The Majority

Here are some of the reasons commenters favored the smart one:

• beauty fades and brains don’t, as Kelly said “beauty gives out WAY before your brain does” and Renee added “a beautiful mind lasts forever”
• beauty is subjective, it’s in the eye of the beholder
• beauty is contingent on the person’s personality
• beauty can be purchased, but brains cannot
• life without the brains to read books would be miserable
• smart people can change their looks, as Nicole noted, “there’s always plastic surgery to become the pretty one”
• true beauty is internal anyway, as Fran said “being beautiful in its truest sense, should be inside out” or Indigo said “take a shy intelligent woman and witness the compassion she has for everyone but herself . . .priceless.  I would rather that kind of beauty than the pronounced obvious one.”

Karina observed that so many women chose the “smart one,” but we live in a world that “values beauty over brains, if magazines, TV and movies are any indication.”

The Minority

There were a few of you who opted for beauty, in fact, it had a bit of a rally towards the end of the week.  Catherine said she’d chose beauty because “ignorance can be bliss.”  Blodeuedd admitted that it may sound shallow to want to be the pretty one, but “in certain times of you life it’s the pretty ones that get what they want.”

There was definitely a desire among smart women to experience being the pretty one, Wendy said she’d try “in the name of science” and several women were ready to give it a go, temporarily. 

The Politicians

If you don’t like the choice, then question it.  This was the path taken by several women.  Why can’t we be both smart and pretty?  And, of course, that’s an  issue in Claire’s book.  Here is where Claire and I come down, we’re both smart and pretty.  We tell each other all the time, because that’s what friends are for.

The Winner

The winner of Same as it Never Was, Knitting under the Influence and The Smart One and the Pretty One, drum roll please, is Kayce C.  We used random.org (for the first time, it was much easier than imagined) and she was picked.  We sent Kayce an e-mail.  If she doesn’t respond in the requisite time, we’ll go to the “1st runner up” who is expected to fulfill the winner’s duties should the winner become unable to do so.

Thank you everyone for participating, we’re happy that you stopped by our blog and hope that you return frequently!

God, I love a good romance. A book’s just not satisfying to me unless there’s some kind of passionate coming-together in it of a man and a woman. My love of romance started with The Witch of Blackbird Pond and the manly, frequently annoyed sailor Nat, and continued on through Rhett and Scarlett, every Austen book (although only Emma and Pride and Prejudice REALLY satisfy) and Bronte of course-oh and don’t forget The Scarlet Pimpernel where Sir Percy is so freakin’ in love with his wife that he KISSES THE STAIRS where she walked-after being mean to her because he can’t let her know he loves her . . . Oh, GOD, it’s fantastic.

Excuse me a moment.

Cold water in the face. Okay. I’m better now.

The point is, I love that stuff. I eat it up. The smoldering, ultra-masculine hero, the woman he loves in spite of himself (very important-he has to love her SO MUCH that even though he knows better, he can’t tear himself away), the various complications and roadblocks, the intricate dance toward each other and then away again . . . and of course, most important of all, the final blissful realization that they can, do, and will love each other forever.

Sigh.

Best of all, the romances in these books mirror those in real life! I mean, they’re practically a mirror of the way people all around us meet, fall in love, and get married.

Note: I’m being sarcastic.

But you knew that.

I’ve been about as lucky in love as a girl can get. I’ve been married for almost twenty years to a man who’s kind, handsome, manly, smart, funny, loving to me and the kids . . . I could go on but he reads these posts and I don’t want him to start thinking that I’ll love him even if he doesn’t fix the water filter because that won’t work out well for any of us.

The point is, nothing about our courtship, marriage, or life together has been anything like the passionate, smoldering, “I hate you because I love you” (or is it “I love you because I hate you”?) romances you find in most novels.

We didn’t fight when we first met. We had a pleasant conversation. Later, he didn’t try to keep himself away from me, nor did he pursue me avidly. We got together a few times, mostly with other people around, and then we realized we liked each other a lot, and got together all the time, mostly without other people around.

There weren’t any real obstacles-I mean, I did have a boyfriend when we first met, but I broke up with him. Our families were all in favor of the relationship. There were no huge misunderstandings-a few arguments, a lot of wishing on my side that he worked shorter hours, different internal time clocks-but nothing that tore us painfully apart (so we could one day reunite passionately of course).

There was no smoldering on his part and no archness on mine. We made each other laugh and liked each other’s friends.

I could go on, but you get the point. He was no Mr. Darcy and I, sir, was no Elizabeth Bennet.

Life isn’t like it is in books and that’s truer about romance than anything else. I’m not sure why the romantic paradigm is so incredibly appealing to me and to most of the women and girls I know. Maybe it’s because it’s been around so long that we’re steeped in it before we’re even aware of it. Maybe it’s because women were economically so helpless in previous centuries that their ability to attract a man was the only power they had, so that became the pivot for stories women were likely to read. Maybe it’s something biological: we want monogamy for the sake of our offspring so we’re naturally responsive to anything that suggests lifelong devotion and passion can survive despite numerous obstacles and difficulites.

