Are you one of those people

[Gorgeousgirlie1]

That only loves romantic/chick lit?

I am, and I find it embarassing when talking about books etc with friends as they seem to look down on me and has always put me off joining a book club. I want to be up-lifted when I read and get lost in a happy world, not feel sad. Although I really wish I could enjoy a more varied style of books.

Does anyone know of/want to start a chick lit book club? :) x

That is really sad. There are so many wonderful books out there, some with the potential to broaden your horizons and change your life. You could read so much with the time you consecrate to what is effectively cotton candy - little taste and no substance.

"No" is the answer to your question, if that wasn't clear

Each to their own.

This actually reminds me of a book Everybody Worth Knowing? She attends a secret romance book club because she's so embarrassed. Nothing wrong with sticking with what you enjoy. Reading is meant to be enjoyable :)

Quite agree juneybean :). I like to read all sorts of books - fiction and non-fiction, romance, chick-lit, serious novels. In fact anything that appeals to me at that time.

If you enjoy reading romance/chick-lit novels then why not? Not sure I'd join a book club just for this genre as my reading is very varied, but I'm sure you'll find loads of people on here or on Goodreads who would be interested. Good luck and keep enjoying your reading :).

I really do wish I could read a wider range of genres, but I have been caught out so many times before, and often found myself in tears reading, or getting to the end of the book and thinking, wow, now I feel miserable...

Maybe I need advice from people on varied and uplifting books, not just chick lit, as its the things like 'my daddy hit me and abused me' that I just cant stand.

Can anyone recommend something they thorouly enjoyed recently?

Whoops... Thoroughly :)

Gorgeous - don't be ashamed of what you read, and don't let anyone denigrate your choices. I enjoy chick-lit, and think some of it is incredibly well-written. Having said that, nothing wrong with wanting to broaden your horizons, but why not try something akin to chick-lit but just a little more challenging? Will have a think of some authors and come back to you.

Thank you campaspe :) Used to enjoy reading so many different things back in school... Think I'm just a sensitive wotsit these days ;)

Avoid misery memoirs for a start - I hate the phrase chick lit as I am sure it covers many and varied books some probably better than others - I have read a great deal (thanks to a long commute when I lived in London) from Genre fiction to classics and would hate to feel limited by a particular type of fiction and read nothing else. Widen your horizons just for the joy of it try a classic - Austen or Bronte maybe try an Agatha Christie or 'The Pursuit of Love' by Nancy Mitford for a taste of pre-WWII England, sample the delights of Dodie Smith 'I capture the Castle' all these books are accessible and well written and not scary once you acclimate yourself to their settings.

Don't be shamed by your reading preferences it is meant to be an escape and relaxation and enjoyable not a chore!

I'm not one of those people, - but I hate reading snobbery, - I'm all for everyone reading what they enjoy -it's supposed to be a relaxing hobby, not a competition to see who can read the 'best' things.

I do read widely, but my 'comfort reading' is detective novels - I love them, - I'm sure some people look down on that genre, but I don't care.

I do belong to a book club, - and I enjoy it because it gets me reading things that are a bit out of my comfort zone, and I've discovered some new things I like, - if you think you'd enjoy a book club OP, don't let worry about other's snobbery put you off

I wonder if you'd enjoy Daphne Du Maurier? - Rebecca would be a good one to start with, - romance with a bit of mystery thrown in, I love her books.
Bigmouth has made some very good suggestions too

How about Barbara Pym's novels? Genteel, well-written novels about life in the 1950s onwards. I would definitely second Nancy Mitford - The Pursuit of Love, and Love in a Cold Climate for a start, and also Dodie Smiths I Capture the Castle. All three are lovely novels.

If you don't mind a novel that's a little bit different, with a few sad bits in but generally uplifting, you could try When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. I read it recently and loved it.

The Girl With the Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier. Another good one.

Thanks so much for your suggestions... I read I capture the castle years ago, and those are the different things I want to get back into.

Kurrikurri, how did you find your book club? X

Hi gorgeousgirlie - I too like chick lit, but like to mix it up a bit with books that are more of a challenge and less fluffy.
I capture the castle is really one of my favourites, good choice there :) how about The Great Gatsby - it is a classic but extremely readable. Maybe not the most uplifting though, on reflection. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? Gone with The wind? (maybe the original chick lit :) ) Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld is fab, as is Memoirs of a Geisha.
If you are anything like me, you like the pace and accessibility of chick lit - but I find that the books I've mentioned have that plus extra depth which makes reading them more satisfying.

