let the games begin

Alright, alright. I know I've been MIA for way too long in terms of posting and I promise I'll do better. Work has been hell with 8:30 (or earlier) to 7:30 (or later) hours and I just haven't felt like reading that much.

The good news is it's Memorial Day weekend, and aside from barbeques and family get-togethers, Memorial Day weekend means one thing in particular: The official beginning of the season of chicklit.

Yes, it is now socially acceptable to be toting around colorful covers that contain the details of Manhattan-based romantic comedies without having people question your general intelligence. OK, maybe that last part isn't true, but at least you'll see more people (mostly women) succumbing to the "Summer Reading" table at Barnes & Noble. I like how the "Summer Reading" table in the young adult section is filled with literary greats, while the "Summer Reading" table down front in the adult section contains titles like "Bitter Is the New Black" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic".

To be honest, I don't have a problem with chicklit. In fact, I love it (or at least the good ones). I do, however, have a problem with people who only read chicklit, so, for this summer, I will be juggling both. This should be fairly easy, seeing as chicklit is, by nature, easily digestible and only takes a few days to read. So for this weekend, while I finish up Bill Bryson's book, I'll be reading Emily Giffin's newest release Love the One You're With. It's plot seems pretty standard: Woman has perfect marriage (or road to marriage), then meets another guy and begins to question whether she really has it all. One of two things will happen: Either she'll realize she's not actually as happy as she could be, and goes for the other man (who is often tall, dark, and handsome - a "bad boy", if you will), or she'll realize how she took her former life for granted, and returns to the miffed, but still loving former male companion. Funny how that works out.

As far as chicklit season goes, I'm not sure I can justify putting legitimate reading on hold for such a frivolous pursuit. So here's my compromise: I'll read chicklit only on the weekends (since it normally doesn't take longer than a few days to finish even a 300 page chicklit novel). Since chicklit is generally a summer activity, you'll only be seeing it on here mostly between Memorial Day and Labor Day and on vacations of course. I can't promise that it won't pop up here in the heart of winter, but I can tell you that you won't be seeing it every week.