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Even though it’s practically June, I’ve finally decided to make good on one of my goals for 2010 and start reading more fiction. I attempted reading a YA novel to start off with, but I think I’m starting to grow out of the YA genre. There are some exceptions, of course; Sarah Dessen will always be by far and away my favorite author and there are some YA novels that I will always hold near and dear to my heart. Still, I’ve begun to turn my attention from YA authors to that of chick lit, specifically British chick lit¹.

I know the genre of chick lit is not always seen as a respectable one in the field of literature and more often than not it is described as brainless/mindless reading. I’ll agree that there might be some merit to the arguments against chick lit; chick lits aren’t going to be novels that are taught in high school English classes anytime soon. Still, it’s one of my favorite genres, if not my favorite. After a long and harrowing day at class/work, the last thing I’m going to want to read is a hefty, brainpower-intensive tome like War and Peace or Anna Karenina. Rather, I’m going to want to curl up on the couch with a relaxing read that I know I will enjoy.

There’s something about British (and Irish, too) chick lit, though, that places it a cut above chick lits from authors of other nationalities. I’m not quite sure why, but there’s something I find completely fascinating about tales of these women in their twenties and thirties, living in London (or Dublin, as in some of the books by Marian Keyes, a favorite of mine²) and juggling work commitments, friendship/family dramas and of course ongoing conflicts with various misters Right and Wrong. Maybe it’s the culturally dry humor that’s rampant throughout these novels, or my own personal fascination with glamorous-sounding city life of a twentysomething woman in London. Whatever it is, I am always on the lookout for a British (or Irish) author whose novels fall under the genre of chick lit.

My go-to chick lit authors are Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Harriet Evans. These three have never, ever let me down, and I love them for it. It was Evans’ novel “Going Home” that broke my reading “drought” of over nearly a year, which was no small feat considering I’d stopped reading almost every book I had begun in an attempt to start reading again after about 30 pages.

Both Keyes and Kinsella have novels out that I have yet to read, which I am very excited about; they are definitely next on my to-read list. I’ve also got some of Evans’ novels to catch up on as I’ve fallen a little behind in keeping up with her newest books. But once I’ve read all of those, I’m at a loss at where to turn to next for a good British chick lit. So, anyone have any recommendations?

1. Some might say that this is slightly ironic as my work-in-progress novel is deeply rooted in YA. Still, they say write what you know, and I most definitely do know YA. As of right now, the same cannot be said for chick lit! [↩]
2. Keyes is Irish, not British. Dublin is not a British city but I still love Keyes’ work (some of her books are also set in London, or both London and Dublin). [↩]

I’m not really a resolutions type of girl, because I either forget about/have failed them by the second week of January. Instead, I’m going to try and set some goals for myself this year¹.

• Read more (fictional) books
  I have always adored reading but my life just got so crazy in 2009 that when I did have free time, I wanted to spend it either sleeping or doing mindless stuff like watching TV. I definitely want to read more this year cause I miss it!
• Complete Project 365
  I did Embodiment successfully for the first half of 2008, and then I just petered out due to lack of time. I still want to document my year, so I’m going to try using photography instead of writing. I created a Flickr account for this, and my most recent photo is featured in this blog’s sidebar.
• Get into a year-long study abroad program of my choice for next academic year
  I have my heart set on getting into a year-long study abroad program for the 2010-2011 academic year in Beijing, China. If Beijing falls through, I’m looking at other places as my overall goal is to go abroad for all of next year no matter what the place.
• Maintain good grades and get on Dean’s List for spring 2010 and fall 2010 semesters
  I’ve been on Dean’s List for all of my semesters in college. This is something I want to continue and hopefully it will be pretty achievable.
• Finish first draft of my novel THE MOST HAPPY
  Last summer, I began writing the first draft of my novel THE MOST HAPPY. I was aiming to finish it sometime last semester if I found the time, but that never happened. I want the first draft completed this year or else I’ll never finish it.
• Comment on more blogs/comment more often
  I very rarely had time to comment on any blogs in the last half of 2009, and when I did, a lot of my favorite bloggers were on hiatus/disappeared. Assuming real life doesn’t get too insanely busy, I want to comment on blogs more often as well as discover new blogs to comment on.
• Focus more on the “now” rather than the future
  This has always been a problem for me as I never see any point in following through something if I know it won’t pan out in the end. While that makes sense logically, it means I miss out on a lot of the little things, especially when it comes to friendships and relationships and being a teenager/college student in general. I’m aiming to be more relaxed and carefree when it comes to allowing myself to enjoy things now rather than discarding the opportunity altogether because it won’t work out in the long-run. Maybe that means I’ll be a little wilder and more reckless but hey, this is my last year as a teenager so I have to make it count! ;)

1. Or maybe I just like the term “goal” better than “resolution”, cause they pretty much amount to the same thing. [↩]

Readers who want to ask me any question and have it answered can comment on this post. I’ll be answering all questions on October 18!

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has been reinvented many, many times. Seth Grahame-Smith added zombie revisions to it in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and it’s also been retold in a Facebook version.

Now, there is a Twitter version of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Complete with @replies, #hashtags, and DMs, “Pride and Twitterverse” retells the classic tale of Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in tweets of 140 characters or less!