I don’t know. But as I watch my 11-year-old daughter tear through novel after novel, I find myself wondering how I can adequately explain to her that the romances she’s so enthralled by are fantasy, pure and simple, and that if she looks for a guy who angers and enthralls her, she’ll probably end up with an egotistical jerk, that she needs to find someone like her father who’s kind and intelligent in equal measure, and that a man who’s willing to take out the compost so you don’t have to is showing more genuine love and compassion than one who smolders with jealousy when you flirt with another man. Which you shouldn’t do in the first place. There are rules.

I don’t get a lot of women’s fashion and style magazines-much as I love them-because I don’t want my daughter to measure herself against a standard of beauty that’s unrealistic, manufactured, and has the potential to destroy her self-esteem. Should I also be guarding her against a standard of romance that’s unrealistic, manufactured and has the potential to destroy her ability to recognize real love when it stutters, stumbles, and fumbles its way toward her one day?

I can’t deny her the pleasure of reading the books I loved or of the ones she’s avidly pursuing on her own. (Or rather, I don’t want to: why deny her a pleasure that doesn’t involve illegal substances or huge amounts of sugar?) All I can do is keep reminding her that real men aren’t vampires with wild passions for teenage girls: they’re just the male equivalent of us-flawed, hopeful, searching, and easily wounded.

Fantasy is a wonderful way to escape and be entertained. But in real life, go for the guy whose face lights up when you walk into the room-even if you’re wearing old sweats and haven’t showered in a couple of days. I tell you, that’s worth more than all the manly smoldering and sardonic grins put together . . . .

Thank you Robin for the image!

I recently found scores of reader’s challenges on the Internet, I’d never heard of them.  There is a reader’s challenge for everything:  short stories, WWII books, world citizen (history and politics), art history, graphic novels (Claire should join this one), RYOB (read your own books), essays, chick lit (everyone participating in this challenge should read Claire’s three fiction books), Notable books, chunkie books (books longer than 450 pages), young adult books, and many more.  Then it occurred to me, Claire and I could do the same thing.  I’m really excited about hosting our own challenge right here on Bookstore People.  So we’re announcing the Independent Bookstore Reader’s Challenge.  Claire’s a bit terrified about the prospect, but I’m confident she’ll love it. 

Challenge Guidelines

Here are the rules: go to independent bookstores that are new to you between January 1 and December 31, 2009 and have some sort of interaction.  The challenge comes with different levels you can sign up for:

• Scout – Visit 2 independent bookstores (easy!)
• Specialist – Visit 2 subject matter specialty bookstores (i.e., travel, children, cooking)
• Nationalist – Visit 2 independent bookstores and 1 additional bookstore in a state you do not live in
• Continental – Visit 2 independent bookstores and 1 additional bookstore in another N. American country (that would be the USA, Canada or Mexico)
• Globetrotter – Visit 2 independent bookstores and 1 additional bookstore on a different continent (if you’re going to Europe, check out Bookstore Guide)
• Type A Personality to the Max – Satisfy any two categories

We’ll have a page dedicated to the challenge where you can sign up and leave comments.  Plus, we’d love to have a review of the stores you’ve found and liked (we ignore stores with bad service or stock), we’ll post it with a description of you and a link back to your blog (if you have one), just e-mail it to me at kim@bookstorepeople.com.  In fact, we encourage cross posting bookstore reviews so post on your blog, Indiebound, Yelp, City Search, City Guide and any other place that would like it. 

We’ll Give out a Prize!

But wait, there’s even more, at the end of the year we’ll have a random drawing among everyone who satisfied their challenge for a gift certificate from BookSense.  What more could you want?  Sign up now and start exploring the wonderful world of independent bookstores.

I first “met” S. Krishna when she contacted me via e-mail to ask if I’d be interested in sending her an advanced copy of my book to review on her blog.  I was and I did.  I was impressed by the depth and quality of all of her reviews–not to mention by how much reading she does–so she seemed the natural choice for this list. (And fortunately for us, she was willing to spend the time to put it together.)  Check out her blog for more reviews, and read the following (we won’t tell if you want to buy any of these books for yourself!)–Claire

When Claire asked me to write a top-ten list of books that appeal to women, I was at once honored and stumped.  After many, many list iterations, I decided to approach this using the assumption that women prefer a multitude of book genres, rather than the same, basic plot of girl-meets-guy, girl-screws-up, girl-wins-back-guy.  As such, I’ve picked out one book for each of ten categories (plus a few honorable mentions thrown in, just for good measure).  If you’re buying yourself a book, or purchasing a book for a loved one, you can’t go wrong with these titles.

About Me:  I write a book review blog called S. Krishna’s Books.  I review books that primarily appeal to women:  chick lit, women’s fiction, historical fiction, and some mysteries and non-fiction thrown in for good measure.  Please feel free to come by and leave a comment!

Literary Fiction
Love Walked In – Marisa de los Santos
I would buy anything that Marisa de los Santos wrote.  I don’t care if it’s horror or fantasy or romance or non-fiction; I would buy it and happily read it.  De Los Santos has a lyrical quality to her writing.  It is breathtakingly beautiful, sometimes almost painfully so.  Love Walked In is the story of Cornelia and Claire.  Cornelia is a woman who loves movies, especially The Philadelphia Story, and Claire is an eleven-year-old girl whose mother is mentally unstable.  These two form an unlikely bond which affects each more than they realize.  Love Walked In is being made into a movie starring Sarah Jessica Parker as Cornelia.

