CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC [Paperback]

SOPHIE KINSELLA (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: DIAL PRESS TRADE PAPERBACK (2005)
• ASIN: B001LGDZ1S
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (977 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,172,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a delightful, hilarious read!!, March 20, 2001

By 

Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic, No 1) (Paperback)

I started it last night and stayed up till 3 a.m. to finish this book! I really enjoyed this book ~~ it was funny, lighthearted and cute! I laughed out loud in some places and found myself shaking my head in other places.

Rebecca is a girl who overdraws her bank account and maxes out her Visa card. I am not a big shopper (unless you call shopping for books a shopping spree ~~ then I am!) of clothes but it was funny just to hear her describe her clothes like she is posing for Vogue or Cosmo or even 17. Her justification for buying things are hilarious and the scene where she was trying to make curry made me laugh so hard! (I'm a cook and that scene just cracks me up because I've done the same thing she did!) Sophie took a character riddled with anxieties and insecurities and made her so likeable ~~ you can't help but laugh at some of her excuses. She has a vivid imagination which really carries the book through.

I can see why some of the critics didn't care for this book ~~ it does sound like something from a fashion magazine, but Sophie is a good, clean writer. I really enjoyed this book and would like to read more of hers. Her sense of humor is a lot like mine and it is a refreshing read! I recommend it for a light, easy reading and if you're looking for humor, this book has it all.

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grab A Copy Of This Book and Say "Charge It!", November 8, 2001

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic, No 1) (Paperback)

That's what our heroine, Rebecca Bloomwood, does fifty times a day. Clothes, make-up, scarves, boots, anything that has a price tag is fodder for Rebecca's shopaholic paradise. Unfortunately, Becky has maxed out her Visa, is getting threatening letters from her bank, and has borrowed from her roommate. Even more unfortunately, she can't curb her addiction to shopping. Sophie Kinsella gives us the funniest, most messed-up, and yet most endearingly vulnerable heroine of the year. If you've ever aspired to be trendy and glamourous but didn't quite have the budget to accomplish this, you'll laugh and cry along with Becky as she attempts the two biggest ways to achieve financial security---Cutting Back and Making More Money. Her attempts are disastrous, her failures hysterical. So, what does she do? She gives herself a little consolation prize...just a tiny little purchase, and another, and another....cause Becky was born to shop and couldn't stop if her life depended on it. As an added joy, she is also a financial journalist who writes articles advising others how to manage their money. Light, clever, and totally disarming, this is a quick, fun read sure to please anyone who gets an adrenaline rush walking into a mall.

I can't wait to read the upcoming sequel "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan" for more side-splitting fun shopping with Becky!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pick this up if you're shopping for fun chick lit, October 3, 2007

By 

Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" is a funny, mindless book about Rebecca Bloomwood, a rather silly girl who works for a finance magazine in London and spends about five times as much as she makes. Becky just can't say no to piles of magazines, heaps of designer clothes, and dozens of frothy cappuccinos. It doesn't take long for Becky to run up some pretty huge debts, but instead of dealing with her financial problems head-on, she opts to use the avoidance tactic by telling creditors that her dog died, tossing her monthly statements into the trash bin, etc. Eventually Becky decides to cut back on her spending, but somehow her "responsible financial plan" ends up costing her even more money. Unfortunately for Becky, she can't hide from her problems forever, and eventually the unhappy creditors literally drive her into hiding. But of course, books like these almost always have happy endings, and things miraculously come together for Becky in the end.

I enjoyed reading this book: it's light, humorous, and fun. Becky's crazy rationalizations are pretty hilarious, but after a while I got a bit tired of how completely dense she could be about everything. It was also very obvious how the book would end pretty much from the start. Still, Becky made me laugh, and her outlandish situations and slightly over-the-top love interests were very entertaining. Overall, if you're looking for fluffy chick lit, this book is definitely up your alley, but it really doesn't amount to much more than that.