Bonus Question: Origins of Chick Lit?

Does anyone know what's considered to be the first novel in the chick lit genre? It must have been before Sex and the City went on the air.

And don't say Pride and Prejudice, even though it meets all the core criteria of looking for "Mr. Right."

Mind Your Tips on Valentine's Day

Have a joyous day (and night), but let's all be safe. Please don't fire your weapon into the air.

Helpful Hint: Today millions of men will be subjected to the time-honored Mind Reading Test. Remember that it's strictly Pass / Fail, and you get only one guess. So take the advice I got from old Uncle Bob -- if it doesn't sparkle or smell, YOU GUESSED WRONG!

Here's hoping your Valentine is a live one!

the boychik

Gimme a new idea that stood the test of time

Boychik lit is not new. It's a new label on an old tradition. Hollywood calls it the "coming-of-age" story, and the protagonist can be male or female. These movies are usually comedies, which makes sense--there's no great tragedy for a main character who still has his whole life ahead of him to repair whatever missteps he committed in the story. In this respect, Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and Roth's Portnoy's Complaint are mainstream boychik lit.

So might be Hamlet, for that matter--if only the Prince of Denmark had been able to run away to Spain with Ophelia and start a new network marketing company...