Product Description
Rebecca Bloomwood just hit rock bottom.But she's never looked better....

Becky Bloomwood has a fabulous flat in London's trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season's must-haves. The only trouble is that she can't actually afford it—not any of it.

Her job writing at Successful Savings not only bores her to tears, it doesn't pay much at all. And lately Becky's been chased by dismal letters from Visa and the Endwich Bank—letters with large red sums she can't bear to read—and they're getting ever harder to ignore.

She tries cutting back; she even tries making more money. But none of her efforts succeeds. Becky's only consolation is to buy herself something ... just a little something....

Finally a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life—and the lives of those around her—forever.

Sophie Kinsella has brilliantly tapped into our collective consumer conscience to deliver a novel of our times—and a heroine who grows stronger every time she weakens. Becky Bloomwood's hilarious schemes to pay back her debts are as endearing as they are desperate. Her "confessions" are the perfect pick-me-up when life is hanging in the (bank) balance.Amazon.com Review
If you've ever paid off one credit card with another, thrown out a billbefore opening it, or convinced yourself that buying at a two-for-one saleis like making money, then this silly, appealing novel is for you.In the opening pages of Confessions of a Shopaholic, recent collegegraduate Rebecca Bloomwood is offered a hefty line of credit by a Londonbank. Within a few months, Sophie Kinsella's heroine has exceeded thelimits of this generous offer, and begins furtively to scan hercredit-card bills at work, certain that she couldn't have spent thereported sums.

In theory anyway, the world of finance shouldn't be a mystery to Rebecca,since she writes for a magazine called Successful Saving. Strugglingwith her spendthrift impulses, she tries to heed the advice of an expertand appreciate life's cheaper pleasures: parks, museums, and so forth.Yet her first Saturday at the Victoria and Albert Museum strikes her as awaste. Why? There's not a price tag in sight.

It kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn't it? You wander round, justlooking at things, and it all gets a bit boring after a while. Whereas ifthey put price tags on, you'd be far more interested. In fact, I think allmuseums should put prices on their exhibits. You'd look at a silver chaliceor a marble statue or the Mona Lisa or whatever, and admire it forits beauty and historical importance and everything--and then you'd reachfor the price tag and gasp, "Hey, look how much this one is!"It wouldreally liven things up.

Customer Reviews (963)

Kind of terrifying
I know a lot of people justify their high reviews for the somewhat appalling behavior in this book by saying, "ohhh, don't take it so seriously, it's just a novel; it's not real life." But even frivolous seeming books have serious undertones and speak to important problems in our culture.

If you substitute drugs for shopping, you can see that the portrayal of Becky is like that of an addict: her addiction interferes with her work, affects her relationships with others, and she'll tell any lie she can to get a fix. Taken this way, it's a pretty interesting book, full of lies, denial, and tempting fixes to be found. And taken this way, I quite like the book. It's like watching a horror movie where you want to say "stop; don't go in there alone!" but the character does and dies anyway. You wait on the edge for Becky to bottom out and then come clean, and the "bottoming out" is a bit soft on her, but the ending was satisfying.

I think the sneaky thing about it is that it's an "escapist" book, but it actually causes many people to confront something that reinforces their reality: thinking of money and spending too much. So if you maxed out a card on your beach vacation, you may not want to make this your beach read.

It loses a point because the "get a rich boyfriend and a job in tv" rewards at the end were really superficial and I didn't like that a novel looked down on writing (she hates writing for most of the book, then uses it to get a better job in TV).

ENJOYED THIS BOOK!!
I REALLY enjoyed this book I cannot tell you!I was drawn to it because I, myself, am a true shopaholic.I shop during my lunch
break, after work (not every day) and on weekends with friends.It is how we spend time and it's fun. The only problem was
it was hurting my bank account - wait, what bank account?If you are like me you have to read the only book that has helped
me with my shopping therapy problem and I bought it on Kindle.It's called 101 Ways to Stop Shopping and Start Saving on Kindle store.
This past weekend I didn't buy ANYTHING!That's a huge improvement for someone like me.I recommend this book and the kindle book
if you want to stop shopping!

Becky Makes the Story
Becky is a delightful character that any female can relate to, she's sweet, a good friend, and desperately wants to fit in. She's trying to beat her shopping addiction, but charmingly irresponsible in the process. Her excuses and rationalizations are laugh out loud funny.

Even though I found some parts of the plot slow and predictable I was still drawn in by Becky. A fantastic character who has hooked me, I'll be reading the next in the series to see what sort of trouble she gets in this time and to watch her try to wiggle her way out.

Some Good Old Fashioned "Chick Lit"
One my favorite guilty pleasures in life is a fiction book that is well written and endearing. Call it chick lit, call it pop culture, call it whatever you want. There's nothing better during the cold months of the year than a book you love to curl up with.

Throw in a book that throws around some British humor and I'm in heaven.

I recently picked up Confessions of a Shopaholic on a whim and as soon as I started it, I couldn't put it down. I totally adored this book. I haven't seen the movie and to be the honest, I'm in no hurry because inevitably, I find fault with book-based movies especially when I love the lead character.

Becky Bloomwood is a financial writer who has a dark secret of an ever-accumulating pile of debt. She has a soft spot for shopping (or rather an uncontrollable urge to buy everything she sees) and decides that she needs to turn her life around. She tries the "spend less" route than decides the "make more money" route is better suited to her lifestyle.

Through one misadventure after another, Becky finds herself navigating a financial world that she's only written about. She's a girl with a heart of gold and her fantastical daydreams about fame and fortune made me laugh out loud.

Sophie Kinsella is an amazingly talented writer. She's so good that right after I finished this book, I headed to my favorite library and got Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Shopaholic Ties the Knot.

There are at least two more books in the series and I'm looking forward to devouring those as well. Need a last minute Christmas gift for the book lover in your life? I highly recommend this series for anyone who really enjoys some good old fashioned Chick-Lit.

Love Love Love!
I love this book & the rest of the series! Rebecca Bloomwood is so funny & relatable! SOOO much better than the movie! ... Read more