Archive for September 1st, 2010

Becky thought being married to Luke Brandon would be one big Tiffany box of happiness. But to be honest, it’s not quite as dreamy as she’d hoped. The trouble started on honeymoon, when she told Luke the tiniest little fib, about the teeniest little purchase. Now she’s on a strict budget, she doesn’t have a job - and worst of all her beloved Suze has a new best friend. Then she receives some incredible news. She has a long-lost sister! Becky has never been more excited. Finally, a real sister! They’ll have so much in common! They can go shopping together…choose shoes together…have manicures together…Until she meets her - and gets the shock of her life. It can’t be true. Surely Becky Bloomwood’s long-lost sister can’t…hate shopping? A sister, a soulmate, a skinflint?

Leah: I suppose you can guess from the title that the books revolve around someone who likes to shop and while that is a huge focus on the first two books, it isn’t as in your face with the next two. Shopaholic Ties The Knot was mainly focused on Becky’s wedding to Luke and this one, Shopaholic & Sister, is focused on Becky’s new-found, long-lost sister Jess and the relationship she envisages the pair of them having. Yes, there’s still a lot of shopping to be done, but nowhere near as close as the shopping she does in the first two books. Obviously it would get a bit boring if Becky continually fought debt problems so these new problems and struggles make a welcome change. The letters from banks and shops and what-not are still interspersed between chapters (and are as hilarious as ever). I could wax lyrical for hours and hours about how fantastic Sophie Kinsella is. I mean, four books in and the books aren’t tired or getting boring, they haven’t jumped the shark in anyway. It’s a series like I’ve never read before. Not many books could get to the fourth book and still be fantastic and enjoyable reads.

Chloe: I hate to start off on a negative, but this is my least favourite book in the whole series. I felt that Becky having a surprise sister was one surprise too far for the books really, and I felt that Jess just didn’t fit in with the feel of the books, and so I had pretty much set my mind to disliking it unfortunately! Yes, there are things from the old books such as letters and Becky’s problems that are just as funny as before, but I remember reading it for the first time, and having to force myself to pick it up again which is unheard of with me and a Sophie Kinsella book. I’d happily re-read all of the series up to this and after it, but I am pretty sure I won’t be reading this one again, sorry!

Danielle: Truly, what could be better than Becky with a sister? You’d think it would be twice as much fun, but much to Becky’s dismay her sister is nothing like her and their relationship may be less than ideal. This was really a fun one in the series, because there were things I could reflect back on with my relationships with my own sisters. Granted, I think my sisters are quite a bit more like me than Becky and Jess, but it was still incredibly fun. I’m right there with Leah in saying that Sophie Kinsella is fantastic. Though I enjoyed this one in the series, it wasn’t my favorite (so far that would be the first book), but I still couldn’t manage to put it down. And how many books have that ability? Let alone, an entire series?

I’m rather pleased to report that we managed to secure an incredible exclusive for our Sophie Kinsella week: we are, as far as I am aware, the first Chick Lit website to interview the lovely Sophie Kinsella. It’s a huge draw for us and she is the one author I have always wanted to interview since beginning the site! Enjoy!

1. Tell us about Mini Shopaholic, in your own words?

Becky is a parent now - which has added a new dimension to her life. Of course she approaches parenthood with her own Becky-logic. (Minnie’s pocket money book being a classic!) It was great fun creating Minnie, who definitely has both Becky-traits and Luke-traits in her. I also loved writing Becky being forced to Cut Back by the financial crisis - it reminded me of the first book, when we first met her. She has had some glamorous adventures abroad, but in this book she is forced to live with her parents in Oxshott and be inventive with no money, which is always when she is at her funniest. There’s also a poignancy to this book, and mother-daughter issues across all the generations.

2. Are you currently working on a new book? Will it be another Shopaholic book or a stand-alone?

I’m on maternity leave at the moment but am thinking about a new book, and it will be a stand-alone.

(more…)

To celebrate Sophie Kinsella week, we’ve been tweeting and Facebook-ing like mad asking why you, Sophie Kinsella fans, love her so much. We had a really good response, so thank you so much to anyone who took the time to send us a tweet, an email or commented on Facebook to tell us why you love Sophie Kinsella so much. Without further ado, here are your comments telling us why you love Sophie!

“I love Sophie because: her books are true to life…we can all imagine ourselves in the precarious situations her ladies get themselves in to. Her books are fantastic reading, and they always cheer me up” - Nicky Russell, via email

“I Love Sophie Kinsella Because … she helped me find my voice as a writer.

When I read Confessions of a Shopaholic, it was like a revelation. I knew I wanted to be a writer and I was pursuing an English degree but, up to that point, I didn’t know where my kind of writing belonged and I didn’t feel like a ‘real’ writer. Sophie made me realize that I didn’t have to change who I was or what I wrote. It was OK to write about characters who are a little crazy and neurotic and who are out there making their way in the world, facing challenges and looking for love. And, just maybe, a new designer handbag with a 50% discount!

