Chick lit gets a bad rap, but we don't think it's a waste of a genre. Breezy and smart need not be mutually exclusive, so we asked our readers for their favorite chick-lit novels that are as intelligent as they are fun. Here are 20 books to watch for when you want a read that's light but not empty:

1. Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella
2. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
3. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
4. Smart Girls Like Me by Diane Vadino
5. Sushi For Beginners by Marian Keyes
6. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
7. My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson
8. Pink Slip by Rita Ciresi
9. Trading Up by Candace Bushnell
10. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
11. Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell
12. The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne
13. The Godmother by Carrie Adams
14. Something Blue by Emily Giffin
15. Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes
16. The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
17. My Heart May Be Broken, but My Hair Still Looks Great by Dixie Cash
18. Sweet Dreams at the Goodnight Motel by Curtis Ann Matlock
19. Four Blondes by Candace Bushnell
20. The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Have any to add?

Spring's debaucherous roots are grounded in the ancient Greece and Rome tradition of honoring Spring's arrival in tandem with the gods of wine, but modern-day Spring break began in the '30s when a swim coach took his team from Maine to Ft. Lauderdale. By 1938 the city hosted College Coaches' Swim Forum, and more than 300 swimmers attended. Add nearby military posts and mix in some great beer deals, and Spring-break bacchanal was born.

By 1959 Spring break had its very own minimalist attire, which a Time article considered a form of dress-up. "Costumes for the revels run neither to elegance nor imagination," it says. "When they are not in bathing trunks, the boys wear deck pants, and the girls put on Bermuda shorts, usually one size too small."

The weeklong frolic gained popularity in 1960 with the Spring break-themed movie Where the Boys Are and increasing accessibility of commercial flights. The '70s brought more PDA and less modesty, and by the '80s, Ft. Lauderdale was fed up with its guests who had long overstayed their welcome. Its mayor went on Good Morning America to tell college students they were no longer welcome. Public-drinking laws started to be strictly enforced, and Spring-break standbys were replaced with luxury hotels and high-end restaurants. In short, Spring break was gentrified. It moved to Daytona Beach.

Then in 1986 MTV arrived and, other than the location, not much has changed since. Though a trend toward travel tourism has grown in recent, the overwhelming majority of college students still opt for fun, sun, and Bermuda shorts one size too small.

Photos courtesy of Flickr User freeparking

As old superstitions fade and Emily Post-like etiquette evolves, you're probably not counting the number of roses or orchids or hydrangeas you received yesterday. But the number of roses a man once gave a woman held hidden meanings, so check out what your Valentine either intentionally or, more likely, unintentionally told you.

• One rose: Love at first sight, or years later "you are still the one."
• Two roses: Mutual love and affection . . . so you may owe him two roses!
• Three roses: The traditional three-month anniversary gift also simply means "I love you."
• Six roses: Infatuation, or "I want to be yours."
• Nine roses: A big jump up from six, nine roses symbolize eternal love or "I want to be with you forever."
• 10 roses: A perfect 10 means "You are perfection."
• 12 roses: A dozen is like picking the best heart from a Sweetheart candy box, it means "Be Mine."
• 13 roses: Thirteen may be a baker's dozen, but not so in love. Its meaning is actually disputed: Teleflora says it means you'll be friends forever, but several other sources, like Love Letter Box, say it means you have a secret admirer.
• 15 roses: Does he have a reason to apologize? Because 15 roses means "I'm sorry." If not, take it as credit for future remorse.
• 20 roses: The red starts to get excessive around 20, and supposedly that means "Believe me, I am sincere toward you." Usually, sincerity does not need to be proved with quantity, but that's just me!

People send more than 20. See what they mean below.

Like most things, all you need to know to be an amazing gift giver can be found in the words of 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy. "Gift giving is the purest expression of friendship," he tells Liz Lemon. "I'm going to think about what I know and like about you and that will lead me to the perfect gift. And you do the same."

