Chick lit just got a whole lot less expensive. No, the price of the sometimes throwaway-quality books hasn’t gone down, but many recently published and upcoming books in this genre take the recession into account. Storylines in recession chick-lit books include dealing with a husband being investigated for embezzlement, scrimping on extravagant expenses after going through a divorce, and wearing less expensive clothes. Dang! Is nothing sacred?

Drag queen Lady Bunny unveiled a huge anti-KFC PETA billboard in NYC’s Soho neighborhood, in which she is holding one of the Colonel’s famous buckets with a dead chicken hanging out of it. So hungry. [Popbytes]

A French study has found that loud music encourages young men to drink more and at a faster rate. WHAT?! [Asylum]

Finding a mate is easy for men, but women tend to have a list of unachievable characteristics. I’m sorry, but what about “Brad Pitt twin” is so difficult?  [College Candy]

Summer reading can be extremely relaxing on a sunny day. Here are some great chick lit reads to add to the lists we posted last month. [College Candy]

Alcohol consumption among young people under 21 is the leading drug problem in the U.S., yet parents seem to be in denial. [Shine.yahoo]

Chick lit trend: heroines without heads! [Bookslut]

The eight places you probably lost your virginity: his and her perspectives. [Holy Taco]

ZOMG, Anya Hindmarch and Sigerson Morrison for Target! [The Budget Fashionista]

Gold diggers are ubiquitous. [The Guardian, U.K.]

There’s a new washing machine that only uses one cup of water per load. [AHN]

 

Melissa Plaut, author of Hack: How I Stopped Worrying About What To Do With My Life and Started Driving a Yellow Cab talks about passengers’ pick-up lines, fare beaters, and sex in the backseat.

How’d you start driving a cab, anyway?
I was about to turn 29 and had been laid off from my corporate office job, which was never fulfilling. I was collecting my unemployment benefits and thinking about what I was going to do for the rest of my life, and it was sending me into a panic. Finally I realized that I didn’t know whether I was ever going to be able to do any one thing with the rest of my life. Instead, I decided that I would live my life as a series of adventures, and my first would be getting behind the wheel of a yellow cab.