Literary Snobbery

I can't believe how much I dislike Nicholas Sparks and that phony book "True Believer". It makes me sick. It's one of those books that, after you've finished reading, you feel like you've not only NOT GAINED anything, you've actually LOST valuable time. In short, it didn't tell me something I didn't already know.

In all fairness though, it made me think of the purpose my diaries might serve in the future. Would people read through it in search of something and actually FIND what they need? Am I doing justice to my generation?

*****
I liked CITIZEN GIRL. It's not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill chick-lit where some heavily caffeinated twenty-something woman stumbles through a much-hated job, the battle with the bulge, and an asshole-infested lovelife. Well, sure, it had those, too, but it's a little more intelligent than usual. We were presented with real conflicts here, real emotion, and some real smart language. For once, a chick-lit novel that makes you THINK.

The book is all about a girl making her way up the career ladder. On the brink of absolute success, she finds, to her utter dismay, that she is a candidate to become the higher-up of a pornographic company.

The heroine was conveniently placed in a dark place between the devil and the deep blue sea, and she had to decide if compromising her deep-set beliefs and convictions was worth it if it meant contributing to the greater good. Like killing one person to save a hundred.

Towards the end, I was hit squarely in the face with that sinking feeling that I am just one person in this world, and there's nothing I can do to make a difference in this evil, disgusting generation. But then, as she tossed away her (possibly) only shot at good employment and a handsome package, I could feel a little of her victory.

As for the love angle, Buster is your typical X-Generation twenty-some-odd-year-old: sometimes surprising but ultimately predictable and a little assholey (a requisite characteristic), articulate, updated, and pretty smart. Mr. New-Age Mushroom Guy.

The fictional names were a little mushy, though. The authors named the heroine Girl and the protagonist Guy. I think I flinched every time I read their names. And then there was that overused detail of the heroine calling one of, or both, her parents by their first names. So bohemians-last-season, if you know what I mean.