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Summary: How to learn about Credit Cards and Debt and still have FUN!
Review: Sophie Kinsella's quick witted Confessions of a Shopaholic is an enjoyable read, but don't be fooled by its superficial appearance. Ms. Kinsella has raised some very crucial issues with regard to personal finances, responsibility and credit in this wonderful, fast-paced and light-hearted romp through London's finest boutiques, department stores and Starbucks-like coffee houses about the consumer based/commericial culture that dominates the western world. I found myself laughing with Ms. Kinsella's main character Becky Bloomwood as she explained that she purchased things but always had two prices for them: what she actually paid and what she TOLD her mother she paid (usually calculated at about 70% off a half priced item) and crying with Becky as her monthly credit card statements arrived and she confronted, in writing, the reality of her total expenditures for the month.While Ms. Kinsella makes it clear that Becky has no problem spending money she does not already have (i.e. a credit purchase), she also takes pains to show that the credit card companies are delighted to extend Becky much more credit than her salary would justify as reasonable. Even when Becky does not pay off her balances, the credit card companies continue to entice her with balance transfers, free gifts and things such as airmiles to use their product. The question of why extend credit to someone who is having difficulty repaying or really could never have been expected to repay a debt greater than her salary just hangs there. Yes, Becky Bloomwood put herself in the situation, but her creditors did little to help this young woman, fresh out of college, educate herself to avoid getting there in the first place. Confessions of a Shopaholic is a fun way to be enlightened about the dangers of debt and quite frankly has really helped me to make a conscious decision to charge something before I automatically put it on the credit card - and wait in dread until the Visa bill arrives to see the damage I've done.
Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT
Review: I LOVED this book. Happened to pick it up on a whim and was delightfully surprised. I could not put the book down. I laughed OUT LOUD on a five hour flight full of business types. I was quite embarassed but could not- would not put the book down. I rushed to pass the book on to my family, collect it and pass it on again so that everyone could enjoy Becky's antics.
Rating:
Summary: Been there Done This
Review: Well, not really quite as bad as the main character Rebecca Bloomfield, but I have certainly understood the mounting pressue of bills. I am not quite the shopper she is either! A delightful book in which Ms. Kinsella develops a wonderful first person voice and character. It is perhaps the center point of the entire book. You keep reading to she what Bex (as she is called by her flatmate) will think next. For the majority of the book her mind is alomst always in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact, the joy of her character is the insistence on remaining herself. The character development is the overwhelming joy of this book. The plot get reptitive around 3/4 of the way through the book until the climax comes around, but this is hardly a downfall of the book. There are also some interesting literary references (intended or unintended) to other author's first books, e.g. The Sun Also Rises.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious and Honest
Review: This is a wonderful book, both because of its humor, and the way in which Kinsella shows the destructive side of Rebecca's compulsive shopping. Her downward spiral is not only a vicarious thrill, but a lesson to shopaholics everywhere. I both identified with Rebecca, and was relieved that I am not quite that bad. Although Rebecca may bear some resemblance to Bridget Jones (i.e., writing career, attraction to the snobbish rich guy) Kinsella's narrower focus sets "Shopaholic" apart. In addition, I think Kinsella takes her heroine's struggle a little more seriously, although there are plenty of laughs along the way (especially in Rebecca's letters from creditors). Although everything seems to work out okay in the end for both women, I sense that Rebecca's success was more hard-won, lasting, and the result of lessons learned.
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Summary: I am not as bad as this
Review: Becky makes me feel a little less troubled. Her shopping is out of control! This book is great if you have this problem. Of course, its got a happy ending, but it depressed me to have finished it!
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Summary: Funny, and uplifting...
Review: Just when you think life is going to kick you, or Becky Bloomwood, while you're down, something changes. Following the mishandled finances of Miss Bloomwood is a hilarious escapade. Though it took me a little while to become involved in the story, once I was, I couldn't put it down! If you have ever buyed something impulsively, you will definitely understand this character. Through all of the different trials and tribulations, through denial, and then self-realisation, you follow the witty Miss Bloomwood. If you are interested in a light-hearted piece, this is the one for you. I haven't laughed as much with a book since Bridget Jones's Diary. Confessions, is another work of British comedic genius!
Rating:
Summary: Loads of endless fun!
Review: This would make a shopaholic so proud! It is right on the money (so to speak) about how the mind of a shopaholic works. Rebecca Bloomwood can't afford her seemingly glamorous lifestyle. She lives in an apartment in one of London's trendiest areas, is a successful financial journalist in which she gives advice to readers on how to handle their money (ironic, huh?), and has a wardrobe full of clothes and a vanity full of make-up. Her life, however, is not a bed of roses! There are many hilarious moments in this novel -- especially when Rebecca gets her VISA bill over the limit and overdrafts her bank account. This is a book that every shop lover should read. As a fellow shopaholic, I am able to appreciate this fun and ironic tale of a woman who doesn't how know when to stop spending. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: A funny read
Review: I could not put this book down. As a woman that likes to shop, I found humor in the justifications Rebecca had for buying new things. This book actually made me laugh out loud-quite a few times. The letters from the credit companies and the excuses Rebecca gave to them for late payments are sure to get any reader laughing. If you're looking for a humorous, light read, this book is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Been there. Done that.
Review: Lightweight and funny. I really enjoyed reading Confessions of a Shopaholic. I saw a reflection of myself, my former self, on every page. I have tried all of the schemes: freezing my credit cards, taking my checkbook out of my wallet, only carrying $5 on my person, etc. Nothing worked! Well...I now I have a new compulsion. Ugh. I actually prefer shopping, though!!! So, if you have ever taken a long lunch and have come back with four or more bags from three or more stores, or if you are on a first name basis with all of the saleswomen, or have ever had to talk yourself through an anxiety attack because you are being told "No, I'm sorry we don't have that color in your size," or if you have taken it up a notch by giving a particular saleslady your work number so that she can telephone you when THAT item arrives in the store, then this book is for you. Read it. Enjoy it. Laugh a while, and see yourself for the true Drama Queen and Diva that you know you are.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: I loved it! I was laughing so hard that the people on the train thought I was deranged. I couldn't put it down. Buy it, keep it and recommend it to a friend. I bought my best friend one for her birthday, she is a shopaholic in denial. :-)
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