The problem is we don't always know the people we're buying gifts for as much as we'd like, so I've rounded up some advice that will make you the best gift giver under the tree. After all, competition is what the holidays are all about.
Get the tips below.

Know who the first woman on the moon was? No? Exactly. There hasn't been one. While a handful of female astronauts have made it to space, their boots weren't made for moon walking. And now that the US space program has concluded its final flight, shuttling of this mortal coil, it's unlikely an American woman will roam it anytime soon (possibly even in our lifetime).

This fact amazed writer/performer Veronica Osorio — you may remember her as roller derby diva Heavy Flow in Vag Mag — who had no idea a woman had never been to the moon until she googled "first woman on the moon" a few years ago. She mentally filed the fact away and excavated it when it came time to write and star in her first-ever, one-woman comedy show, First Woman on the Moon, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC.

In the sketch comedy, she plays six very different characters. One is Astronaut Veronica, the one woman qualified to go to the moon. But alas, she's not "average" enough, what with her astrophysics background. Instead, NASA holds a Willy Wonka-style contest to find five "real American women" to rocket into space. Veronica plays all five of these so-called average women: a home-bound, elderly grandmother; a prostitute turned entrepreneur; a misguided feminist author; a depressed, young mom who laments motherhood via YouTube videos; and an enthusiastic but clueless teen.

After seeing the show last month (worth it), I spoke to Veronica about what inspired it and the characters. Find out what she had to say below.

Who knew there was a consolation prize for being the other Middleton girl? Pippa Middleton may just be the most famous nonfamous person in the world right now. People snicker at sister Kate's fame, saying she's done nothing but tie the golden knot, but what has Pippa done besides look lovely for the camera at the royal wedding? Fortunately, that is all you need to get your foot in the spotlight.

While Kate returned from her honeymoon to go grocery shopping in the Wales countryside, Pippa is being photographed on the streets of London, gracing magazine covers, and bouncing between two party-planning jobs and, surely, plenty of parties themselves. Her sister's future is sealed, but Pippa's is full of possibility. Has she earned it? No. Can she? Yes.

Besides being unofficially dubbed the most eligible bachelorette in the world, she's now getting unsolicited career advice. A writer at Fox News detailed how she could earn millions, ranging from writing a book or, depressingly, licensing "her image to a line of girl’s dolls." I say neither. She could become an overnight fashion designer — nobody would ask questions — or start her own party-planning business that's more London posh and less 5-year-old birthday than her parents' company, Party Pieces.

The point is she can do anything while Kate is, let's face it, basically expected to make royal babies and take up philanthropy like it's knitting. So now, let's hear from you: which Middleton sister would you rather be?

If 50 is the new 30, then 30 is the new 10, and I'm going out to play. But, alas, 50 is 50 — anything else is a marketing dream — and Britons say 59 is elderly. Age may just be number, but old age depends on what country you're in (like a 10 p.m. sunset in Canada). The French say it's 63, Greeks say 68, and Turks are young at heart until 72. These numbers, though, really tell us more about how the young see age than how the old feel it.

Old age, 10-year-old Wikipedia says, is an age that is near or beyond the average lifespan. That means Britons shouldn't feel old until about 80.1, while Turks are right on schedule, feeling old at 73 just after surpassing their 72.1 expiration date. Since the study, Predictors of Attitudes to Age Across Europe, did not include the US, we can't say for sure what Americans deem old; however, if going by the average-lifespan rule, old age commences at 78.7. Mark your calendars!

I only ponder "what qualifies as old age?" while on public transportation and evaluating if a person is really old enough to relinquish my seat to, so I can't say exactly, but I'd bet it starts well before 78. Jessica Alba, who just turned 30, recently talked to PopSugar LA about her esthetician friend, saying "even if I don't really need a facial she comes over and makes me look younger." How much younger can a 30-year-old look?

I imagine old age to be freeing à la Betty White — like if you make it that far then who cares? Because, like Jessica Alba, what I really fear is losing my youth; once that's gone, bring it! What about you?

