Subjective musings on my recent reads

As I mentioned in one of my previous entries, I've been catching up on my reading. I've finally finished reading the December issue of Her World Magazine from cover to cover. Strangely enough, this was the first magazine I read when I became an adult but I now find that it isn't really as fantastic as it was before. The width seems to stem from the numerous advertisements contained within. I was deceived into thinking that the December issue would be more interesting than those of the other months.

I'm starting to wonder too, how ladies can buy magazines on a monthly basis when not every month's issue of the magazines sold in the market is always interesting.

I'm halfway through the book Shopaholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella. It is easy to comprehend and appeals to those who are as crazy about shopping but gives me a bad impression of such people, I mean, those in the book. They really are bimbos and airheads who think shopping makes up the world.

The book can be addictive in a way. Though I was absolutely disgusted with Becky Bloomwood, the protaganist and how she leads her life, I still carried on reading despite the temptation to drop the book. It's that desire to know the closure of things for her.

The bizarre thing is that I was more engrossed in this book than in any other book. Even when I had to take a break from it, I felt as if I had come out from another world. It was so mesmerizing and real, just wholly absorbing my consciousness. No, I'm not a shopaholic and don't employ retail therapy. I go 'crazy' only when shopping for Christmas presents.

The resolution of this chick-lit novel is that Becky does get her act together after a very harsh awakening. She is invaded by her boyfriend's colleague. Her financial situation is thrust into the limelight and jeopardises her career prospects, relationship as well as her very image. She then crawls back up slowly, rebuilding her life and repaying her debts. She does it in a simple but amazingly successful way - a garage sale. The usual way of applying for a job to earn some income is relegated to the bottom.

She also learns to curb her spending tremendously, gains a new-found independence and juxtaposes her talent with her passion by working as a personal shopper. Her relationship is back on the rebound, leading to marriage and her image's better than ever because she rose from the ashes like a phoenix, reforming from her low-down past. Thumbs-up!