Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella

Confessions of a Shopaholic is one of those rare books that I did not read before seeing the movie adaptation, which I watched a little over a year ago. The book and movie are about Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist bored with her job whose shopping impulses far surpass her income, and what happens when she discovers a financial story that she actually cares about. When I saw the movie, I cringed constantly at Becky's silliness, immaturity, and inability to control herself; therefore, I didn't have an urge to pick up the book immediately afterwards. However, I recently remembered the book (I can't remember why) and decided to get it through PaperBack Swap - my library doesn't have it, and I figured I could always repost it after reading.

Like in the movie, Becky spends most of the book making highly irrational decisions and throwing reason out the window at every possible opportunity. At one point, she buys a book on cutting personal spending and is determined to follow it exactly. Of course, she fails at this, and therefore decides that her only other option is to make more money. Naturally, she goes and buys a lottery ticket and plans on winning the lottery to get her out of debt - she looks forward to winning all day, and when another number is called, she is actually really surprised. This kind of behavior made me cringe, roll my eyes, and mentally hit Becky over the head multiple times in an attempt to restore her to her senses. During the movie in particular, I remember being scrunched up in my seat and, at one point, covering my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch her be idiotic again. Eventually, though, she does change: she begins feeling guilty about purchases, and eventually manages to turn her situation around. While I don't think this scenario is realistic, it was fun to read.

While I did enjoy the book, I definitely would have liked it better if I could have sympathized with Becky more. I won't be reading it again. However, I do recommend Confessions of a Shopaholic as a light read - but only if you think you'll be able to stand the main character's reckless spending and endless frivolity.