So much for blaming men! A new study is taking the pressure off men and putting it on women — because that will help — by suggesting imagination is clutch to female climax.

Brain scans of women who can imagine their way to orgasms show the exact same parts of the brain light up while imagining masturbation and actually doing it, albeit to a lesser degree. Of course, women able to imagine themselves to the top are some kind of sub-sub-species of womankind, but they may be the only ones who can supply answers to the mysterious lady orgasm (and among the few willing to masturbate in a lab for science).

The finding contradicts previous theories and studies, which show letting go is the best way to climax, by emphasizing concentration. What do you think — is focus or forgetting the key to orgasming? Or some perfect blend of both?

After two ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspapers photoshopped Hillary Clinton from the now-iconic photo of White House top guns watching Navy Seals pounce Osama bin Laden's compound, there are a lot of questions. Like, why didn't they just crop it?

It's certainly not that women don't work in the Hasidic Jewish community. With long skirts and covered heads, they may look like simple homemakers. But they are generally educated (definitely high school if not college), often hold full-time jobs, and frequently are family breadwinners, especially if it frees up husbands for more scholarly, religious pursuits. But the real reason has nothing to do with women in the workplace; it's about women in photographs.

Last night Stephen Colbert explained the edit when he quoted The Jewish Week. It wrote that at least one newspaper's editorial policy was to "not intentionally include any images of women in the paper because it could be considered sexually suggestive." The paper, De Voch, has since apologized, saying it was not for racial, social, or political reasons, but because modesty is the best policy. And modesty means no pictures of women, regardless of stature.

Source: Flickr User The White House

It's not easy being gay. Come out and risk homophobia-induced repercussions from backward-thinking straight (and gay) people; stay in and risk the scorn of the gay and lesbian community.

Yesterday The Guardian insinuated Rachel Maddow criticized a popular journalist for not being openly gay in an interview. "I'm sure other people in the business have considered reasons why they're doing what they're doing," she's quoted saying. "But I do think that if you're gay you have a responsibility to come out."

Maddow later called the paper out, saying she wasn't referring to anyone specific (and more specifically Anderson Cooper) or saying all gay people must come out. But in admitting that, she illuminated a dilemma gay people face with her three tenets of "the ethics of coming out." See what they are.

Moving is hard enough, but moving for a relationship is risky. Fortunately, most people who've done it say it's a risk worth taking, even when the relationship doesn't last. Monday I asked what you would and wouldn't do again when taking yourself and a relationship to a new place. Here's some of your best advice.

• Move closer, but don't live together: "Going from seeing each other two weekends a month to every day is enough to adjust to. Living together would make things even more difficult. When you start out in a LDR, your honeymoon stage lasts a lot longer. If you find that you are all the sudden in the same town, take it slow, because a lot of things will change." — wolfpackgal
• Make sure your relationship is stable: "Things between us are going really well, but everything else is super rough (getting used to a new job, new city, new apartment, being away from my friends and family), so if this relationship doesn't work out for whatever reason (even though I'm thinking and hoping that it will), I can almost guarantee that I will never move for a relationship again. It's too much stress and too much pressure to place on a relationship." — zabrow
• Don't expect it to be easy: "Right before we moved in together, my boyfriend's sister told me the greatest piece of advice that I now tell everyone. She said to me, 'Now, the first week you move in together you will cry — this is normal!' — and it was so true!! You may love him to death and are completely happy you're moving in, but at some point you are going to break down! This is normal, and it doesn't 'represent' anything, so don't freak out." — stoof

Have more to say? Add your advice below!

The best known sushi plate may be Samantha Jones from Sex and the City, but the practice goes way back in Japan, having its own name nyotaimori (female plates) and nantaimori (male plates). Even so, it is not commonplace or even socially acceptable, happening mostly in sex clubs and at gatherings for organized criminals.

Today photos of human sushi platters are floating around, bringing the age-old tradition front and center. Besides the obvious eroticism, why would anyone want to eat off a naked human. Find out below.