What If? in Women's Fiction

I've done a few features on WF now for Booklist, and this one was probably my favorite—not least of all because I'll admit to being a daydreamer. As much as I love my husband and my kids and my job... yeah, I spend a lot of time in daydream land working in the beauty industry. With a husband that looks like Jason Segal or Justin Trudeau (depending on the day). And kids that my nanny takes care of, since I am impossibly rich. Tell me I'm not alone!

Trend Alert: Roads Not Taken.

No one’s life is perfect, right? Admit it: Wouldn’t you at least give some thought, if given the chance, to go back and make changes—even small ones—that recalibrated your destiny? These women’s-fiction novels feature characters that wish, even for just a moment, that they would have picked the other guy, moved to a different city, followed a different career path. Some of them have actual out-of-body experiences; others merely daydream. But they all ask the same question: “What if?”

Here I Go Again. By Jen Lancaster. 2013. NAL, $25.95 (9780451236722).


Mean-girl Lissy gets a chance to go back into the past to undo the misery she caused during her teenage years. When she returns to her new present, she’s shocked to find how much life has changed and not necessarily for the better.

If I Could Turn Back Time. By Beth Harbison. 2015. St. Martin’s, $26.99 (9781250043818).

On her thirty-eighth birthday, Ramie Phillips wakes up as an 18-year-old, getting the chance to see whether things could have gone differently with her first love. But will a redo help her find the fulfillment she craves?

Landline. By Rainbow Rowell. 2014. St. Martin’s, $24.99 (9781250049377).

In the middle of witnessing her marriage crumble, Georgie unexpectedly discovers, via the yellow rotary phone in her childhood bedroom, that she has been given a chance to change her relationship’s history. Chock-full of 1990s references, this book will delight Gen Xers.

Maybe in Another Life. By Taylor Jenkins Reid. 2015. Washington Square, $16 (9781476776880).

One evening, Hannah is confronted with the choice to go home with her roommate or go out with her old high-school boyfriend. In concurrent story lines, she lives out the effects of each decision.

The One That Got Away. By Leigh Himes. 2016. Hachette, $26 (9780316305723).

Abbey just wanted a touch of luxury in her life. But when her husband finds out about the $600 Marc Jacobs bag, and she has to return it, a fall off the department store escalator plunges her into a life of more luxury than she could have imagined.

The Regulars. By Georgia Clark. 2016. Atria, $25 (9781501119590).


If you came across a potion that promised to make you pretty, would you take it? Three friends have the chance and grab it. The young New Yorkers have loads of baggage—which they assume would go away if only they were beautiful.

The Story of Us. By Dani Atkins. 2015. Ballantine, $15 (9780804178549).

On the way home from her bachelorette party, Emma and her friends get into a car accident. Handsome stranger Jack happens to arrive at the scene of the wreck, rescuing Emma just before the car explodes. From there, an alternate story line unfolds that finds Emma in the future, having left her fiancé to pursue Jack.

Time of My Life. By Allison Winn Scotch. 2008. Crown, $23 (9780307408570).


An oldie but a goodie: bored wife and mother Jillian wakes up from a massage to discover the life she knew never happened—she’s now seven years in the past, still with her previous boyfriend. She has not yet met her husband, and dreams of her daughter cause Jillian’s memory of the future to become confused with the past.

Read the full article—including three additional titles!—on Booklist Online! 

Booklist's Spotlight on Women's Fiction, 2017

Looks like it's time for my annual posts (sad but true!) again, with the Booklist March 1st issue being the Spotlight on Women's Fiction.

First up, the Top 10!

Top 10 Women’s Fiction: 2017


The top 10 women’s fiction reviewed in Booklist between March 1, 2016, and February 15, 2017, showcase a variety of story types, from classic chick lit to romance to tearjerkers. These novels deliver something for just about every women’s-fiction fan.

The Assistants. By Camille Perri. 2016. Putnam, $25 (9780399172540).
Perri’s debut is reminiscent of the golden era of early aughts chick lit—a workplace comedy featuring average women caught up in extraordinary situations. The characters’ millennial concerns—overwhelming student-loan debt, underemployment, loneliness in a world of hyperconnectivity—ring true.

The Book That Matters Most. By Ann Hood. 2016. Norton, $25.95 (9780393241655).
Her husband having recently left her, and with her adult children both out of the country, Ava looks forward to joining the library’s book club. She suggests a long-forgotten book that helped her through a difficult childhood, but it now has her questioning the secrets surrounding the deaths of her sister and mother.

