ALL-TIME FAVOURITES
What makes a book your favourite? A great character, a gripping story, lots of humour or plenty of tear-jerking emotion? Often it can be a book that you just couldn't put down til you'd finished it or it is one you will want to read over and over again. Here's the list of the ones I'd recommend that every chick lit lover should read.
The penultimate evil boss story.
How can an affair with your best friend's man ever be excusable? This one shows there are always two sides to a story.
Explores what happens when soulmates step off on to different paths.
The one that started it all.
Rebecca Bloomwood - what a character and what a tangled web she weaves.
We all love an ugly duckling turning into a swan.
Everyone's gonna have a Marian Keyes in their Top 10. This starts the Walsh sisters off on their journeys.
The you'll-never-guess-it twist wins it a spot on the list.
Great writer of great books. Something about this story of three new mothers sets this one ahead of the pack for me.
An insider's view behind the doors of the rich and obnoxious.
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MOST DISAPPOINTING BOOKS
Bound to be a controversial list, here's our pick of those novels that just never lived up to their publicity blurbs. We're not saying don't read 'em - several of these belong in the ranks of classic chick lit - but just don't expect a gripping read.
This is often touted as one of the definitive chick lit books, but I'm not a short story fan so maybe that's why the format threw me. Really hope the movie enlightens me to whatever appealed so much to the book's fans.
Possibly chicklit's most unsuccessful follow-up to a blockbuster debut novel.
There was something so bland about this spicy call girl's story. Haven't even bothered to find the sequel.
Maybe Moi should have just ended it all in that Paris hotel room.
I'm obviously just not getting this author.
Great TV show - gotta admit I never finished the book.
With its cringe-inspiring dialogue and lacklustre plot, I'd want to be anywhere but here reading this book.
Mercifully, it was a short book. Although I'm sure it rightly holds a special place in the author's family library.
I normally love friends-torn-asunder-but-reunited-years-later storylines and even though I knew this had stuff about needlework (which wouldn't interest me), I was still looking forward to getting my hands on this new release. But even the one good twist couldn't save this book from being more boring than unpicking rows and rows of stitching.
This book supposedly about sibling rivalry between sisters - one pretty, one smart - was on my want-to-read list for so long. With its implausible plot, weak dialogue and too many characters to keep track of, the smart thing to do would have been to just stop reading.
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BEST CHARACTERS
Sometime you fall in love with a character because they remind you of yourself or someone else you know. Or maybe it's because they make you smile or empathise with their circumstances. Sometimes it's just because they are a great villain. Many of the characters in this list are from sequels (all the better to know them) or books made into movies (easier to put a face to the character).
She makes you laugh, cringe and cheer. No women sums up the life of a chain-smoking, social-drinking, weight-watching singleton better than Bridget.
Who wouldn't love this whirlwind with maxed-out credit cards? And the best bit is we can follow the Shopaholic's antics through five books.
The female villain of The Devil Wears Prada is cruel, rude and overdemanding. And of course exquisitively dressed. She'll definitely make you feel better about your own boss.
These Irish sisters have certainly added a few grey hairs to their parents' heads - there's Claire whose husband left on the day their baby was born; Rachel whose fondness for recreational drugs led her to a rehab clinic; Maggie who left her husband to head for LA; Anna who gets badly injured and Helen who never seems to be in work.
Apart from sharing a shoe size, attorney Rose is so unlike her wild sister Maggie. But in In Her Shoes, Rose learns to live a different type of life.
From a naughty schoolgirl passing notes in class to a single mother trying to forge a career, we are with Rosie through several decades of her life and pray she'll get together with her soulmate in Where Rainbows End.
You would have to have a hard heart not to empathise with her as she determinedly embarks on a quest to have a baby. It's also impossible not to laugh at some of the lengths she's willing to go to.
8. Rachel White and Darcy Rhode - Emily Giffin
These best friends fall out over the same man but in Something Borrowed, then Something Blue your sympathies will swing between the pair.
You'll be right behind Jemima J as she undergoes her transformation to look like her altered after photo.
Right from the opening restaurant fight, the triplets of Three Wishes will leave a lasting impression.
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BEST BRIDE LIT
Here comes the bride, all tense inside. Will she make it down the aisle? Getting married is one of life's rites of passage. In chick lit, you just never know if the girl is marrying the right guy, if she's going to turn into Bridezilla or if meddling relatives will ruin the day. Here's your invitation to the best bride lit books . . . no RSVP required.
Only Rebecca Bloomwood could find herself organising two weddings on either side of the Atlantic.
Amy Thomas swore she'd never become an out-of-control bride, driving her nearest and dearest nuts with her demands. So why, now that she's engaged to Stephen and has a huge list of to-dos to get through, are people avoiding her.
Who would turn down an offer for a $100,000 wedding in exchange for featuring in a bridal magazine? But Eloise Manfred soon discovers there's no such thing as a free wedding.
Gemma and Rory want a small wedding but when the parents start hijacking the arrangements, the couple decide to work hard to finance it themselves. The only hitch is they work so hard they start drifting apart.
The only bride-to-be to make this list without actually knowing who the groom is. But the tarot card reader swears that Lucy is getting married this year.
A nasty bride who doesn't deserve her Scottish laird. And bridesmaids Mel and Fran are going all out to sabatoge Amanda's wedding.
The madcap world of weddings from the viewpoint of wedding planner Lauren Crandell.
After Zadie Roberts is left at the altar, she's not that enthusiastic about her best friend Grey marrying her cousin, Helen. But someone's gotta rev up the bachelorette party.
Judy has successfully (but stressfully) pulled together her wedding arrangements but the night before, her groom Barry goes AWOL.
