Readers' Corner- Chick Lit | Athens Regional Library System

What Is Chick Lit?

It's Funny
It's About Women
It's By Women
It's Up to date and in the now
It's Light reading
It's Often full of romance
It's Urban (most of the time)
It's Stylish

It's new! It blossomed in the 1990's in Britain-remember Bridget Jones?
It's today! There's no such thing as historical chick lit (yet, although some consider Jane Austen to be the original chick lit author).
It's funny and light! If it makes you cry instead of laugh, if it's serious, it's not chick lit, it's women's fiction.
It's about women by women! (except the subgenre of "lad lit" such as Nick Hornby).
It's urban! Most of the time.
It's not romance, although it often includes romance. If the cover is hot pink and shows purses or shoes or martini glasses, it's quite possibly chick lit.
Usually by the end of the book the protagonist has improved her life, one way or another.

Chick Lit arguably came into being with Bridget Jones's Diary (1996) by Helen Fielding, about a single British woman. With the resulting publishing boom in Chick Lit, categories developed based on the type of story.

Singletons - the original Chick Lit about a single woman. Try The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Bank)

Bridal Lit or Bridezilla - the chick gets married. Try Shopaholic Ties the Knot (Kinsella)

Ethnic Lit - written by or about chicks of color. Try Waiting to Exhale (McMillan)

Mommy Lit - the chick has children. Try I Don't Know How She Does It (Pearson)

Lady Lit or Hen Lit - the chick gets older than 20-30 something. Try Julie & Romeo (Ray)

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Award Winners

RITA award for Best contemporary single title 2005: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
New York Times Notable Books, Fiction list 2002: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
New York Times Notable Books, Fiction list 1998: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Library Journal Best Romance Books 1996: Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie

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Library Staff Recommendations

Authors on this list are known for "Chick Lit" and most have titles in more than one library in the Athens Regional Library System.
Their books may fall into more than one type.

Bank, Melissa
Barker, Raffaella
Bushnell, Candace
Cabot, Meg
Colgan, Jenny
Cook, Claire
Crusie, Jennifer
Fforde, Katie
Fielding, Helen
Giffin, Emily
Gore, Kristin
Green, Jane
Harding, Robyn
Holden, Wendy
Keyes, Marian
Kinsella, Sophie
Knight, India
Margolis, Sue
Matthews, Carole
Maxted, Anna
McLaughlin, Emma
McMillan, Terry
Pearson, Allison
Ray, Jeanne
Townley, Gemma
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa
Weiner, Jennifer
Weisberger, Lauren
Wolff, Isabel
Zigman, Laura

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Chick Lit Books Made into Movies
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (Helen Fielding)
Someone Like You (2001) (based on Zigman's book Animal Husbandry)
Bridget Jones: the edge of reason (2004)
Must Love Dogs (2005) (Claire Cook)
In Her Shoes (2005) (Jennifer Weiner)
Can You Keep a Secret? (2006) (Sophie Kinsella)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (Lauren Weisberger)
Nanny Diaries (coming in 2007) (Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus)

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Featured Genre: Chick Lit What is Chick Lit? Award Winners Library Staff Recommendations Chick Lit Books Made into Movies
What Is Chick Lit? It's Funny It's About Women It's By Women It's Up to date and in the now It's Light reading It's Often full of romance It's Urban (most of the time) It's Stylish It's new! It blossomed in the 1990's in Britain-remember Bridget Jones? It's today! There's no such thing as historical chick lit (yet, although some consider Jane Austen to be the original chick lit author). It's funny and light! If it makes you cry instead of laugh, if it's serious, it's not chick lit, it's women's fiction. It's about women by women! (except the subgenre of "lad lit" such as Nick Hornby). It's urban! Most of the time. It's not romance, although it often includes romance. If the cover is hot pink and shows purses or shoes or martini glasses, it's quite possibly chick lit. Usually by the end of the book the protagonist has improved her life, one way or another. Chick Lit arguably came into being with Bridget Jones's Diary (1996) by Helen Fielding, about a single British woman. With the resulting publishing boom in Chick Lit, categories developed based on the type of story. Singletons - the original Chick Lit about a single woman. Try The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Bank) Bridal Lit or Bridezilla - the chick gets married. Try Shopaholic Ties the Knot (Kinsella) Ethnic Lit - written by or about chicks of color. Try Waiting to Exhale (McMillan) Mommy Lit - the chick has children. Try I Don't Know How She Does It (Pearson) Lady Lit or Hen Lit - the chick gets older than 20-30 something. Try Julie & Romeo (Ray) return to top Award Winners RITA award for Best contemporary single title 2005: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie New York Times Notable Books, Fiction list 2002: I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson New York Times Notable Books, Fiction list 1998: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding Library Journal Best Romance Books 1996: Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie return to top Library Staff Recommendations Authors on this list are known for "Chick Lit" and most have titles in more than one library in the Athens Regional Library System. Their books may fall into more than one type. Bank, Melissa Barker, Raffaella Bushnell, Candace Cabot, Meg Colgan, Jenny Cook, Claire Crusie, Jennifer Fforde, Katie Fielding, Helen Giffin, Emily Gore, Kristin Green, Jane Harding, Robyn Holden, Wendy Keyes, Marian Kinsella, Sophie Knight, India Margolis, Sue Matthews, Carole Maxted, Anna McLaughlin, Emma McMillan, Terry Pearson, Allison Ray, Jeanne Townley, Gemma Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa Weiner, Jennifer Weisberger, Lauren Wolff, Isabel Zigman, Laura return to top Chick Lit Books Made into Movies Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (Helen Fielding) Someone Like You (2001) (based on Zigman's book Animal Husbandry) Bridget Jones: the edge of reason (2004) Must Love Dogs (2005) (Claire Cook) In Her Shoes (2005) (Jennifer Weiner) Can You Keep a Secret? (2006) (Sophie Kinsella) The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (Lauren Weisberger) Nanny Diaries (coming in 2007) (Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus) return to top

Past Features

Chick Lit

What Is Chick Lit?

Award Winners

Library Staff Recommendations

Chick Lit Books Made into Movies