Confessions of a Shopaholic

　　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.

購物狂的異想世界

　　蘇菲．金索拉的作品全球暢銷超過2,000,000冊，

　　購物狂系列已被譯為22種語言，即將改編為電影劇本

　　我是《成功理財》雜誌社的記者，工作就是告訴讀者如何理財；
但是在我的閒暇時間，卻無法克制自己瘋狂購物的欲望。

　　多年來，我處在一個購物的迴圈中，有點像是農家的輪種體系。不同的是，農家是小麥－玉米－大麥－休耕，而我的迴圈則是衣服－化妝品－鞋子－衣服（我通常 不擔心休耕的問題）。說真的，購物其實和耕種很相似，你不能老是買同樣的東西，總得有些變化，不然生活會變得很無聊，不是嗎？

　　問題是， 我的薪水根本負擔不起這些昂貴的消費，銀行的催款信件更是讓我煩惱不已……我嘆口氣，看著窗外那些熙來攘往，提著購物袋的女孩們。我是如此渴望加入她們的 行列，我不由自主地把身體傾斜過去，就如同一株渴望陽光的植物。我渴望商店中那明亮的燈光、那暖洋洋的氣氛，哪怕是收銀機發出的聲音也是我所渴望聽到的。

　　也許我應該買一些小首飾，或者靴子。沒錯，我需要新的靴子，還要順便看看美麗的衣服。天哪！一天過後，我真該享受一下，而且由於工作上的需要，我必須添購幾雙襪子和一把指甲刀，或者一本在地鐵上消磨時間的書。

　　當我在星巴克排隊等待付款時，果然已經開心多了！

作者簡介

蘇菲．金索拉（Sophie Kinsella）

　　蘇菲曾在雜誌社擔任財經記者，但是個性開朗的她對於撰寫嚴肅的財經新聞卻一點興趣也沒有，反而鍾情於小說寫作。

　　因為蘇菲個人的經歷與想像力，對於購物狂心態進行了準確而生動的描繪。她在《購物狂的異想世界》中創造了一個瘋狂購物、卻又魅力無法擋的女主角－麗貝 卡。她的寫作風格既深刻又幽默，同時藉著角色的呈現，一針見血地觸及讀者的內心深處。非購物狂者可透過麗貝卡的一舉一動探索迷人的購物世界；如果你正是購 物狂一族，更能獲得心領神會的笑意。

　　在英美，蘇菲被奉為「女性都會小說」的代表人物，《購物狂的異想世界》、《購物狂挑戰曼哈頓》、《購物狂，我們結婚吧》及《購物狂姐妹花》迄今全球總銷售逾2,000,000冊，並擁有超過22國語言的翻譯本。

　　蘇菲的另一本小說－《我的A級秘密》，電影由派拉蒙影業出品、「成名在望」金球獎最佳女配角凱特哈德森擔任女主角。《家事女神》亦被好萊塢製片公司買下電影版權。

　　蘇菲的生日是12月12號射手座，所以她的書都很樂觀、誠實、不受拘束。最新作品《Shopaholic & Baby》即將出版。

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC

One

Ok. dont panic. Dont panic. Its only a VISA bill. Its a piece of paper; a few numbers. I mean, just how scary can a few numbers be?

I stare out of the office window at a bus driving down Oxford Street, willing myself to open the white envelope sitting on my cluttered desk. Its only a piece of paper, I tell myself for the thousandth time. And Im not stupid, am I? I know exactly how much this VISA bill will be.

Sort of. Roughly.

Itll be about ... £200. Three hundred, maybe. Yes, maybe £300. Three-fifty, max.

I casually close my eyes and start to tot up. There was that suit in Jigsaw. And there was dinner with Suze at Quaglinos. And there was that gorgeous red and yellow rug. The rug was £200, come to think of it. But it was definitely worth every penny — everyones admired it. Or, at least, Suze has.

And the Jigsaw suit was on sale — 30 percent off. So that was actually saving money.

I open my eyes and reach for the bill. As my fingers hit the paper I remember new contact lenses. Ninety-five pounds. Quite a lot. But, I mean, I had to get those, didnt I? What am I supposed to do, walk around in a blur?

And I had to buy some new solutions and a cute case and some hypoallergenic eyeliner. So that takes it up to ... £400?

At the desk next to mine, Clare Edwards looks up from her post. Shes sorting all her letters into neat piles, just like she does every morning. She puts rubber bands round them and puts labels on them saying things like ＂Answer immediately＂ and ＂Not urgent but respond.＂ I loathe Clare Edwards.

＂OK, Becky?＂ she says.

＂Fine,＂ I say lightly. ＂Just reading a letter.＂

I reach gaily into the envelope, but my fingers dont quite pull out the bill. They remain clutched around it while my mind is seized — as it is every month — by my secret dream.

Do you want to know about my secret dream? Its based on a story I once read in The Daily World about a mix-up at a bank. I loved this story so much, I cut it out and stuck it onto my wardrobe door. Two credit card bills were sent to the wrong people, and — get this — each person paid the wrong bill without realizing. They paid off each others bills without even checking them.

And ever since I read that story, my secret fantasy has been that the same thing will happen to me. I mean, I know it sounds unlikely — but if it happened once, it can happen again, cant it? Some dotty old woman in Cornwall will be sent my humongous bill and will pay it without even looking at it. And Ill be sent her bill for three tins of cat food at fifty-nine pence each. Which, naturally, Ill pay without question. Fairs fair, after all.

A smile is plastered over my face as I gaze out of the window. Im convinced that this month itll happen — my secret dream is about to come true. But when I eventually pull the bill out of the envelope — goaded by Clares curious gaze — my smile falters, then disappears. Something hot is blocking my throat. I think it could be panic.

The page is black with type. A series of familiar names rushes past my eyes like a mini shopping mall. I try to take them in, but theyre moving too fast. Thorntons, I manage to glimpse. Thorntons Chocolates? What was I doing in Thorntons Chocolates? Im supposed to be on a diet. This bill cant be right. This cant be me. I cant possibly have spent all this money.

Dont panic! I yell internally. The key is not to panic. Just read each entry slowly, one by one. I take a deep breath and force myself to focus calmly, starting at the top.

WHSmith (well, thats OK. Everyone needs stationery.)

Boots (everyone needs shampoo)

Specsavers (essential)

Oddbins (bottle of wine — essential)

Our Price (Our Price? Oh yes. The new Charlatans album. Well, I had to have that, didnt I?)

Bella Pasta (supper with Caitlin)

Oddbins (bottle of wine — essential)

Esso (petrol doesnt count)

Quaglinos (expensive — but it was a one-off)

Pret a Manger (that time I ran out of cash)

Oddbins (bottle of wine — essential)

Rugs to Riches (what? Oh yes. Stupid rug.)

La Senza (sexy underwear for date with James)

Agent Provocateur (even sexier underwear for date with James. Like I needed it.)

Body Shop (that skin brusher thing which I must use)

Next (fairly boring white shirt — but it was in the sale)

Millets...