It's about time...

the New York Times acknowledged the summer's best (or at least most hotly anticipated) chicklit novels for the year. They ran this feature article in their "BOOKS" section yesterday and I paste it here for your enjoyment.
On a Beach, Under a Tiffany-Blue Sky

Here's the list (with excerpts to boot!).

AN ABSOLUTE SCANDAL by Penny Vincenzi (Doubleday); 575 pages; $24.95. (Excerpt)

ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING by Janelle Brown (Spiegel & Grau); 401 pages; $24. (Excerpt) already on my list...

THE BEACH HOUSE by Jane Green (Viking); 341 pages; $24.95.

BRINGING HOME THE BIRKIN: MY LIFE IN HOT PURSUIT OF THE WORLD’S MOST COVETED HANDBAG by Michael Tonello (William Morrow); 257 pages; $25.95. purchased and reading this weekend (read: my parents are visiting next weekend and I'll clearly be handing it to mom for her to enjoy as well...)

CHASING HARRY WINSTON by Lauren Weisberger (Simon & Schuster); 280 pages; $25.95. (Excerpt) DONE

THE DAY I ATE WHATEVER I WANTED: AND OTHER SMALL ACTS OF LIBERATION by Elizabeth Berg (Random House); 242 pages; $23. (Excerpt)

LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH by Emily Giffin (St. Martin’s Press); 342 pages; $24.95. DONE

SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY’S by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (Little, Brown and Company); 309 pages; $24.99. (Excerpt)

SWEET LOVE by Sarah Strohmeyer (Dutton); 302 pages; $24.95. (Excerpt)

TROPHIES by Heather Thomas (William Morrow); 511 pages; $24.95. (Excerpt)

I'm going on a 10 day vacation in two weeks, and all of the above will clearly be necessary.

Most prominently featured in the article is Bringing Home the Birkin. Which is what I'm reading for the weekend. Here's a link of it's author Michael Tonello talking about this book and a typical day in the life of a Birkin hunter.

Side note: I've friended him on goodreads.com (facebook for book lovers). And I've already picked up one of the books that he highly recommends. Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems. But for now, it's all about the Birkin.