Honorable Mention: Belong to Me – Marisa de los Santos [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

What If?
Time of My Life – Allison Winn Scotch
We’ve all had those thoughts – what if I had stayed with the one who got away?  What if I hadn’t made those choices?  What if, what if, what if…Time of My Life is the tale of a woman who actually gets that chance.  One day, Jillian Westfield wakes up in the past.  Her loving husband and infant daughter are gone.  It’s seven years ago, and she gets to do everything all over again.  This is an entertaining read with a great message:  it’s ok to have doubts, but appreciate what’s in front of you.  [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

 Multicultural

The Sound of Language – Amulya Malladi

 The Sound of Language is a quiet book.  It’s beautifully written and melodic, proving that simplicity is the key in this case.  Raihana is a refugee from war-torn Afghanistan trying to make a new life for herself in Denmark.  She tries to fit in and learn the Danish language, but not everyone is welcoming.  She begins to help a crusty old man named Gunnar with his beekeeping and the two slowly form an awkward and unlikely friendship.  The Sound of Language is a simple and beautiful story about the power of friendship and love against the bitter backdrop of war and racism.  [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

 Honorable Mention:  Cutting Loose – Nadine Dajani [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

 Non-Fiction

Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office – Jen Lancaster

If you haven’t read Jen Lancaster’s works, stop what you’re doing and go buy them.  Seriously.  They are absolutely hilarious and completely sarcastically loveable.  Jen’s snarky sense of humor is on full display in her first memoir, and it only gets better from there.  Not sure if you’re up for non-fiction?  Trust me, these books read like they’re novels.  If you want a dose of Jen before taking the plunge into Bitter is the New Black, try her website at http://www.jennsylvania.com.

Honorable Mention:  Laughing Without an Accent – Firoozeh Dumas [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

Historical Fiction

The Splendor of Silence – Indu Sundaresan

Indu Sundaresan is an amazing author who casts a spell over her readers with her use of words.  The Splendor of Silence is set during India’s fight for independence from the British.  It is a complicated novel with many twists and turns, as well as superbly written characters.  Though her historical fiction novels about Empress Nur Jahan, The Twentieth Wife and Feast of Roses are more well-known, The Splendor of Silence has a quiet beauty to it that readers will love.

Honorable Mention:  The Heretic Queen – Michelle Moran [Review at S. Krishna's Books]

Tragedy
Anybody Out There – Marian Keyes
For me, Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes is THE chick lit book.  It’s the one that showed me that chick lit can be anything that other novels can be – smart, funny, deep, and tragic.  It’s the novel I use when presented with the argument that chick lit is complete fluff with no depth or substance (though that description applies to precisely none of the novels on this list).  Keyes manages to deal with grief and loneliness without making the book weighty or difficult to read.  All of Keyes’ books are gems, but Anybody Out There is my personal favorite.

Coming of Age

The Opposite of Love – Julie Buxbaum

The Opposite of Love is the story of a damaged girl who slowly begins to break down as her life falls apart.  The story begins with Emily breaking up with her wonderful boyfriend, Andrew, simply because he was thinking about proposing to her.  If that isn’t enough, her beloved grandfather seems to be getting weaker every time she sees him, and she still hasn’t fully dealt with the death of her mother.  Buxbaum’s powerful novel is beautifully written and casts an emotional spell on the reader; you’ll find yourself invested in the characters as you frantically race to discover what happens to Emily.  [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

Young Adult

Violet on the Runway – Melissa Walker
Violet on the Runway is the story of Violet Greenfield, a normal, slightly awkward teen who happens to fall into the world of modeling.  I know, you’ve heard this plot a hundred times before right?  Well, Walker manages to put a new spin on this classic teen fantasy.  The impressive thing about it is that Walker seems to have just as many adult fans as teen; the novels in the Violet series are fun, entertaining, and appeal to a broad audience.  [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

Simple & Sweet
Sweet Love – Sarah Strohmeyer
Have you ever wanted to read a book that makes you feel warm and gooey inside?  If so, then Sweet Love is not to be missed.  It’s a simple and sweet story about Julie, a single mother, and Michael, the man that got away.  The real twist is that Betty, Julie’s mother, is the one who made sure Michael had nothing to do with her daughter, but now realizes that she may have made a grave mistake.  It’s one of those books that leaves you with a smile on your face.  [Review on S. Krishna's Books]

 Sisters
The Smart One and the Pretty One – Claire LaZebnik
What chick lit list would be complete without a book about sisters?  The Smart One and the Pretty One captures the relationship between sisters Ava (the smart one) and Lauren (the pretty one) perfectly.  Of course, there’s the love/hate dynamic, but Claire also convincingly portrays that undefinable bond between sisters.  Add a hot, charming man and a bit of self-exploration and you’ve got yourself a great read that any woman would enjoy. [Review on S. Krishna's Books]