Reader's Journal #2: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

9/6/11                                             Reader’s Journal                                                     #2

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            This week I continued reading the book, Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, which was a really bad idea because I abandoned it. I couldn’t continue reading such a pointless and boring book.

            A quote from the book that stood out to me was:

“Am I dreaming? Is this a mirage? I can see a cash register, and a queue of people, and a display cabinet with price tags… Oh my God, I was right! It’s a shop! There’s a shop, right there in front of me!”

            I chose this quote because it was just ridiculous to me. If this is how the main character, Becky Bloomwood reacts when she sees a shop, I wonder how she would react if she won the lottery. This quote is just one of the many reasons I abandoned the book. It is significant to the story because this is how Becky is in every chapter. Every time she sees a store she immediately perks up and acts as if she just found a billion dollars on the sidewalk. In my opinion, it is really pathetic.

One strategy I used before continuing the book was that I looked through it to reread parts I enjoyed. The sad part is, I couldn’t find any. I also set a purpose. My purpose for continuing this book was for my reader’s journal, my book a week challenge, and also to see if the book would get any better. While reading I thought if any literary elements were changing and realized that none did. I also predicted if I would abandon it or not. I predicted that I would abandon it after I gave it a fair chance. After reading, I confirmed my predictions I made while reading. I did abandon the book. Then, I thought of the reasons why a good reader would abandon a book, and tried to see if I gave it a fair enough chance. I know I gave it a fair chance because I thought about the reason I was interested in the book in the first place (the fact that it was a movie), and tried maintaining that interest; however, the book was just so bad, that I didn’t even care about the movie. By going over these things, I’m sure that I gave the book a fair enough chance before abandoning it.

The genre is Realistic Fiction because it is a fictional story that could’ve taken place within the last 50 years. The protagonist is Becky Bloomwood. She is dynamic and round. Again, there isn’t really an antagonist because the conflict is man vs. self because Becky’s problem is that she is a shopaholic. If the antagonist could be something then it would definitely be shopping. Some foil characters are Becky’s parents, boss, her friend, Suze, and Suze’s cousin, Tarquin. All of the foil characters are flat and static. The setting is in many places in London, England in the year 2000. The weather conditions vary throughout the book. Becky’s social condition is that she’s a shopaholic with no money.

The exposition is when the book introduces the characters and setting. It is at the beginning of the book. I’m still on the rising action. There is absolutely no climax yet. The tone is humorous and the mood is bored. It’s hard to say what the theme of the book is. I’m not sure, but I think it is that spending money on unnecessary things is foolish. The point of view is first person and the author’s purpose is to entertain. The pattern of organization is time order. Since the book is told in Becky’s perspective, the author’s perspective is biased to whoever and whatever Becky does and does not like. Also, while reading I was able to identify some figurative language like “That store seems like a million miles away!” is a hyperbole. “David E. Barton says that shopping is not the answer to everything. He says we should just enjoy our journey on the river of life without spending” is a metaphor because “river of life”. The last figurative language is a simile, “’your smile is as bright as the sun.’ Tarquin said to me.”

All in all, I really disliked this book. The book makes me not want to see the movie, which is one of the reasons I decided to read the book in the first place. I rate this book a 3 out of 10 stars and do not recommend this book to anyone. If anyone is interested in this topic, I suggest you just skip to the movie.

Sincerely,

 Bailey Levy 802