Gorgeousgirlie - I went and asked in my local library, - often you'll find various book groups, that concentrate on different types of books (so maybe modern fiction, or classics, or biography) - so you can pick one you like the sound of. Occasionally they have a waiting list, - but often you can get into one straight away.

Another method is to look online - google 'bookclubs in the "whatever" area' and they'll come up.

I hope you find one you like - it's good fun, we meet at a cafe and have coffee and cake, - and find excuses to go for an Italian meal every so often

Thanks v much, sounds good. I'll have a google :)

I think MizK puts it well when she talks about a bit of extra depth being more satisfying. Don't feel ashamed of reading chick-lit but it's really worth broadening your reading because, for me, chick-lit is read and gone and it all becomes one big blur after a time. Although I did enjoy Rosie Thomas's book Other People's Marriages - maybe try that!

Lots of good suggestions above and I'd also recommend the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard; the first one is The Light Years. A family saga starting just after WWI, very absorbing and well-written but not a heavy read :)

Jane Austen (bit obvious I guess)
Charlotte Bronte
Elizabeth Buchan
Joanna Trollope
Another vote her for "I Capture the Castle"
Anya Seton
Caro Fraser

Try browsing some of these on Amazon and see what you think. They all take relationships - and usually romantic relationships - as their main theme, but treat them in various different ways.

Also, Juneybean, what is the title of the book you refer to? I've tried hunting for it on Amazon with no success.

gorgeousgirly I too was a strictly chic lit kind of person. I read all Sophie kinsellas, Jane green, etc!

And then i got my kindle and started trying books I would never before as they were only a couple of pounds!

I have loved "room" by Emma donohugh, "before i go to sleep" by S J Watson, Sophie hannah does easy to read and understand thrillers that ease you away from the usual chic lit type of books!
At the moment I am halfway through "me before you" by jojo moyes and it's fantastic.

Although if you do want to stick with your usual type of books then there is nothing wrong with that at all!! Just enjoy reading

gorgeousgirly please don't feel ashamed for your reading choices.There is an enormous amount of book snobbery around.
Reading should be a pleasure!
My sister only reads chick-lit and refuses to be drawn into any discussions about other genres. Her rationale? Reading for her is a relaxing pursuit, not taxing.
I read to extend my mind, I want to learn something with every book I read.
Are either of us right/wrong? Of course not.

One more suggestion from me :) - have you tried Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels?

They start with One for the Money, and there are currently eighteen of them in the series. I've been reading them from the start and am half way through Explosive Eighteen.

There's some in-between the number novels also with Stephanie Plum. She's a bounty hunter and they are light crime/thriller novels with lots of laughs and some romantic interludes with the two men in her life (she can't choose between them - lucky her:o) Morelli and Ranger.

I love them and always look forward to the next one.

"Reading for her is a relaxing pursuit, not taxing.
I read to extend my mind, I want to learn something with every book I read.
Are either of us right/wrong? Of course not."

Assuming that wasn't merely a rhetorical question, I have another answer (and will share it with you although this thread probably doesn't want to hear it )

Presumably, your sister wouldn't eat only candy, because eating is a pleasure. She would eat to nourish her body, sampling from every food group. She would eat candy in moderation, because she knows they are only empty calories - all taste, no substance, and no nutritional value.

You know where I'm going with this.

I don't think it's reading snobbery, I hate chick lit and misery porn with a passion - it's designed to stop women thinking.

Chewing gum for the brain.

Which is fine, if that's what you want, but I know several women who "only" read chick lit or misery porn, only watch soaps and reality shows, only read celeb magazines - I find it very difficult to have a conversation with them, as we completely lack common ground.

Mind you, since the kids, I have pretty much only read sci fi and fantasy, and only watch documentaries and comedy and Man Vs Food so I am just as limited, just in a different way.

But reading ONLY chicklit isn't bad for her health (IMO!) I just think reading seems to be a dying art and instead of criticising someone for what they read, we should celebrate that someone is STILL reading.

Any who, the book I referred to called Everybody Worth Knowing by the same woman who wrote The Devil Wears Prada, cannot think of her name... oops!

Gah sorry EveryONE Worth Knowing, it wasn't one of my favourites I admit, the author is Lauren Weisberger

www.goodreads.com/book/show/29547.Everyone_Worth_Knowing