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 - An excellent read!"Cannie is a 28-year-old Philadelphia Examiner reporter preoccupied with her weight and men, but able to see the humor in even the most unpleasant of life's broadsides. Even she is floored, however, when she reads "Good in Bed," a new women's magazine column penned by her ex-boyfriend, pothead grad student Bruce Guberman. Three months earlier, Cannie suggested they take a break apparently, Bruce thought they were through and set about making such proclamations as, "Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world." Devastated by this public humiliation, Cannie takes comfort in tequila and her beloved dog, Nifkin. Bruce has let her down like another man in her life: Cannie's sadistic, plastic surgeon father emotionally abused her as a young girl, and eventually abandoned his wife and family, leaving no forwarding address. Somehow, Cannie stays strong for family and friends, joining a weight-loss group, selling her screenplay and gaining the maturity to ask for help when she faces something bigger than her fears. Weiner's witty, original, fast-moving debut features a lovable heroine, a solid cast, snappy dialogue and a poignant take on life's priorities. This is a must-read for any woman who struggles with body image, or for anyone who cares about someone who does." ~ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. I have fallen in love with Jennifer Weiner's style. I saw so much of Cannie in myself it was almost uncanny (no pun intended) at times! I too am a "larger woman" and this book taught me that larger women are indeed capable and deserving of love and the good things in life. I related to these characters and this story. Extraordinary things happen to Cannie, all of them of her own making and because she always has the power, even when things go wrong, to look on the bright side and revel in the love of her family and friends. Despite the fact that this review sounds like a gushing teenie-bopper drama, the book is anything but and is a must-read for any woman who has ever had self-esteem doubts. Five stars! Rave Reviews! Rating:  - Good But Not In BedReading Jenifer Weiner presented some strange "synchronicities" for me. Only two of them included: She went to Princeton where I grew up and also took some courses. This book is set in Philadelphia where I went to college. Aside from these interesting (for me) aspects I thought the book presented a good story about a woman trying to reconcile a past relationship that is failing while a better one is developing even though she is not aware of that process at first. The characters are believable and often entertaining although the title suggests much more sexuality than the book delivers. Rating: - Great Start, Slow FinishI read this book on Kindle, so I got to read a sample chapter before I bought it. The first two thirds of the book are really funny, and surprisingly well written, with enough twists and turns and great laughs to keep me avidly turning each page. Then the author gets serious, and all I wanted to do was get to the end, even though the ending was totally predictable. It is as if two people wrote this book. The first is funny, self aware without being maudlin, and understands how to keep me on the edge of my seat and emotionally involved. The second "author" is almost unbearably self pitying, humorless, and predictable. I thought I had found a new author, to me, but now am leery of reading her other books. Too long, and way too self involved at the end. A lot of talent here though. If the first two thirds of this story weren't so good, I would have given this two stars. Rating:  - not the besttook an awfully long time, longer than the estimated shipping date, but finally got it. Rating: - Mediocre chick litCannie Shapiro is a 28-year-old newspaper reporter. She recently broke up with her pony-tailed, pot-smoking, unenthusiastic, uninteresting boyfriend, Bruce who is also a writer. A few months after their break-up, an article appears in a popular women's magazine, the title of the article: "Good in Bed" the author of the article: none other than Cannie's ex-boyfriend, Bruce. This article entitled, Good in Bed, is really neither flattering, nor insulting; it mostly speaks of the authors wasted devotion to a woman (Cannie) who dislikes and is uncomfortable with her own body (being that of a larger woman). At first Cannie is furious with him, but then realizes that the article wasn't that bad, and she determines that she still loves him, misses him, and wants him back in her life in a huge way. I found the book only slightly entertaining. The characters - all of them - were either un-likeable, boring, or both. I usually read every word on every page of every book that I pick up, however, Jennifer Weiner over described so many scenes that I found myself skimming through a lot of wordy descriptions of places and incidences that I couldn't care less about. With this book in my hands, it was either skim or nod off into a deep slumber while sitting in a chair at the dentist office or other such place. I'm not normally a fan of chick lit, and in my opinion this was just average chick lit. A friend kindly gave me this book along with its sequel, Certain Girls. As much as I appreciate receiving hand-me-down books, I think I'll pass on, Certain Girls.
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