also isn't a book I'm whipping through at the speed of light. No, it's kept me up two nights in a row! (Even Pick Me Up was no match for the 11 shots of vodka Saturday night…) There is mystery and intrigue and fabulous characters and multiple plots lines. Also, there are cute pick up lines at the beginning of every chapter. Whenever I finish a chapter, I have to go back and reread the pick up line to see how cleverly it was chosen.
I may have to take an early lunch and go read some right now!
In short, you should buy this book. Not only will you have the pleasure of reading it, we'll encourage Real Girl and her publisher that she should write more! Also, then i might not be the only one who bypassed something my 11th grade English teacher would have been proud of (autographed! I love my mom!) for another shiny pink book.
UPDATE 6/14: I finished it last night. So good. Just the ending I was wanting from the very beginning. I was so eager to finish it I managed to block out Dave Chappelle. And that is no small feat, my friends.
I’m not a chick lit fan, either — which I’m pretty sure is 50% ’cause most have bored me, and 50% snobbery
However, I’m intrigued by the books ability to cause sleeplessness, and may have to investigate. I’m currently on a “no book store” diet (pre-move), but may accidentally pick it up some time.
In the same vein, have you checked out Jen Lancaster’s book “Bitter is the New Black”? I enjoyed that muchly, and it’s fun ’cause I read her blog (also? we’re Myspace friends, which is fun also).