Normally we're wary of anything that hints of the pejorative chick-lit (or related single-twentysomething-hipster-trying-to- get-lucky-with-the-opposite-sex genre) as it's about as wispy-thin and over-played as emo haircuts. But Diane Vadino, whose debut novel is entitled Smart Girls Like Me, had credentials enough for us to take a closer look.

Vadino was an original staff member of that magnetic bastion of literary cool, McSweeney's, who churn out more high-minded humor and literature than you could shake a whole forest of sticks at. She's rounded this out with work at Spin, Nylon, and Allure, and is the brains behind snarky fashion blog Bunnyshop

Her book, we're realizing, is hardly chick-lit—damn snap judgment, you've steered us wrong again!— though it is about a neurotic, single, 24-year-old girl named Betsy who is looking for love, and yes, the main crisis revolves around her best friend Bridget, who is about to desert her for the bonds of marriage. Set at the turn of the last century, it's replete with Y2K worries, X-Files references, and other kitschy cultural sign-posts so perfect they must have been pulled right from VH1's I Love The 90's.

But Vadino can write, and write well. The book is witty, laden with quips, and, moreover, intelligent. John Hodgman put it best, calling it "a zippy-smart, bitter-funny read with a beautiful, accomplished novel hidden in its genetic code, expressing itself like a sudden bright blue eye in a family of brown-eyed children."

Diane Vadino presents Smart Girls Like Me
Friday, October 26th
BookPeople
7pm, Free
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