Confessions of another Shopaholic
345456
I am a "shopaholic" and at first, Becky reminded me of myself when I was first given the opportunity to have a credit card...and it spiraled from there! This book is so cute and fun and the fact that I related to it so well, made it even more fun to read. I have the next two Shopaholics and can't wait to get started!

I'd definitely recommend this book.
1235466
Reading this book made me hungry.  I wished the shop and the characters were real and living down the street from my house
36249
I picked this book up at Goodwill.  Initially, I really liked it.  I think that I began in the month of September with my reading.  I love the idea of 'voluntary simplicity' and whittling down your life/house/etc. to where you are not overwhelmed and frazzled.

However, the month of April's essays made me want to stick my finger down my throat.  So, we're supposed to live simply, yet still somehow manage to dress ourselves in top-dollar frocks?  And how often did she quote the past editor of Vogue?  Gag.  It is somewhat redeemed by the fact that she DOES mention shopping at thrift stores.  However, it seems that if it isn't an article of clothing by some uber-expensive designer, we'd better just leave it on the rack.  Once, she mentioned something about "So you are lusting after that $1,000 cashmere blazer from Donna Karan?" (or something of the like)  Lady, please.  I don't know where you shop, but in my town, we have WalMart and Goodwill.  I'm being true to my Authentic Self by purchasing gently used, quality clothes that won't deprive my family of a house!

The entries for April are just nauseating as they are all about style and fashion...two things that my life (or maybe, Life, as she would capitalize it) can do without.  Another particularly irritating jab was directly at Amy Dacyzyn of Tightwad Gazette fame.  Loosely quoted, Sarah mentions briefly the frugality movement of the 1990's, which SHE claims is 'fear-based', and completely frowns upon "making Halloween costumes out of dryer lint".  Well, if you are a Tightwad like myself, you will recognize this was a direct insult to Amy, whose books absolutely blow Sarah out of the water as far as scaling down your household and life in general.

The good part of this book is that I enjoy the quotes (with exception to those attributed to the former Vogue editor), and I do like most of the entries.  It is definitely New Age.  I also love the day-to-day format, and there are many good suggestions in the book.  Being a homemaker, I also appreciate the entries about keeping your home in order, as I feel this is a lost art that women were made to feel ashamed of.

As far as the annoying, besides the month of April, I would say that she can get quite bossy and has the tendency to lump her readers into a single group.  Not all of us are lost souls, after all.  She seems to be one of those people who suggest that 'if you do THIS, the whoooolllleee Universe will open up to you, and you'll finally be at peace!'.  Nice to hear, but life just isn't always that easy.  She makes some broad generalizations from time to time about women. I also find some of the advice very 'me, me, me'.  It's fine to have 'me' time, and some 'me' things, but never at the expense of your family as a whole. Regarding her advice of getting small luxuries for yourself, much of America's problem is that we do that everyday until we are flat broke.  If you are already super-thrifty, then this advice can work well.  If, however, you're already dropping 60 bucks a week at Starbucks on coffee, well....

Another thing I didn't really like was the forced use of journals.  To embark on the Simple Abundance Journey, you MUST (and she means MUST) keep a daily journal of gratitude.  I mean, you can't possibly keep reading the book unless you write in your journal every single day!  Also, you are supposed to keep a photo journal as well.  Mmmm, I don't mind the suggestions, but I don't need anyone forcing journals down my throat.

I would suggest borrowing this book first to see if you would be interested or offended (or buying it from Goodwill...I've found 3 copies so far, lol).  Then, just skip the entries you don't like.  There are some good suggestions, after all.
430308
Good book.  Although some of it goes beyond my perception.  It was delivered before it was due to come and, that's a good thing.
Goodwill has been my favorite place to shop, especially when we travel.  It's the place I go,  rather than all those tourist shops.  We have traveled from coast to coast too!  :D
747699
For me, Kinsella's way with words is like watching a movie of my life. Maybe not quite as dramatic...
The Shopaholic series would make a great film.
1313351
I have read all of the Shopaholic books, and this one was passable, but not as good as the others, in my humble opinion. Becky continues to be her charming, hapless self, though this time around I found it a little irritating that she practically has a perfect life already, almost destroys it, but then it all gets tied up neatly in a bow in the end. But then again, that's why we read these books, is it not, as an escape from reality? All said, I would recommend this book, but if you haven't read the other Shopaholic books I would read them in order first, and then read this one. Enjoy!
2538535
Like all the other customers, I do believe that i feel like. I I have been ripped off, for the sake of getting extra money out of me. I enjoyed the series, next time, like others I would be more careful to buy items
2991302
I had been waiting for the next Shopaholic book for ages and when the day finally came for it to be released, I rushed out to buy it and read it in a day.