Sophie Kinsella made me fall in love with Chick Lit and made me proud to say that I write it!” - Catherine Lavoie, via email

“…all her books are a great way to escape from the real world, they are all so funny with good characters and i could read them again and again and I always look forward to reading her next book.” - Kelly Glenn, via email

“ I love S. Kinsella because reading Can You Keep A Secret? inspired me to start writing my own chick lit novels. )” - @bexstonebridge on Twitter

“I love SK because every single book she writes is a chick lit classic and she wrote the best book ever - Can you Keep a secret” - @new2writinggirl on Twitter

“THE BIT WHERE BECKY SPEAKS FINNISH IN HER JOB INTERVIEW. Anyone who can write that hilariously gets my adoration!” - @katie_khan on Twitter

“I love her ’cause she created Becky Bloomwood! And she’s hilarious!” - @wondrousreads on Twitter

“She is such a true to life writer, the charchters seem so real I actually feel that she based shopaholic on me lol” - @tinkerbell34 on Twitter

“great author, uses current issues in books, great shopaholic series but also writes brilliant standalone books ” - @sbroadhurst on Twitter

“I think I saw more than a bit of myself in Becky Bloomwood. Such a loveable character.” - @dizzydanni84 on Twitter

“ooh i thoroughly enjoyed all Sophies books and i loved the Shopaholic series I thought they were so funny and witty, different from her other books but very enjoyable but everyone is entitled to their own opinions, looking forward to her new book in Sept” - Tara Cunnane Niland on Facebook

“I absolutely love SOPHIE KINSELLA BOOKS cant get enough .They are feel good books with laugh out loud moments and characters that are very likeable and real. I loved CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET,THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS,REMEMBER ME,TWENTIES GIRL….all SOPHIE’S stand alone books .I M not as keen on THE SHOPAHOLIC SERIES but thats not to say they are not good i just prefer the stand alone books” - Louise Marshall on Facebook

“I love Sophie Kinsella because of the style of her writing, as she makes you giggle at every page turn while areas of seriousness such as gigantic debts from university in ‘Shopaholic’.” - Sophie Quenby

“I love Sophie Kinsella because of her commitment. Her commitment to continue the ‘Shopaholic’ series so far and to make us cry with joy whilst reading them and generally produce such brilliant books for us to read.” - Bexx

“I love Sophie Kinsella because her books are so much fun to read. They allow me to enter a world where I don’t have to worry about money. I can spend as much as I want on anything. I can change my life and become a housekeeper. I can loose my memory and my husband! or I can spill my beans on a plane because I am convinced I am going to die, only to survive and find out I told everything to my boss! Her books are fun filled and I am so glad I discovered them!!!!! I can’t wait for Mini Shopaholic to come out in September!” - Michele

“I love Sophie Kinsella because she demonstrates that there is always a way out of the absolute worst situation and narrative mess. Well done!” - Steph

“I love Sophie Kinsella because she reminded me that reading can be fun. After years of nothing but textbooks and required reading, my sister pushed the Shopaholic books on me a couple years ago and I was instantly hooked. I’ve been reading everything and anything ever since!” - Alita

“I love Sophie Kinsella because of the style of her writing and the way which she captures each readers hearts with her stories, also because her books never fail to keep me gripped till the end and make me want more after I’ve finished.” - Kat

“I love Sophie Kinsella because all her novels allow me a “break”, she doesn’t overcomplicated things, she understands that fun matters” - Emily

“I love Sophie because she’s the reason I started to read in the first place. Growing up, i never read anything other than magazines, but i liked the idea of reading novels. So i would occasionally go to the book store, read the back cover and buy it. But i’d never read them. I had bought a copy of Confessions of a Shopaholic and it stayed on my bookshelf for years. THen i heard that it was being turned into a movie, and i went digging around my collection for it because i ‘thought’ i had a copy. I sat down and for whatever reason, started reading it… and didn’t stop. I finished it and had a warm fuzzy feeling. I picked up the next one, then the next, then the next… before i knew it i owned the whole series, and i found that i became addicted to that warm, fuzzy feeling i get from after reading a Sophie Kinsella novel. Now any books that i pick up, i expect to get that warm, fuzzy feeling… and if i don’t, then it’s not a good book. Any chicklit novels i read, i always seem to compare to the amazingness of Sophie Kinsella. I love her writing style, her humor and the characters that she creates; my bestfriends and loves of my life.” - Nicole

“I love Sophie Kinsella simply because of the shopaholic books! It makes my day/year when a new one comes out and I truely look forward to it! You go girl!” - Charlene

“I love Sophie Kinsella because she is the only reason to buy a book on the day of release nowadays.” - Mo“She is such a true to life writer, the characters seem so real I actually feel that she based Shopaholic on me lol” - Sara