Chick lit

I read a story today in Boston's Weekly Dig that insists that chick lit is destroying America.

The anonymous author feels strongly about this. Chick lit is part of the greater dumbing-down of the nation. The government, the writer asserts, is looking for ways to "devalue intellicutualism and criticism." Lower standards in writing help serve these governmental efforts.

The writer also says that those who defend chick lit call it feminism, elitism, snobbery, etc. when you say the genre has lower standards. The writer argues that we need a return to discerning taste.

I can't disagree. I have written book reviews for some chick lit books and while I seldom completely down a novel, I don't give chick lit good reviews. Usually the story line falters, or the characters are rather one sided. Sometimes the characters are unlikeable because they turn out to be nasty, not funny.

I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. I am not sure if she's chick lit, since they are mysteries. I like some of Jennifer Cruise's books, not but all. Jennifer Weiner's last book did not do much for me.

Chick lit has its place, but I don't think that place is mainstream fiction. I have to agree with the anonymous author that this should be a recognizable genre so that more discerning readers can turn their attention to something along the lines of Jane Smiley or Barbara Kingsolver, neither of whom are chick lit writers. The writer says:

The truth is that chick lit is bad for America because it’s bad for ambitious, literary writers, male or female. And that means it’s bad for all of us. As America increasingly devalues intellectual rigor, education and compassion, it becomes harder and harder to find a good book.

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it is getting hard to find something worthwhile to read.

And I wonder what subconscious thing was going on with me, that I chose a little tree frog for my photo when I sat down to write about the things women read?