Monkeytrousers, every time we visit my SIL gives me a stack of chick-lit type books to read - they all have main characters called Amanda, who live in large houses where sun streams through the kitchen windows, they have workaholic husbands who don't really understand them and kids who don't really need them anymore, and they invariably are about to embark upon an affair or go and work in a charity shop. I don't read any of them - I just wait til I think I've had them long enough then give them back. If SIL asks I just point at one and say "ooh, that one was really good, the characters were really well written..." (they all must have characters in, surely - can you write a book without characters? Seems a safe comment anyway).