Every Wild Heart. By Meg Donohue. 2017. Morrow, $14.99 (9780062644411).
When radio-host Gail is offered a new contract for a television show at the same time that her teenage daughter, Nic, has an accident that puts her in a coma, the lines blur as decisions with unknown consequences have to be made.


I Almost Forgot about You. By Terry McMillan. 2016. Crown, $27 (9781101902578).
After two failed marriages and countless other romantic missteps, Georgia considers herself done with love. She is successful and has two beautiful daughters, but a chance meeting reminds her that she is not altogether happy—so she decides to leave it all behind and begin all over again.

Leave Me. By Gayle Forman. 2016. Algonquin, $26.95 (9781616206178).
Maribeth is too busy with 4-year-old twins and an increasingly demanding job to realize she’s had a heart attack at 44. Complications lead to an extended recovery period, yet somehow Maribeth is quickly back to the grind. Fed up, she packs up and hightails it out of town, where she hopes to find some answers about her past—as well as some time to herself.

The Mother’s Promise. By Sally Hepworth. 2017. St. Martin’s, $26.99 (9781466889927).
Alice’s cancer diagnosis sends her into a panic, not because of her uncertain prognosis but because her 15-year-old daughter, Zoe, has a paralyzing social-anxiety disorder that makes her dependent on Alice. This story tugs at the heartstrings, guaranteeing that readers will smile through the tears.

To continue reading the rest of the list, which includes Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen, The Regulars by Georgia Clark, Swear on This Life by Renée Carlino, and We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman, click here to go to the full article on Booklist Online.

Sisters in Women's Fiction

When I do workshops on women's fiction, I always discuss the kinds of books that make up the genre, and different trends. Something we see a LOT of in WF is books featuring sisters, so for a recent "Core Collection" feature in the March 1, 2016 issue of Booklist, I shared some great reading suggestions from authors such as Angela Benson, Jennifer Weiner, Kristin Hannah, Jen Lancaster, and more!

What are some of your favorite WF books featuring sisters?

Core Collection: Sisters in Women’s Fiction.

Humorist Linda Sunshine is quoted as saying, “If you don’t understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.” What is it about the relationship between sisters that makes such rich fodder for women’s fiction? After all, a reader doesn’t have to have a sister in order to relate.

One of the main things that draw readers to women’s fiction is a sense of recognition or the ability to relate to the characters. It’s pleasurable and comforting to escape into a story that you connect with on a certain level. So perhaps the popularity of fiction featuring sisters has something to do with readers being able to see themselves in one sister or another. Below is a list of must-have women’s-fiction titles featuring sisters, perfect for just about any women’s-fiction fan...

To read more and get the annotated list, head to the feature, "Core Collection: Sisters in Women's Fiction" on Booklist Online!

Collection Development Tricks for Women's Fiction

My good friend (and readers' advisory blogger extraordinaire) Becky Spratford recently ran a post about my work with women's fiction on her blog, RA for All.  In it, she shows off my Booklist feature article, "Rebecca's Rules," and a link to the free Booklist webinar, "What's New in Women's Fiction."

Check it out here.

Booklist's Top 10 Women's Fiction: 2016

It's time for Booklist's annual Women's Fiction Spotlight!

Once again, I've contributed lists to the March 1 issue of Booklist, honoring women's fiction. Don't forget to check out the companion article, "Core Collection: Sisters in Women's Fiction," for some of my favorite titles from this very popular subset of women's fiction.

Booklist's Top 10 Women's Fiction: 2016

The top 10 women’s fiction from the last 12 months (reviewed in Booklist between March 1, 2015, and February 15, 2016) cover the spectrum, from romantic chick lit to more than one literary title. These novels deliver something for just about every women’s-fiction fan.

The titles are listed below; for the complete annotations, head to the feature on Booklist Online!

The Best of Enemies. By Jen Lancaster. 2015. NAL, $25.95 (9780451471093)
The Brontë Plot. By Katherine Reay. 2015. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 (9781401689759)
How to Start a Fire. By Lisa Lutz. 2015. Houghton, $25 (9780544411630)
I Take You. By Eliza Kennedy. 2015. Crown, $24 (9780553417821)
My Name Is Lucy Barton. By Elizabeth Strout. 2016. Random, $26 (9781400067695)
The Story of the Lost Child. By Elena Ferrante. Tr. by Ann Goldstein. 2015. Europa, $18 (9781609452865)
Walking on Trampolines. By Frances Whiting. 2015. Gallery, $16 (9781476780016)
Who Do You Love. By Jennifer Weiner. 2015. Atria, $27 (9781451617818)
A Window Opens. By Elisabeth Egan. 2015. Simon & Schuster, $26 (9781501105432)
The Marriage Pact. By M. J. Pullen. 2015. St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne, $24.99 (9781250070937)

