Confessions of a Shopaholic: Remembering Sophie Kinsella

I remember reading Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella on the bus ride home from school and hiding the book in my backpack so my mom wouldn't find me reading an "adult" book as a ten year old. Truthfully? What my mom thought didn't matter. I loved the series and devoured each book as they were released.

I loved Sophie Kinsella's writing; her signature humor struck a wonderful balance with the fantastically deep characterization of her predominantly female casts, flipping the traditional stereotype of "chick-lit" on its head. Over the course of her career, Sophie's books were adapted to both the screen and the stage, translated into over 40 languages, and sold over 50 million copies.

As many were, I was devastated to learn of Sophie's passing late last year due to glioblastoma and found myself re-reading many of her works, especially connecting with 2023's The Burnout. If you did the same and are looking for some books by authors with a similarly spunky writing style, check out the titles below. 

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding is a classic for a reason! Written in the form of the diary, the book follows a year in the life of a 30-something single woman navigating her relationships, career, and her seemingly never-ending reliance on alcohol and cigarettes to get through her various misfortunes. Lightly inspired by Pride and Prejudice, it's a laugh-out-loud funny read that has withstood the test of time. 

If you're in the mood for comedic romantic trilogy, why not start with Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert? Get a Life follows nerdy Chloe Brown as she tries to "get a life," aided by her hot yet cryptic neighbor, Red Morgan. It's a fun (and inclusive!) low-stakes romantic read that is luckily followed by three more - the love stories of Chloe's sisters! 

If you ever dreamed of dating a popstar, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld may be the book for you! Sally is a comedy writer for a late night sketch show (think SNL) who pitches a sketch called The Danny Horst Rule, making fun of the intelligent but dorky writers on the show who have started dating the beautiful actresses who have guest-hosted. Sally is convinced the same could never happen to a woman, until popstar Noah Brewster signs on to guest host and they spend a week working on sketches together. There's no chance Noah might like her back...right?

I'll end on Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan, a laugh out loud story about Rufus Leung Gresham and his mother's schemes to get him married to a woman with money to keep the world from finding out that the renown Gresham Trust is actually empty and has been for a very, very long time. Rufus finds himself in Hawaii at his older sister's wedding, trying to figure out which woman is both right for him and wealthy enough to appease his mom, when all of a sudden a volcanic eruption interrupts the wedding and everything goes up in flames (or should I say lava?). It's like reading a gossip rag - so much fun.