Chick Lit Month

In honor of Chick Lit Month I'd like to celebrate the under-appreciated genre with some of my favorite chick lit books. Now, chick lit generally just means books that are aimed at a primarily female audience. Urban Dictionary even says so: "Slang for a genre of literature geared towards female readers , which deal with modern issues in women's lives." Many people assume it is just romance, but it also includes books dealing with families, friends, coming of age, etc. Okay, lesson over. 

My favorite chick lit books tend to feature romance because I am a mushy type person. For the sake of variety I'll try to mix it up here. 

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

My all time top favorite chick lit writer is Jennifer Crusie (who does not write nearly enough books!). Of all of her books, this one is my favorite romance. The book is a pretty traditional romance at first glance, but it is just so well-written that I give it major props. 

Min is a woman in her thirties who knows what she wants in life, but is constantly bowing down to what her mother wants for her. That's how she wound up with her cold fish of a date the night she meets Cal. Min gets dumped (and doesn't really seem to care so much) and is out with her friends at a local bar. 

Cut to Cal. Cal is a hotshot entrepreneur out with his friends at the same bar. Cal is not into serious relationships, much more into flings. He's the betting type, constantly making trivial bets for the thrill of it with his buddies. This is where he gets into trouble. David, the man who just dumped Min, bets Cal that he can't get Min to go out with him. Of course, this bet isn't really above board since David knows Min was just dumped and sincerely doubts she'll say yes, thus fixing the bet in his favor. 

Since Min is far from the normal woman Cal dates, the two clash quite a bit, but it winds up working for them. After a series of misunderstandings, including funny incidents, the love story comes to fruition. This book features fun shoes, chicken marsala, lots of bets, and a love of donuts.

This book could totally be a movie, it is so easy to picture what is happening. Crusie is just a great a writer, easy to get sucked into her mix of comedy and drama, and she is great at creating awesome characters. Granted, this book is a little older, but give me the benefit of the doubt and check it out. 

~Cailey