Back to the book thing

First of all - you may notice a link or two off to the right for specific items. These are books or DVDs that people have told me they plan to buy and want to donate a little to my site by purchasing them through a link here. (If you have something you know you are going to purchase and want to send a few pennies my way, just let me know and I'll put a link for it up here.) Anyway - my mom is recommending For Women Only to several people, so that link might stay up for awhile.

Back to what I was talking about on Monday... I'm not sure what is going on with me and books. I still love to read, but I've noticed recently that I would rather re-read something I have read before than try something new. It's similar with DVDs. I find myself wanting to watch stories that I have seen before as much, or more, than I want to watch something new. I wonder why?

I believe that part of it is that there is something comforting to me in knowing the outcome. It's sort of like putting on a well-worn pair of jeans and ratty sweater and settling in with a cup of cocoa in the winter. I re-read the Chronicles of Narnia every few years and love the stories every time.

However, there is something else going on. I go to the bookstore with every intension of buying a new book, yet come home empty-handed. Or I start a new book, only to put it down after three or four chapters because I'm bored with the story and the characters. Or (and this has happened several times recently) I give up on the book because I just don't like any of the characters. Why would I choose to spend a few hours with people that I don't like? There is a genre of literature that I find particularly annoying when it comes to this. Chick Lit.

First of all, the name irritates me. Chick Lit? We don't have a section of the book store called "Dude Lit." And even if we did, what would be in it? Sports books? Hunting instruction manuals? How condescending is that? Why is it acceptable to name a genre of books after a gender, especially since we already have "Women's Lit." I don't actually object to being called a "chick." (Or as a friend in China used to say, "Baby Chicken!") Stuff like that doesn't offend me. What I get offended at is the idea that this type of Lit is for me. Yuck. It's all about bitter angry women who are harsh and have destructive relationships with men. I've actually tried to make it through several books. Confessions of a Shopaholic. The Devil Wears Prada. The Nanny Diaries. I gave up on all of them. I did enjoy Bridget Jones' Diary, but that has been the exception. The main characters just irritate me. Is this behavior that I am supposed to think is healthy? Please. These women desperately desire a man to make their life complete and then get bitter when it doesn't happen. Or they are harsh characters determined to go through life not needing men. Can't we have stories about modern men and women where the main characters are decent people struggling through real issues and doing their best to find genuine connection? (Maybe this is something I should write? Hmmmm....)

So - I'm not giving up on books - not at all! I just want to find something good that I can really sink my teeth into. Any suggestions??