Overall, the book was another winner from Sophie Kinsella. I have been hooked on Becky Bloomwood's antics since the beginning and I'm still hooked. There was some great moments in the novel that I got a little giggle from. Although I loved it, the situation with the second OB that Becky got was a bit predictable and something that Sophie Kinsella has done with Becky before. But apart from that, the book was quite enjoyable and I always love reading what shopping trouble Becky gets into. The best part by far was the ending when Becky had the baby. I won't say what gender the child is and what happens but I think it's the sweetest part of the whole Shopaholic series.

I really did not want the book to end-it was that good to me. I kind of got the feeling that this book could be the end to the Shopaholic series-at least for awhile. But Sophie Kinsella is such a great writer that I can't wait to read whatever she comes up with next.
3653117
After reading the shopoholic series I knew I would like this book as well. Sophie Kinsella has a way of writing that reminds me of the way we talk with girlfriends, or even what we don't share with girlfriends.

After meeting a handsome man on a plane and just spilling her guts her little world get turned upside down. At the end of the book I wanted it to be a little longer, I wanted to know what happened next. Maybe a series or a part 2 is needed for one of those weekends I want to spend curled up with a good book!
3333509
Whoever said that money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping. ~ Bo Derek, Actress

Last Saturday, we flew from Baltimore to Tampa to enroll my son in the University of South Florida (USF).  Unfortunately, the regional Air Traffic Control (ATC) was down, so we sat at the BWI airport for five hours.  Many flights were cancelled but we were lucky we had an aircraft to board once ATC was operational again.  Still, we were exhausted when we arrived at my mother's condo in Clearwater.  I just wanted to read something that would make me laugh ... and I pulled out MINI SHOPAHOLIC, Book 6 in the series, from her bookshelf.  Published in 2010, MINI SHOPAHOLIC kept me laughing through to the last page.

Becky Brandon, nee Bloomwood, is a modern day English version of Lucy Ricardo. Becky, like Lucy, sees the world from a different angle ... and finds herself in hot water, no matter the good intentions.  Becky's side kick, Suze, is akin to Ethel - she follows Lucy into trouble.  Where Lucy always sought the limelight in Ricky's productions, Becky seeks designer labels.

MINI SHOPAHOLIC is a laugh out loud adventure into bargain shopping, motherhood, and friendship.  While the plot follows the same pattern as previous books, MINI SHOPAHOLIC is still an entertaining read laced with heartfelt moments (the last page made my heart melt).  Becky truly shines when she relies solely upon herself to rise above the circumstances.  Likewise, Becky has a good heart in helping others when she is not otherwise justifying her next purchase.

I have not read a Shopaholic book in several years - MINI SHOPAHOLIC hit the spot after our long travels.  I am excited to catch up with the series,  SHOPAHOLIC TO THE STARS (Book 7, published in 2014), and SHOPAHOLIC TO THE RESCUE (Book 8, coming in October, 2015).

Let me add the books are much more charming that the 2009 movie starring Isla Fisher as an American version of Becky Bloomwood.
77115
I liked this book a lot, though not quite as much as the Shopaholic books, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I liked the premise for the book; it was interesting and fun reading.  I recently read that Kate Hudson is going to star in the movie version of this book... congratulations to Ms. Kinsella!  The only other thing I'll mention here is that there seems to be a pattern in all of her books that the heroine ends up with an extremely wealthy man, out of pure luck.  A nice thought, but how often does that translate into reality? That aside, I still love all her books and am anxiously awaiting Shopaholic and Sister - hurry September!!
3600250
Although the book has some amusing parts, the biggest part of it is Rebecca "Becky" Bloomwood shopping and getting into tremendous debt.  She works for a magazine writing on finance but spends more of her time (and thoughts) on shopping or where people got their things.