Will Darcy and Dex make it down the aisle or will her best friend Rachel's secret affair with the groom ruin everything?
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FOR FASHIONISTAS
Fashion goes with chick lit like Manolo goes with Blahnik. From working for fashion magazines to burning up the plastic on a spending spree, the characters of these books are putting the “chic” into chick lit.
Miranda Priestly is the boss-from-hell at Runway magazine where staff need to fit sample sizes and strut around in killer heels. About $1 million worth of designer clothing, including Prada, was showcased in the movie.
A tale of an uprising against an unpopular Fashionista editor and dressing Jesus mannequins in designer frocks.
Life from the front row of the international fashion weeks, as seen by three editors of top fashion magazine Joy.
A magazine fashion stylist keeps herself sane on the fashion week circuit by embarking on an affair with a catwalk photographer.
A style writer chases a reclusive designer after suffering a humiliating tangle with a model at a Chanel show.
The glam world of Park Avenue princesses whose must-have accessory is a rich fiancé.
Gotta love a character who aspires to be shoe editor.
From the opening pursuit of a Denny and George scarf to investing her baby's future in Tiffany rings and a handbag website, Rebecca Bloomwood knows there's no fashion gain without financial pain.
Katie ends up in a sweatshop after losing her job with fashion designer Penny Moss. But her eye for design saves the day.
Lovers of vintage clothing will appreciate this character transforming herself with the help of a 1960s style bible.
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BOOKS OF LUKE
What is it with Luke? So many chick lit heroes have been given this name. Take a look at some of our favourites . . .
1. Luke Brandon of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series:
The head of a financial PR company has a sense of humour and is calm in a crisis - who better to keep an eye on Shopaholic Becky?
2. Luke of Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series:
Lizzie Nichols meets Jean-Luc in France as she blabs about her problems. He becomes her rock.
Dr Love saves Rosie when she goes on a disastrous dinner date wearing shoes two sizes too small.
This Man as Big as a Mountain makes Marta feel dizzy every time she sees him.
The grandson of former fighter pilot “Frisky” helps scaredy cat Jo Morgan embrace spontaneity.
This psychic certainly gets Jo's attention when he predicts he's going to marry her.
The social worker is the one who convinced his wife Ally to be a surrogate for her sister.
He becomes a hot shot producer and Lizzie's fiancé.
Kamryn's boss becomes a father figure to Tegan, the daughter of her late best friend.
A different sort of leading man, Elizabeth Egan's nephew brings Ivan into her life.
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YUMMY MUMMIES
Inspired to transform yourself into a yummy mummy? Then you might want to read up on how these characters juggle kids, career and cosmetics - some failing oh-so spectacularly.
The classic tale of a frazzled mother who learns you can't have it all. Sometimes you just have to admit you sent shop-bought mince pies to your child's school Christmas party.
Desperate housewife lacking confidence to return to work turns to the bottle.
Watch this mum make too many school runs in pyjamas, under the disapproving eye of the Alpha Mum.
These four friends from a mother's group all decide to spice up their lives and work towards a goal.
This stay-at-home mum finds life even harder to juggle when her husband heads off to Singapore for work.
Still in maternity clothes months after the birth? Maybe you need an introduction to the yummy mummy brigade.
Sometimes your daughter just wants you to play nice with the other mums.
Bored with staying at home? Why not invent a fictitious identity for yourself and make contact with a former boyfriend?
Need help raising your son while researching a career-making story? Just send for a male nanny.
Sometimes it gets too much playing by the rules.
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TOP BOOKS OF 2007
A gripping read about the fall and rise of a desperate housewife.
What happens when a mistress decides she doesn't want her married lover just as he leaves his wife?
An inspiring story of a woman finishing a list of things to do for a stranger who died in a car crash.
A funny tale of keeping up appearances - and Scottish accents - at an ex-boyfriend's wedding.
A family saga of five different sisters before an unforgiveable act tears them apart.
The pressures of fitting in with the in-crowd - even when you're a grown-up single mother.
Three friends sit on a fertility site and fall pregnant within months.
Sarah's guilt returns as she faces up to two blasts from the past.
A really memorable book about a girl who comes into her own by faking amnesia.
About a knit and bitch club that soon becomes a precious refuge in times of need.
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SISTERS
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From sisters who share everything - including a birth date - to siblings who have absolutely nothing in common, these books explore the emotion-filled experience of being a sister.
Sisters Rose and Maggie Feller may think they have nothing in common except their shoe size.
Follow a tumultuous year in the life of the Kettle triplets.
Four sisters help their youngest sister bring up her baby - until an incident tears them apart.
When Lizbet unexpectedly falls pregnant, her sister Cassie, desperate to have her own baby, finds it difficult to deal with the news.
Martha has strived hard to create the perfect home for her husband and kids, while sister Eliza lives a carefree life. What happens when change means they may experience life in the other's shoes?
When former pop singer Bea dies, it's left to her half-sister Ana to collect her belongings and uncover what became of her life.
The Broadhurst sisters, Jill and Emily, decide to trade places with one another for a day.
Childhood singing stars Anna, Bett and Carrie Quinlan haven't spoken for years. Then their grandmother calls them back together for her 80th birthday.
How could Becky's long-lost half-sister Jess hate shopping, shoes and spending?
Ally realises her older sister Miranda's life isn't as perfect as she thought when she asks her to be a surrogate mum.
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EVIL AT WORK
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BEST COVERS
They may say don't judge a book by its cover but we want to know what makes a chick lit book stand out from the pack? A hot pink cover, a stylish illustration, a quirky photo, a glamorous model, a clever tie-in to the book's theme . . . These are our current favourites from our Titles A-Z listings.
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Copyright © 2007 Craig Pegler
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