under the (dust) covers

This is not the initial blog entry I was going to write.  My intention was to talk about the books I read while on hols in October, as well as mentioning the UK-specific books I bought at the time.  But.  I’ve just finished The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas, and it is more than worthy of my first entry.

This is not a book on how belief in God(s) is wrong, and how we, as rational thinking adults, should make sure to point that out all the time, especially during the winter holiday season.  This is a collection of personal essays and anecdotes (and in one memorable instance, a short story that recalls Wodehouse to pinpoint accuracy), all of which are written by atheists or humanists, and deal with the Christmas season.  Some chapters are about the beauty of the universe, and how, at Christmas, we can celebrate that – that we, and the amazing natural world around us, were all created by the most intricate of scientific processes.  And isn’t that just the coolest thing ever?

Other chapters are more about personal experiences – “I, myself, as an atheist, have found x is a great way to deal with overly y people at Christmas.”  Or, “this is how my humanist household celebrates Christmas.”  Two chapters in particular I found both useful as well as bitingly funny were Lucy Porter’s chapter on the best comedy for Christmas (Human Remains, anyone?), and Emily Hill’s entry on the best non-fiction to read over the winter season.

As is pretty much immediately obvious when looking at this book, it’s from the same people that brought you the atheist bus campaign.  Remember that one?  “There’s probably no God.  Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”  Fantastic campaign, and I’m so glad it actually made it here to Cowtown.  Anyway.  This book is from the UK, so while those of us that are sort of, um, immersed in British culture will recognise a great many contributor names, others may not (though there are some instantly identifiable contributors, such as Richard Dawkins).  But it’s not necessary to know who’s writing, really.  It is important to remember that this book is meant to be taken as a fun, and often satirical, look at the goings-on of our winter festivus.  It’s okay to be an atheist and still celebrate Christmas, and to even call it Christmas.  So have fun, give great presents, and for pity’s sake, stay out of the rum punch!

Specifically, in chick lit.

I freely admit to enjoying a chick lit book now and again. I think it’s a completely legitimate genre which will have it’s fans and detractors, as all genres do. I will gladly pick one up when I need something light and fluffy that I know will have a happy ending (which is pretty often — it balances the ecclectic non-fiction.) But I’ve really started to get cheesed off by the fact that the main female characters are almost always so goddamn stupid.

In particular, I just finished Talking to Addison and am now reading Amanda’s Wedding, both by Jenny Colgan. In both, the heroine (and I use the term loosely) is completely and utterly shite at her job, relationships, friendships, etc. I can’t actually think of a redeeming quality in either of them, and can’t figure out why they get the guy at the end of the novel.

I will admit to liking some of her male characters, which is why I went on to the second book after finishing the first one. Then again, I almost always identify more with male characters in books more than female characters. I’m sure this says more about me than about the writing style. In fact, in these two books, we have guys who are engineers, physicists, and computer programmers (and a couple of lawyers, but really. Lawyers. I’m sorry, are my prejudices showing again?) which probably explain why I identify with them. I may run a bookstore now, but I’ve contemplated all three careers in my life (and studied for two of them.)

So how about a chick lit book with a heroine who is an engineer? Or even just a smidgeon of common sense, if we can’t have book learning?