I'd never heard of the term “Chick Lit” before last term and I must say, I find it a tiny bit irritating. Lori Jakiela told us during her reading last night that her book, “Miss New York has Everything,” is marketed as such. Maybe I don’t get it. I’m a chick, though, given I’m a lesbian it's possible that I have less then usual chick-i-ness, but I enjoyed her book, and her readings. I like how she takes us on a ride through her life throwing in punch lines here and there.
She also told us that her editors have pegged her as a humor writer. I can understand why. She’s good at it; I’d say she was a natural if I hadn’t heard from her own lips that she wasn’t, that she grew up quite serious and had to teach herself humor. Even her self-described “dark” reading, one about realizing her birth mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, even that was humorous. She described that her birth mother would pepper LJ’s in-box with provocative comments, then scream, “DO NOT RESPOND” and change her profile.
I guess when she says dark she means deep - the tough side of life, the real side. I think the more she delves into that side, the richer her work will be. Sure, Dave Barry is funny, but rich? Rarely. Do we have a nickname for his type of writing?
J
I agree, Janice. I feel like her humor is what makes her writing unique/her own, but it was the "deep"/dark material that I was left thinking about as I walked out of the reading. I think humor, if you know how to do it, can make the deeper stuff even more powerful-because it's hiding behind humor.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. I think she meant "deep" rather than "dark."
ReplyDeleteI think that in saying she's annoyed that it's been marketed as "chick lit." she means that it's been marketed as akin to Sex & the City, beach reading, when it's not nearly as silly or formulaic as that. ("Chick lit" is like a "chick flick" but in book form).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_lit
"Chick lit" also means that the target (read: only) audience for the book is single 20-30 something women.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that the majority of readers are women (something like 70%) so I would guess most publishers have to take that into consideration when deciding to publish a book. Ever heard of a man's book reading group? Where's the male equivalent of Oprah's book club? Not to say men don't read, but women really do dominate this audience.
ReplyDeleteI liked Lori's darker, more reflective pieces. I really loved her new work--it was funny and witty and made me leave thinking more deeply about the subject.