What I’m looking for in a book right now (and films and tv shows too – it’s been nothing but rom-coms and re-runs of New Girl, Gilmore Girls and Modern Family around here) is light hearted humour and characters I can root for. Chick Lit gets a bad rep and, admittedly, having studied a modern feminism module at university that took a deep-dive into Bridget Jones’ Diary some of it can be ~problematic~ to say the least. But why are we so quick to dismiss an entire genre, written largely by women for women?
The term itself is iffy and Jennifer Wiener pretty much sums it up, “You know what we call what men write? Books.” But on the flipside of that the term is there to be reclaimed and doesn’t have to be used with a sneer and an eye roll. What might have once been confined to stories about pursuits of love, sex and relationships (and really, what’s wrong with that?) has become a broad genre encompassing all sorts of issues.
Honestly, the idea that literature is something to be gatekept is bizarre to me. I love reading just about anything and everything and think it makes you a more empathetic and creative person. When I’ve wanted to stop scrolling through my phone mindlessly and switch off from everything that’s going on in the world, these are the books that have cheered me up no end recently:
The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary
Tiffy and Leon share a flat. And a bed. But they’ve never met. If the premise alone isn’t enough to draw you in, prepare to quickly fall for the characters and their will-they-won’t they relationship. Tiffy is looking for an escape from her manipulative ex-boyfriend and ends up making the best of her unusual flat share with healthcare worker Leon. Their relationship develops through left behind notes and shared cooking, I won’t give too much away but this is a feel-good read, although it does touch on issues of abusive relationships.
The Lido – Libby Page
I first saw this recommended on Liv Purvis’ blog, What Olivia Did, ages ago and have had it on my TBR pile since. I finally got round to reading it while on holiday in Devon and it was the perfect beach book. Set in Brixton, against the backdrop of a lido closure, this book is about female friendship, community and finding yourself. One to make you laugh and cry, you’ll find yourself completely absorbed in the characters’ world.
Our Stop – Laura Jane Williams
When Nadia finds a note about herself in the ‘Missed Connections’ section of the newspaper, she’s determined to track down the elusive Daniel who left it for her. A rom-com at heart, the characters are really fun and relatable, I especially enjoyed Nadia’s attempts to get her life together. This is definitely a story of missed opportunities and at times I found that element a bit dragged out but overall this was a really enjoyable read which definitely gave me Notting Hill vibes.
The Love Square – Laura Jane Williams
I enjoyed Williams’ first book so much, I had to pick the second up too. Penny is unlucky in love and pouring all of her time into running her café, until Francesco comes along and shakes things up. But life isn’t that straight forward and Penny ends up with three guys to choose from and a whole heap of problems along the way. One of the things I really liked about the story was the non-clumsy way in which Penny’s non-binary best friend was introduced.
