“Gotta write a classic”, crooned Adrian Gurvitz in his 1982 hit song. Well these authors certainly have with these titles. Love 'em or hate 'em, these classic reads are the ones that have helped define the chick lit genre or set new boundaries. Many still have an enduring appeal years after they were published while others just had everyone talking about them from the moment they were published.
Admissions - Nancy Lieberman (2004)
The Tuesday after Labor Day marks the start of Manhattan's private school admissions when wealthy families try to call in every favour to get their child into their school of choice. For Helen Drager, mother of Zoe, it shouldn't be such an ordeal getting her into high school because she's president of The School's parents' association and her best friend Sara is its admissions officer. But with competition fierce and with little help from an increasingly absent headmistress, Helen turns to her television producer husband to sweet-talk some of the prospective school heads - offering one a shot at her own cooking show and becoming a sporting buddy with another. Will it be enough? 7/10
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Bergdorf Blondes - Plum Sykes (2004)
A much-talked-about tale of life as a Bergdorf Blonde - the Park Avenue Princesses (PAPs) who are on the prowl for the must-have accessory, a rich fiancé. English Lit major Moi, who works as a freelance magazine writer, is friends with the perfect example, department store heiress Julie Bergdorf, who gets her blonde locks touched up every 13 days. Will Moi find her Prospective Husband (PH) in her European travels or has he been under her nose all this time?
4/10
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Bitter is the New Black - Jen Lancaster (2006)
One of the first chick lit blooks (blogs turned into a book). Former sorority girl Jen gets laid off as a company VP during the dotcom bust and has to move out of her flash apartment. This is a bitter pill for Jen to swallow, as she is designer labels all the way. In fact the subtitle says it all: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office. This memoir adapted from Jen's blog charts her search for a new job and a cheaper apartment. Should she marry depressed boyfriend Fletch to score all the gifts; will she ever escape the temp job market? Jen is so self-absorbed, obnoxious and snotty (you're glad to hear she has a weight problem), that you'd probably hate to have her as a friend but her over-the-top personality makes this story an engrossing read.
6/10
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Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding (1996)
One of the must-read classics of chick lit and a movie starring Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. Singleton Bridget keeps a diary detailing her weight losses and gains, alcohol units, cigarettes and of course, her experiences with men. Her diary opens with Bridget on the way to the New Year's Day Turkey Curry Buffet, where she meets Mark Darcy, a divorced human rights lawyer. Their paths keep crossing, as she has an affair with her womanising boss Daniel Cleaver, a man Mark despises. And don't forget the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
9/10
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Carrie Pilby - Caren Lissner (2003)
A more serious chick lit book with a very intense character. As the book blurb says: “Carrie Pilby needs to find 10 things she loves. And do five things she fears . . . But first she has to leave her apartment.” Carrie doesn't fit in - she skipped three grades through school so had finished Harvard by age 19 - and prefers lying in bed in her apartment. It doesn't help that Carrie looks down on everyone with a lower IQ (which includes almost everyone in New York). The only person she sees regularly is her therapist, who comes up with a plan to get her interacting socially, including joining an organisation and going on a date. But Carrie goes about her mission in her own quirky way, picking a church to join so she can expose it as a cult, and turning to the personal ads for a date, picking Matt who is wanting to cheat on his fiancée.
6/10
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I Don't Know How She Does It - Allison Pearson (2002)
This is a classic story about a woman who tries to juggle too much in an age where women are wondering about the myth of “having it all”. Hedge-fund manager Kate Reddy is a frazzled mother of two who's trying to make store-bought mince pies look homemade for the school Christmas party. Married to architect Richard, Kate feels endless guilt about not being a good-enough mother, especially because she has to travel a lot for work. When one of her trips brings her into contact with attractive client Jack Abelhammer, her family life is tested even more.
6/10
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Must Love Dogs - Claire Cook (2002)
Sarah Hurlihy, a 40-something divorced preschool teacher, is about to delve back into the dating world, putting a personal ad in the newspaper for a man who “must love dogs”. Although her first date with a man with a yellow rose turns out to be a disaster, to put it mildly, she soon finds herself with more than one man on her radar, including John Anderson, who borrowed a dog for their first date, and Bob O'Connor, the father of one of her students. If only her interfering family would stop turning up at the most inopportune times. This book was adapted into the 2005 movie, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack.
7/10
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PS I Love You - Cecelia Ahern (2004)
The movie starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler is due in cinemas this December. Holly's husband, Gerry, dies from a brain tumour, just as she is about to turn 30. Her parents pass on a parcel from him, which has 10 envelopes in it - each one listing a monthly mission for her to get her life back on track. With some help from her friends and family, Holly finds she can still laugh, sing and be brave; as the love of her life helps her learn that life goes on. This moving book was written by Ahern when she was just 21 years old.
6/10
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Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes (1997)
Rachel Walsh has such a fondness for recreational drugs that she's even had her stomach pumped. Now her family's bought her back to Dublin for a spell in the Cloisters rehab clinic. She's only agreed because she needs a holiday and she's heard it is like a spa full of rock stars. What Rachel finds is a diverse group of characters fighting addictions to everything from alcohol to gambling - and not a massage table in sight. Lucky that Rachel doesn't actually have a problem like the rest of them - she's planning on checking herself out real soon. This book often tops the list of favourite novels for many chick lit authors and readers.