The story is not particularly "romantic" or even that funny.  If you know a lot about haute couture name brands (British in this book, American in the sequel), you can follow her thoughts and shopping fairly well but quickly tire of her excuses and ignoring of her debt (to the point of making up a stalker to avoid her bank manager).

But of course, being chick lit, it all works out in the end and she's off for another adventure (pretty much more of the same) in Shopaholic Takes Manhattan.

Get it if you really need something to read but if you want good chick lit, check out the Plum series for American or Bridget Jones's Diary for British.
2919795
This book is a compilation of several issues of the British 'zine of the same name, which is dedicated to the fine and subtle art (well, all right...down and dirty fetish) of thrifting, aka charity shopping in  Britslang.  It contains interviews and advice from die-hard thrift  shoppers, pics of unique finds, tales of humorous collections and lots of  funny photos, including shots of now-famous, then-obscure models/actresses  Chloe Sevigny and Sophie Dahl.  If you'd rather hit the Goodwill than the  Gap or at least like to troll garage sales or rummage at church bazaars,  this is the book for you!
1070305
The thing I love most about Shop Talk is that it's almost a memoir of New York City through a large handful of its most interesting stores.  There's something for everyone here and I'm already plotting my walking tours of different neighborhoods based on their stores.  Old New York? New New York?  Quirky? Off-beat? High Fashion? Artisan? Antique? It's all here.
752675
I understand that this book is more focused on the no/low budget traveler, but only mentioning hostels and no hotels? Even cheap ones? I get the impression that even The Ace is too upscale for the intended audience.

I had to laugh over the pithy pass that the Twenty-third District is given, referred to as "trendy" and "a yuppies wet dream". Do people even say "yuppie" anymore?  Yes, there are some chains, expensive restaurants and (gasp!)a Starbucks, but there are also some cool indie and vintage shops and a Rose's Diner at the bottom of the street. I can't afford all the shops either, but it doesn't make me full of seething resentment like it seems to do to the writers.

The Pearl District gets the same brief, dismissive treatment while VooDoo Doughnuts gets several paragraphs. Don't get me wrong, I love VooDoo (mmm, bacon...), but The Pearl is worth a look as well, even if you can't afford much there. At the very least, there are some great parks such as Jamison and Tanner Springs Parks.  Bring a picnic and laugh at the olds and the yuppies!

I was really hoping for some local/insider insight into the city, instead I felt like I was being accused of being "The Man" (which is odd as I'm female) for not wanting to buy all my clothes from a thrift store or for wanting to go to a restaurant that didn't have fluorescent lighting as a primary decorative element. Sheesh, I used to have a pierced nose, I listen to Klaxons fer Christ sake, why does this guide make me feel so old?! *takes deep breath and adjusts wig and girdle*

Would the writers consider keeping the guide low budget but opening it up a little to expose a bit more of the city?  The other guides may concentrate too much on the costly and out of reach, but this guide goes too far in the other direction. Us ageing hipsters killing ourselves to keep our street cred but who have a bit of cash to spend need a guide, too.
3666965
Becky Brandon is have baby! Time to go shopping for everything that a baby is going to need.  Prams, cribs and everythin else a baby needs.  Becky is have a great time shopping, then she hears that Venetia Carter is back in London.  Becky just knows that having A-list doctor delivering her baby is just what she needs.  But it turns out that the famous Dr. Carter has some history with her husband Luke.  Now Becky is trying to save her job, her marriage, while trying to get ready for the next generation of shoppers.
"Shopaholic and Baby" is the fifth book in this series by Sophie Kinsella and while the beginning of the series was pretty good, I have admitt that I am getting a bit tired of it.  Becky seem to be a character that just can't learn.  Becky's attitude was fun in the beginning but its getting old.
4409684
If he were to ask me tomorrow, I would marry Paco Underhill. I have read both his books, this one and Call of the Mall, and quite frankly I have fallen in love.

Fun and informative Why We Buy will put everything about the retail enviroment into perspective. Like the "Butt Brush Effect". It seems so obvious, who likes to touch or be touched by strangers? but you'll have never thought of it, I assure you. Or what about the strategic placement of mirrors? How many times have I had to hunt down a mirror in a store? How many times did I simply give up when the hunt became too time consuming?

This book has become one of the driving motivators to my switch to a Merchandising minor, and one day I hope to use some of his ideas in my own store.