I know I would have enjoyed this book more if I was into chick lit. It was a good story, but I did not feel I could relate to any of the characters. I enjoyed it, but I would not read it again. ( )

Coffee and Kung Fu is the chick lit book to which I compare all other chick lit. Funny, engaging, light reading - but featuring a protagonist I didn't cringe about identifying with. As Nicci navigates work and romance, she turns for guidance, not to martinis with the girls, but to the wisdom of the kung fu masters in the movies she loves. That's right: she's quietly a geek. The supporting characters are also delightfully quirky; her grandfather in particular stands out, with his ability to tell everything he needs to know by the shoes a man wears.

But what I most appreciate is that the protagonist ultimately must decide between accepting those things young women are expected to want or taking a risk on something better suited for her own happiness. It's a refreshing dilemma compared the cookie cutter desires of many chick lit heroines. ( )

I really wanted to like this book - the title just sold me and the back seemed like it was going to be a good read - but sadly I just couldn't get into it...I had to drag myself to finish the book and ended up skimming more than I actually read. ( )

Nicole Bradshaw is a 20 something, living in Boston and working as a copywriter. She loves Kung Fu movies and her grandfather. She's a bit of a loner, and a bit cynical. She is a very ethical and likable character; someone you would want to know. Someone you might know if you looked below the surface. This story is the story of her lonlieness and her search for truth and meaning in her life. ( )

I picked this up, and was reasonably sure I'd read it before, but couldn't remember it at all. So when I needed a break from a huge marathon book I am reading, I picked this one up. I've pasted my original review below. Interesting that everything held true for me from from the first read, except I really appreciated Nicci's relationship with her grandfather and her interactions with Jimmy, the homeless guy more. And this time through, Melanie struck a little truer, especially when her vulnerability came through.

Original review from May 2005:

Kind of chick lit gone to the Dark side.

Parts I liked very much- the author's analysis of life via Kung Fu movies (which are popluar with a certain male czuk), grandpa's way of analyzing everyone by their shoes, the gentleness of Ethan (he reminds me of a friend of mine), and the way smells and sounds pour off the page with descriptions of life in places "far off".

Didn't like sex for sex's sake. I'm too much of a prude I guess- or old fashioned. Could never be in a relationship only for physical pleasure. It's just a piece of the pie, not the whole thing. Rob, Carol, Keyth, and the Barbie doll (was her name Melanie? I already forget) never struck a note of truth to me, but Nicci, with all her self doubt and loneliness did.

And...I'm a sucker for first books of authors. ( )