7/10
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See Jane Date - Melissa Senate (2001)
Assistant editor Jane Gregg thinks her life will be perfect once she gets a promotion and finds a man. And she enlists her friends' help in setting her up with blind dates. But first she has to make it through her cousin Dana's wedding as a bridesmaid in peach; and edit her childhood nemesis Natasha Nutley's memoirs about her affair with a famous actor.
7/10
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Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin (2004)
Attorney Rachel White has always been the consummate good girl - until her 30th birthday. After too many drinks, she ends up in bed with her best friend's fiancé, Dex. They then continue their secret relationship as his wedding to Darcy approaches. What best friend would ever do that? But there's always two sides to every story: Rachel has always lived in the shadow of her often selfish best friend. Darcy has effortlessly breezed through life getting exactly what she wants, while Rachel's just had to watch from the sidelines. Rachel needs to decide what is more important - friendship or true love. Giffin writes from both friends' perspectives - Rachel then Darcy's - in a book that tops the favourites list for many chick lit readers.
9/10
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Tales of a Drama Queen - Lee Nichols (2004)
Life would be perfect for Elle Medina and her attorney fiancé Louis, if he hadn't married someone else on a business trip to Iowa. So Elle moves to Santa Barbara to be with her best friend Maya and her boyfriend, Perfect Brad, to start again. She just needs to find a job, an apartment and a new boyfriend - and avoid a credit card collection agent. But this proves rather challenging as she finds it hard to hold down a job and the only man she meets has awful red hair.
8/10
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The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger (2003)
The Devil Wears Prada is the quintessential boss-from-hell tale and became an international bestseller. Aspiring writer Andrea Sachs lands the job “a million girls would die for” as a junior assistant to Miranda Priestley, the demanding editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Runway. Andrea's dream job is to write for The New Yorker but despite her lack of dress sense, a bout of dysentery in India and no time to eat on the job soon sees Andrea able to fit better into the magazine's world - and its designer samples. Andrea gets caught up working 14-hour days, trying to make sense of Miranda's usually unreasonable commands, from getting a yet-to-be-released Harry Potter book into the hands of her children to finding the name of a store where she once spotted a vintage dresser. Andrea barely sees boyfriend Alex or flatmate Lily but she's willing to stick at the job for a year so Miranda will recommend her for her dream job. It comes in as No. 1 on my list of Top Ten all-time favourites. A movie of the same name stars Anne Hathway as Andrea and Meryl Streep as Miranda.
9/10
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The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank (1999)
This book is a series of stories mostly taken from different times in narrator Jane Rosenal's life. It opens with her brother, Henry, bringing home an older girlfriend, who Jane watches for clues on how to fall in love. It follows Jane through several failed love affairs, including with a much older man Archie Knox; career crises in publishing and advertising; and the death of a loved one. The book has been critically acclaimed but it makes my Top 10 list of Most Disappointing books.
5/10
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The Journal of Mortifying Moments - Robyn Harding (2004)
Advertising account manager Kerry Spence is unsuccessfully trying to break up with gorgeous boyfriend Sam, who has demoted her to late-night hook-up status. So her therapist gets her to write a journal about past encounters with men to trace her problems with relationships. Starting with a school day kissing game turned sour, through a broken engagement and French-kissing the wrong man, Kerry relives her past romances and humiliating experiences. She's still determined to find her soulmate, which tarot card reader Ramona swears is a man named D, who'll she meet through a work function. Just as long as that doesn't prove to be slimy creative director Dave.
8/10
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The Nanny Diaries - Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin (2002)
Nan is working as a nanny while studying child development at NYU. She is hired by Mrs X, a woman who neither works nor mothers her four-year-old son Grayer. The father, Mr X, is an investment banker who is so absent from G's life that he carries around his business card like a cuddly rug. As Nan's duties expand - organising a dinner party for Mr X's colleagues; heading to an office party as a Teletubby, sleeping over when G's parents are nowhere to be found - she desperately wants to quit but finds she can't abandon G.
8/10
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The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella (2000)
also known as Confessions of a Shopaholic
The start of the stupendously successful Shopaholic series. As a financial journalist for Successful Saving magazine, Rebecca Bloomwood spends her working life telling people how to manage their money. In her private life she is a shopaholic who is unable to face her mounting debts. She dreams of lottery wins, marriage to rich heirs and a range of harebrained schemes to save her from financial disaster. But has she met her dream man in Luke Brandon, head of a financial PR company, who is more than willing to lend her £20 to buy her ailing aunt a present.
8/10
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Watermelon - Marian Keyes (1996)
The novel by the queen of chick lit that first introduces us to the wacky Walsh family. Claire Walsh's husband, James, tells her he's leaving for another woman moments after she's given birth to their daughter, Kate. Claire returns to her family home in Dublin and takes to her room. At first she sinks into a depression, then a rage before she emerges ready to look after herself and Kate. Then James reappears, saying he made a mistake.
8/10