Discussing all the reasons why I love chick lit has made me nostalgic for my favorite books. So I’ve decided to list my top ten all-time favorites and would love to hear what is at the top of your reading list.
Twilight disclaimer: Okay so it won’t be on my top ten but I did like it! It is beautifully written and engaging, but I wanted to highlight books that I’ve gone back and read two and three times just so I could visit the characters again. So don’t tag me as a Twilight hater, I’m not. But I’m not gonna lie, Bella’s damsel in distress act starting getting on my nerves in New Moon.
Liz’s Top Ten All-Time Faves
1. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
I’ll admit that the only reason I had picked up this book was because of my childhood loyalty to classics like Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (They talked about her period! gasp!) and forbidden fare like Forever (oh, admit it, you know you all had a copy of it hidden under your bed in the 80′s!)
However, Summer Sisters turned out to be a wonderful novel about the complex, lifelong friendship of two girls. I have read it over ten times and still have my dog-eared copy on the bookshelf. This is a must-read!
2. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells
I love these two books and think that you should read Ya-Ya first and then Little Altars Everywhere second even though they were written in the opposite order. This is also a story about life-long friends set in the South. I was so bummed when the movie came out, I thought it didn’t do the book justice at all!
3. Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin
Lisa and I have talked about writing a book together for fifteen years, but it wasn’t until we read these two books that we felt inspired to start. What I love best about these books is that Something Borrowed is told in the voice of Rachel and then the story picks up again in something Blue in the voice of Darcy, Rachel’s best friend. Emily Giffin does a awesome job of making these women likeable even though they make bad decisions.
4. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
From page one, I was in love. I know that In Her Shoes gets a lot more attention because of the movie, but I believe this story about Cannie’s journey to self-discovery is her finest.
5. Jemina J by Jane Green
Love, love, love this story about a women who sends a man a fake picture and then has to reinvent herself into the fictional person she’s created when he wants to meet her.
6. Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer
I love Liza’s ability to write sophisticated characters that we can all still relate to. A great read for anyone that feels they are always trying to live up to other’s expectations.
7. Me Vs. Me by Sarah Mlynowski
I adore this book about a women who can’t decide which path to choose so she starts to live them both after her wish on a falling star comes true. I have such a soft spot for novels that have a little magic going on!
8. A Most Uncommon Degree of Popularity by Kathleen Gilles Seidel
I just read this book for the first time a few weeks ago and LOVED it. Once I started it, I literally didn’t put it down until I finished. A story about trading in your corporate life for the mommy track and the competitive insanity that can come along with it.
9. Straight up and Dirty: A Memoir by Stephanie Klein
Lisa loves memoirs and turned me on to this hilarious story about a woman’s journey to find herself again after divorce. Stephanie’s brutal honesty about life is refreshing and makes this a must-read.
10. Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane
I love Megan’s witty humor and complicated characters that are filled with depth and emotion! Smart and Sassy chick lit.
So there you have it! What are your favorites? I need some suggestions on what to read next!
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Oh and I forgot to add one more: Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella. LOVED it!
First of all I am so excited to find this site!!! I love ChickLit and many of the books you have posted in your top ten would be in my top ten so I am going to post 10 more great chicklit books!!!
1. Bitter is the New Black (and all of the other books by Jen Lancaster) These books were so funny that I had to stop reading at one point because I was laughing so hard I was crying and could not see the book thru all the tears.
2. The Idiot Girls’ Action Adventure Club (and all of the other books by Laurie Notaro) Once again so funny!!!I have enjoyed every one of her books.
3. Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews. This book is about what true girlfriends will do for you in your hour of need.
4. Dead Until Dark (in fact I love the entire Sookie Stackhouse Series) by Charlaine Harris. These books are some that I never dreamed I would like but I love them. The series True Blood on HBO is based on these.
5. Department of Lost and Found by Allison Winn Scotch. This book deals with a serious topic (cancer) but at the same time the story is about more than just that.
6. Stop Dressing your 6 year old like a skank! by Celia Rivenbark – Does the title not say it all???
7. Angry Housewives eating bon-bons by Lorna Landvik – This to me is the all time girlfriend book.
8. The Journal of Mortifying Moments – by Robyn Harding. Once again this is a funny books about things that happen in life!
9. Size 12 is not Fat by Megan Cabot. This book has more mystery than love in it. I also enjoyed the 2 others that followed this one.
10. It happens every Spring by Catherine Palmer (plus the remainder of this series) Wow is all I can say about these books. They are a series that shows the different seasons of marriage with a Christian perspective. Very uplifting. I shed tears and laughed!! That makes a book a great book when it can create both of those emotions in the reader.
Kaye!
Great choices! I also love Jen Lancaster. Now I have some really good books to look forward to that I had not heard of! And btw, I LOVE number 6′s title… Too damn funny!
Liz
Yay Summer Sisters!
I was going to leave my own list…but oddly enough, I don’t have one!!
I did LOVE Angels and Demons, but ofcourse that isn’t chicky licky so it doesn’t count.
*Humpf*
Oh now I have to work on a list, which will be so hard because I have entirely too many favorites. But oh how I do love “Summer Sisters”…. and “Wifey” … because Judy Blume started it all for me and so of course I would read her forays into adult literature (well not “adult” literature, but you know, books for people over the age of 12.)
Anyway, I’m going to have to make a list now …and obviously from your list, there’s some books I need to read ASAP that I haven’t yet.
So fun…
It is really hard to narrow it down! But I’m very curious to see what ends up on your list!
oooooh…. I had to add Marian Keyes to your list. I absolutely love all of her books. My favs are “Rachel’s Holiday” and “Watermelon”…. and of course Helen Fielding is a genious. And Rowan Coleman’s “The Accidental Mother”… I could go on and on… oh and when talking about Judy Blume’s “Summer Sisters” and “Wifey” – I forgot to mention “Smart Women” … love ‘em. All.