Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

From the Publisher
Rebecca Bloomwood just hit rock bottom. But she's never looked better....

Becky Bloomwood has a fabulous flat in London's trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season's must-haves. The only trouble is that she can't actually afford it — not any of it.

Her job writing at Successful Savings not only bores her to tears, it doesn't pay much at all. And lately Becky's been chased by dismal letters from Visa and the Endwich Bank — letters with large red sums she can't bear to read — and they're getting ever harder to ignore.

She tries cutting back; she even tries making more money. But none of her efforts succeeds. Becky's only consolation is to buy herself something ... just a little something....

Finally a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life — and the lives of those around her — forever.

Sophie Kinsella has brilliantly tapped into our collective consumer conscience to deliver a novel of our times — and a heroine who grows stronger every time she weakens. Becky Bloomwood's hilarious schemes to pay back her debts are as endearing as they are desperate. Her "confessions" are the perfect pick-me-up when life is hanging in the (bank) balance.

My Comments:
Yet another series I put off getting into. Who knows why? I suppose because I have so many I enjoy now, and one more seemed like it would tip me over the edge. But thanks to paperbackswap.com, the cost of my reading habit has been cut dramatically!

My book group buddy, Lori, was all excited about the latest in the series to come out, Shopaholic and Baby (the newest in the series) and Lori never steers me wrong. I hopped right onto PBS to order it and when I finished my last book, it happened to show up in the mail! Kismet! And I happen to be fighting off a cold or something and needed rest. Providence! I started it last night and couldn't put it down. Those flu-like aches and pains that kept me awake weren't so bad because I had Rebecca to keep me company.

The only un-fun thing was that I'm rather in a similar financial state as Rebecca. Only I don't have a shopping problem, but rather just an income problem. It can feel rather bleak, but once we got past the letters from the credit card companies, which I'm currently dealing with myself, it became much more enjoyable.

I had to really fight with myself to not peek ahead. I really wanted to find out if she ends up with the dreamy Luke or not. I didn't peek. You have no idea how hard that was! But well worth it when I got to the end!

My friend Kristin also loved the Shopaholic series. I remember buying one of them for her as a surprise long ago. Because, afterall, gifts to friends don't count when you're tallying up your bills! If only, right? Just last week I saw the cutest little Shopaholic themed mug at Barnes and Noble that immediately made me think of Lori and I so wanted to get it for her as a thank you gift for finally getting me off my butt to enjoy Shopaholic. But the little "But you're in debt" alarm went off in my head, and I sat it back down. It's the thought that counts, right? I used to love picking up little things like that that reminded me of someone. *sigh* One day, I'll be able to do that again. If Rebecca can do it, surely I can!

Keep It Or Pass It On?
I posted it on PBS. I'm desperate for more points! Because I had to order Shopaholic Takes Manhattan right away!