BOL Review: Opportunity Knocks by Alison Sweeney

Television actress Sweeney (Days of Our Lives) offers an insider’s perspective in this chick-lit offering. Alex is a green 25-year-old makeup artist in L.A., willing to take on any job she can in order to gain experience and build her base. She lucks out one day when she just happens to be hanging around the set of a daytime talk show at the very moment the guest star’s usual makeup artist is rushed to the ER with appendicitis. It’s no ordinary guest—it’s Hillary, of Everyday Life with Hillary P. (think Martha Stewart, but bitchier)...Read the full review on Booklist Online!

BOL Review: Meternity by Meghann Foye

Singleton Liz, an editor at a parenting magazine, is getting tired of taking on all the extra work from the moms in the office. She’s particularly annoyed that the editor who got the promotion Liz was in line for is constantly leaving work early so she can deal with her family life. When the boss thinks that Liz is pregnant—he sees her using a pregnancy-countdown app that she’s downloaded for an article—Liz decides this might be the way to an easier workload and perhaps even some maternity leave, a “meternity.” The plan involves a series of fake baby bumps, which Liz just barely gets away with...Read the full review on Booklist Online!

BOL Review: The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

If you were offered the chance to go back in time 10 years and relive a year, would you? On the eve of their joint fiftieth-birthday party in Vegas, three friends meet a magician and get the chance to go back to the year they turned 40. Jessie wants to keep the fact that she had an affair secret from her then-husband; Gabriela wants to go back and save her failed marriage by trying to have a child; Claire wants to bond with her mother before it’s too late. Their new choices don’t always work out the way they expect... Read the full review on Booklist Online!

BOL Review: Regrets Only by M. J. Pullen

Pullen’s debut, The Marriage Pact (2015), followed a group of Atlanta friends as they navigated their way through the dating world, led by main character Marci. This follow-up centers on Marci’s best friend, Suzanne, who seems to be in her glimmering prime. She has a great job as an event planner and she’s loving life as a serial dater. Who wants to be tied down when you can be tied up? When a seemingly random accident at a high-profile event sends her career and reputation down the tubes, she finds herself accepting a gig as wedding planner for the sister of a famous country singer—and winds up falling for him. But they are as different as a country boy and a city girl could be...Read the full review on Booklist Online!

BOL Review: The Marriage Pact by M. J. Pullen

In this charming cross between romance and chick lit, Marci Thompson is unhappy with the fact that, with her thirtieth birthday approaching, she is single, living in a studio apartment, and working a temp job. Oh, and having an affair with her married boss. When her boss reveals he can’t leave his wife because she’s pregnant, Marci heads back home to Atlanta, where her old group of friends, including the handsome Jake, is waiting for her. Jake is ready to pick up where they left off—he still has the signed bar-napkin agreement that declares Marci will marry him if they are still single when they hit the big 3-0. But Marci’s been stung too many times... Read the full review on Booklist Online!

BOL Review: Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

**Starred Review**
Rachel and Andy meet when they are children and reconnect as teenagers, falling into a pattern of finding and losing one another again as adults. Rachel, who was born with a heart defect, is recuperating in the hospital yet again when she comes across Andy, who is there with a broken arm. They couldn’t be more different—Rachel is spoiled by her wealthy, over-protective parents, while Andy and his single mom live in near poverty—but they have an instant connection. When they meet again by chance on a high-school volunteer trip, they fall madly in love the way that only teenagers can. In college, Rachel ends up a sorority girl, while Andy relentlessly trains to make the Olympic track team, and even though the two have different life goals, they are drawn to each other again and again. But can they overcome their differences? ... Read the full review on Booklist Online!

BOL Review: The Summer Cottage by By Susan Kietzman

When their ailing mother summons them for one last vacation season at the family’s beach house, four grown siblings must come to terms with the past. The youngest, Helen, is steady and reliable, and cantankerous matriarch Claire threatens to leave the house to her if the other siblings do not comply with the invitation to visit. Middle sister Pammy arrives first, despite knowing that it means she will bear the brunt of Claire’s criticism the longest. Older sister Charlotte shows up with her much younger boyfriend in tow, and eldest child Thomas finally arrives on the last possible day. Each sibling has a personal tale to tell...Read the full review on Booklist Online!

Review: Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

I promise I'll get back to posting more reviews here, but I've had a tough time getting out of my reading rut. Yes, STILL. Sigh.

