Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella

I picked this book up off the kitchen counter at a friend's house and next thing I knew, I was sucked into this hilarious example of British chick lit at its best. I generally like to read a series in order, but in this case I'm glad I didn't let that stop me from reading.

Our heroine, Becky Bloomwood, has a bit of an impulse control problem when it comes to shopping. She just can't resist the latest shoes, makeup, gourmet food, clothing, handbags or jewelry, among other things. With her trendy London loft apartment filling up with useless junk collected on her honeymoon, her credit cards maxed out and her career as a personal shopper in limbo, Becky is not ready for the big shock in her life - she has a long-lost half sister, Jess, the product of an affair her father had prior to marrying Becky's mother. Meanwhile, Becky's best friend, now a mother of three, seems to have ditched her for a snotty fellow mum called Lulu, and Becky's husband Luke shows his increasing exasperation for her spendthrift ways as pressures mount in his PR company.

Seeing the appearance of a sister as her best chance for intimate companionship, Becky throws herself into being the greatest sister that Jess could ever wish for. Somewhat predictably, Jess turns out to be Becky's polar opposite, but Kinsella's "odd couple" play off one another to make for a truly funny novel. Becky remains completely clueless about her shortcomings while the reader sees the "saner" characters' reactions to her behaviour through Becky's remarkably clear-sighted observations.

I am now eager to read other books by Sophie Kinsella, which seem to be just the right level of fluff for my currently addled brain.

still here, honestly

I have not forgotten about this blog, I'm just suffering from a prolonged bout of low mental capacity that seems to be making it impossible for me to do much more than sit in front of the television. Also known as the FIFA World Cup.

Well, I can't really blame the World Cup for my lack of reading. If I can gobble up 2-3 books a week even when I'm studying for final exams, I can certainly read in between 2 or 3 soccer games a day. I'm not really sure what the problem is. I've got some great books in my stack here, and absolutely no interest in picking them up. Let's hope this turns around soon. Meanwhile, please enjoy some of the links in the sidebar.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

I hoped that reading some light young adult fantasy would help to get me reading again, so I picked up this sequel to Artemis Fowl. In this story, Artemis learns that his father, long missing and presumed dead, has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya and sets out to rescue him. He is helped by his bodyguard Butler, and Julius Root and Holly Short, the two "LEPRecon" agents he met in the first book. Along the way they help to foil an attempt to take over the entire underground fairy kingdom.

I think Colfer could have done a lot more with this story; on the whole, though it was a cute book, it didn't grab me. The premise isn't quite clever enough to match its predecessor, the characters feel recycled, and poor Artemis himself - the curiously likeable, highly intelligent and immoral teenager we know and love - becomes a wimpy, boring background character while various elves, goblins and nefarious humans in the book vie for "page time". I'm disappointed, but I know that sequels and second novels are not always an easy thing to pull off so I might give this series another chance.

What You Wear Can Change Your Life by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine

This companion to the BBC television program What Not To Wear caught my attention at a book store recently. Much kinder and gentler than the brutally helpful show, this book is a comprehensive guide to choosing clothing, accessories, shoes, hair styles and make-up to show off your personal "assets".

In case you are wondering why in the world I am reading this book, well, I have to confess I'm quite hooked on the TV show. As someone who is not much concerned with my personal appearance, I still want to look "nice" and I like the way that Trinny and Susannah, believing that all women are beautiful, focus on making the most of what you have instead of sending women off to get surgery or go on extreme diets to change their appearance. I have to admit that I am quite clueless when it comes to anything related to "fashion", and this book (along with the TV program) has helped me to be a bit choosier when I go into clothing stores. I'm not trying to look like I just stepped off the pages of Vogue but I am getting a little tired of the harried suburban mother uniform of jeans and baggy t-shirts.

Unfortunately, there were some areas of this book that seemed to fall a bit short of what I and other clueless women need; for instance, the section on choosing colours that go well together seems to assume that you have a clue about what colours actually look good on you. Also, the overall effect of reading all this stuff about things I have never thought about - necklaces, scarves, shoe styles, handbags, makeup etc. is a little overwhelming. Oh well, I'll keep reading and watching and maybe by the time I'm 40 or so I will have it figured out.

Twilight Children by Torey L. Hayden

This, it turns out, was the book I needed to read to get me out of my "reading slump". Torey Hayden's books are always gripping and this was no different. Well-written, compelling and often impossible to put down, Twilight Children chronicles Hayden's experiences working in a psychiatric ward for children. Her patients this time are Cassandra and Drake. Cassandra is an explosive, seriously disturbed child who was abducted from her mother by a vengeful father, who subjected Cassandra to shocking abuse and neglect before she was finally located and returned to her mother more than two years later. When she reaches Hayden's care, Cassandra is unpredictable, destructive and foul-mouthed - almost impossible to like or to reach. Drake is Cassandra's counterpoint - a charming and attractive fellow who gives every appearance of being a perfectly normal, outgoing, intelligent little boy except for his total lack of speech. During the course of the book, Hayden overcomes considerable odds to work with these children, figure out what they need, and help to make their lives more normal.

It can be hard to read about children experiencing abuse, and Cassandra's tale is particularly brutal. However, though she doesn't hold back any of the facts to spare her readers, Hayden doesn't sensationalize what these kids have been through. The wonderful thing about her books is reading about the power that Torey Hayden has to get through to kids whose situations seem utterly hopeless, to create a powerful connection with them, and help them to heal. In the end, after reading a Torey Hayden book, I feel a strong sense of hope that even though there are people in the world who mistreat children, there are also people out there like her who are making it possible for those children to find their way to a healthy and normal adult life.