Chick Lit

Despite the chill weather, summer is not over yet; there is still plenty of time to get in some light summer reading, and we have two new books that fit the bill.
How to be Single is a globetrotting novel about the state of being a singleton. Author Liz Tuccillo has her heroine Julie start off with a sorry girls'-night-out and end with a celebration of friendship. In between, she questions the happiness and lifestyles of single women everywhere as she and her girlfriends travel around the world meeting other single women and testing out the dating scene in Rio, Sydney, Paris, Bali, Beijing, Mumbai and Rome. It's a little like Sex and the City racking up frequent-flyer miles.
The Beach House is by chick lit favorite Jane Green (Jemimia J., Mr. Maybe, Bookends) and is set on the resort island of Nantucket. Nan is an eccentric 65-year-old widow who is having trouble fitting in with the island's burgeoning population of über-rich. She decides to rent out rooms in her beautiful Sconset beach house, and gradually creates a weird little family to keep her occupied. Even her son comes to spend the summer, and Nan's life perks up. But then a new arrival throws everyone into a confusion, threatening the special relationships that have developed over the summer at the Beach House.
(As a personal aside, my 92 year old great-aunt is the last of our family left on Nantucket. Ask her how she feels about her island being turned into a summer playground for the rich.)