However, I just finished Katherine Center's newest and loved it, so I wanted to share.

In Happiness For Beginners, Helen is on unsteady footing after her divorce, so she decides to shake up her life and take a wilderness survival course, even though she's not the least bit outdoorsy. From the Booklist review:

The camaraderie of the shared experience and the difficult physical and mental challenges of back-country hiking bring Helen new wisdom. The quiet allows Helen to reach deep inside herself, to face difficult questions and answer them truthfully. Center has written a wonderful story, a fast-paced read with sharp, perfectly written dialogue. Her newest does exactly what we want a good novel to do, introduce us to characters who engage us and take us on a journey. 

I have to admit, I was unsure about this one, because if you had a list of all the things I'd be interested in doing...hiking and/or taking a wilderness survival course would be near the very bottom of that list. So I was afraid that I might not be able to get into the book. Well. Knowing how much I've enjoyed Center's sense of humor and realistic characters in her other novels, I should have realized that it wouldn't matter. Center writes in a way that lets you really connect with the characters and feel like you're right there in the story. As I always say, the main reason I love WF is because I like to read about familiar people and situations. And Center captures real life so well, I have to wonder if she really just takes things that have actually happened to her. (Example: when Helen's high school ex-boyfriend exclaims, upon seeing her again 15 years later, "You got better looking!" and then repeats it a few minutes later...I swear I could picture that actually happening.) And the scene where Helen "teaches" Jake to kiss is, frankly, marvelous.

Heck, I laughed, I cried, etc. Good stuff.

Not Women's Fiction, but.. a new book for librarians!

Since this site also serves as my personal online presence, I'm going to tell you about my latest book even though it has nothing to do with women's fiction!

From the press release:

“No! We can’t rid of that!” Rebecca Vnuk, author of the popular “Weeding Tips” column on Booklist Online, is here to show you that yes, you can. A library is an ever-changing organism; when done the right way, weeding helps a library thrive by focusing its resources on those parts of the collection that are the most useful to its users. “The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-by-Shelf Guide,” published by ALA Editions, takes the guesswork out of this delicate but necessary process, giving public and school library staff the knowledge and the confidence to effectively weed any collection, of any size. Going through the proverbial stacks shelf by shelf, Vnuk:

• explains why weeding is important for a healthy library, demonstrating that a vibrant collection leads to robust circulation, which in turn affects library budgets;

• walks readers through a library’s shelves by Dewey area, with recommended weeding criteria and call-outs in each area for the different considerations of large collections and smaller collections;

• features a chapter addressing reference, media, magazines and newspapers, e-books and other special materials;

• shows how a solid collection development plan uses weeding as an ongoing process, making it less stressful and more productive;

• offers guidance for determining how to delegate responsibility for weeding, plus pointers for getting experienced staff on board;

• gives advice for educating the community about the process, how to head off PR disasters, and what to do with weeded materials;

• includes a dozen sample collection development plans, easily adaptable to suit a library’s individual needs.

Vnuk is currently best known as editor, Reference and Collection Management, at Booklist, and as the co-creator of the popular blog Shelf Renewal. In 2008, she was Library Journal’s Fiction Reviewer of the Year, and in 2010 she received the Public Library Association’s Allie Beth Martin Award for excellence in Readers’ Advisory and was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker. She is the author of “Read On . . . Women’s Fiction” and “Women’s Fiction Authors: A Research Guide,” and co-author (with Nanette Donohue) of “Women’s Fiction: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests.” She has spoken at conferences and presented workshops extensively.

If you work in a library...chances are, you'll be weeding at some point. Consider my guide as a good primer on weeding! Thanks!

Ensemble Women's Fiction

When I do workshops on women's fiction, I always discuss the kinds of books that make up the genre. One of the most popular is "Ensemble Fiction." I recently wrote about it in the March 15, 2015 issue of Booklist, take a look to learn more and to get some GREAT reading suggestions.

Core Collection: Ensemble Women’s Fiction.
By Rebecca Vnuk.

First published March 15, 2015 (Booklist).

When it comes to women’s fiction, one of the tricky things about offering read-alikes is that because it’s such a broad reading interest, the appeal of one title might not translate to another title. It can be helpful to break down different types of women’s fiction into subcategories. The top three that always come to my mind are ensemble fiction (featuring groups of women), chick lit (the younger crowd), and issue-driven novels (think any Oprah Book Club title).

The category with the widest appeal is ensemble fiction. These stories feature a cast of characters—there may or may not be one main character—all sharing starring roles. Readers enjoy these ensemble stories because they can easily find a character within the group that they identify with, or they can see their friends in one character or another. As a devoted reader of the genre, I can attest that when I read women’s fiction, I want to see myself or the people I know on the pages of these books—and if not that, then a character leading the life I’d like to have!

In the past 10 years or so, there has been a huge influx of women’s fiction books with large casts of characters—books about sisters, books about college friends, books about reading groups, books about coworkers (I’m waiting patiently for the book about librarians . . .).

To read more, and get the annotated list, head to the feature, "Core Collection: Ensemble Women's Fiction" on Booklist Online!

Booklist's Top Ten Women's Fiction

Once again, I've contributed lists to the March 15 issue of Booklist, honoring women's fiction. Don't forget to check out the companion article, "Core Collection: Ensemble Women's Fiction," for some of my favorite titles from this very popular subset of women's fiction.

The top 10 women’s fiction from the last 12 months (reviewed in Booklist between March 15, 2014, and March 1, 2015) cover the spectrum, from lighthearted chick lit to heavy issues and even a few with a touch of magic. One of the main appeal factors of this category is that sense of recognition the target audience—yes, women—gets from identifying with the heroines, and these novels deliver something for just about anyone.

The titles are listed below; for the complete annotations, head to the feature on Booklist Online!

All Fall Down. By Jennifer Weiner. 2014. Atria, $26.99 (9781451617788).

Big Little Lies. By Liane Moriarty. 2014. Putnam/Amy Einhorn, $26.95 (9780399167065).

First Frost. By Sarah Addison Allen. 2015. St. Martin’s, $25.99 (9781250019837).

The Geometry of Love. By Jessica Levine. 2014. She Writes, paper, $16.95 (9781938314629).

Housewitch. By Katie Schickel. 2015. Forge, $24.99 (9780765377302).

Landline. By Rainbow Rowell. 2014. St. Martin’s, $24.99 (9781250049377).

One Plus One. By Jojo Moyes. 2014. Viking/Pamela Dorman, $27.95 (9780525426585).

The Precious One. By Marisa de los Santos. Mar. 2015. Morrow, $25.99 (9780061670893).

Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched. By Kim Barnouin. 2014. Gallery, $23.99 (9781476708881).

The Story Hour. By Thrity Umrigar. 2014. Harper, $25.99 (9780062259301).

BOL Review: How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz

Telling the story of three women and their two-decade friendship, Lutz ventures away from her snarky Spellman Files series and ends up firmly in women’s-fiction territory. Outrageous Anna, contemplative Kate, and sporty Georgina (George) meet cute in college when roommates Anna and Kate come upon a very drunk George passed out on a frat-house lawn. The dissimilar women quickly become friends, and the book unfolds as a series of flashbacks from 1993 to 2014. Anna, once a doctor, ends up as a secretary after her substance-abuse problems cause her to lose her medical license. Kate becomes a drifter, unable to shake the fact that she killed a man (who was attacking George); and George moves from husband to husband, each time morphing into someone else’s vision of a perfect wife and mother. The characters are marvelous...Read the full review at Booklist Online!

Rebecca talks Reader's Advisory, blogging, and Women's Fiction on the Circulating Ideas podcast

While this is on the long side, you might be interested to hear me talk about RA, blogging, working for Booklist, and how I came to write my books on Women's Fiction - along with why I am such a champion for the genre. Feel free to skip to about 20:30, which is where I start talking about WF.
(I'll admit it. I'm vain, so I greatly enjoyed listening to myself talk for 40 minutes, hahaha.)

http://circulatingideas.com/2014/11/25/episode-55-rebecca-vnuk/

In Defense of Banned Books: There's No Such Thing as a Bad Book

This summer, I had the chance to participate in the ALA Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out. I chose to read a selection from Fifty Shades of Grey, because I believe that no one should have to defend their reading tastes, and while there may poorly written books, there is no such thing as a bad book as long as someone out there enjoys reading it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW2TWkZDx1A

BOL Review: All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner

Allison Weiss is having trouble keeping it all together. Her husband, Dave, resents that she makes more money as a lead writer on a “mommy blog” than he does as a newspaper reporter. They live in a house they can’t afford, with Dave sleeping in the guest bedroom more and more often. Between juggling writing assignments with the antics of their highly sensitive five-year-old, Ellie, Allison also tries to help her mother manage the fact that her father is falling further into dementia. So how does a stressed-out mom catch a break? Pills. Lots and lots of lovely little pain-killing pills. When she runs out of legitimate prescriptions, Allison turns to buying them illegally online, spending thousands of dollars a month on her growing addiction. Things look great on the outside... Read the full review at Booklist Online!