About this title: The bestselling author of "We Are All Welcome Here, The Year of Pleasures," and "Open House" returns with exhilarating stories of women breaking free from conventions.
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Book shows wear to cover edges and spine. Corners bent/rounded. Cover may have folds or creases. Otherwise in good reading condition. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2008-04-15
ISBN-13:9781400065097ISBN:1400065097
Description: Good. Text is clean, bright & unmarked. No names, no remainder marks, no stickers. Binding is tight has a slight lean. Front end pages taped on spine. We recommend EXPEDITED MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2008-04-15
ISBN-13:9781400065097ISBN:1400065097
Description: Very Good. Binding is tight and square. Text is clean, bright, and unmarked. No DJ. Corners and edges slightly rubbed and bumped. Careful packaging and fast shipping. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Acceptable. Book is in good reading condition. Cover has wear at edges and corners, and may have creases. Spine has wear at edges and creases. read more
Description: Reader copy. LARGE PRINT. Ex-Public Library. Covers and page corners are very worn. Text is clean. Usual library stickers and stamps. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
ISBN-13:9781400065097ISBN:1400065097
Description: Used-Very Good. No Jacket. FIRST EDITION: FIRST PRINTING; Very good condition. very clean and bright pages; Book has almost no shelfwear; Delivery confirmation available for every book shipped. Reliable customer service and no-hassle return policy. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781400065097ISBN:1400065097
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. VERY GOOD SOLID USED BOOK W/ HARDCOVER. IN NICE CLEAN CONDITION, SOLID SPINE, INNER PAGES ARE CLEAN. #23 AM E AL. Glued binding. Paper over boards. 242 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: Random House Audio
Date Published: 2008-04-15
ISBN-13:9780739331903ISBN:0739331906
Description: Very Good. UNABRIDGED EX/LIBRARY SET OF 7 EXCELLENT PLAYING CDS IN LIKE NEW CLAMSHELL CASE. DISCS SHOW A SMALL AMOUNT OF LIGHT SURFACE SCRATCHES THAT DO NOT AFFECT THE SOUND QUALITY. FEW LIBRARY MARKINGS. ALL OF OUR ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED. WE SHIP DAILY WITH TRACKING. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Inc
Date Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN-13:9781400065097ISBN:1400065097
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781400065097. read more
Description: Very Good. 1400065097 SIGNED by the AUTHOR ~ NEW * FIRST EDITION /FIRST PRINTING * Hardcover, NO DJ AS ISSUED, never used ex-library, Tight & Bright ~ all books carefully examined & well packaged. read more
Description: Very Good. 1400065097 SIGNED by the AUTHOR ~ NEW * FIRST EDITION /FIRST PRINTING * Hardcover, NO DJ AS ISSUED, never used ex-library, Tight & Bright ~ all books carefully examined & well packaged. read more
"A collection of short stories about women at various stages in their lives. Many of the stories dealt with how we as women, tend to deny ourselves things we would like because we are so busy taking care of others. 3 stories in particular stand out in my memory and I will mention them below.
"The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted" and "The Day I Ate Nothing I Wanted": In a culture so obsessed with appearances women are often so concerned with their weight and are constantly dieting or trying to loose weight. Both of these stories address this exactly. In the one story the woman left a Weight Watchers meeting tired of denying herself everything and decided for one day, enjoying what she ate wouldn't hurt her. Boy did she enjoy herself! In the other story the lady talks about how she wants to enjoy so many things but sticks to her bland diet but isn't too happy. If only we as women could learn to live in moderation and be happier with our physical and emotional selves. Also, we lose focus on the joy in life if we are concentrating only on our weight!
The final story that I enjoyed was "Sin City" and this one also had a self denial theme in it. However, in this case it was how we do not spend money on things for ourselves because we feel guilty about it. The lady in this story decides to go against her thinking and buys herself a suitcase full of new clothes, a new bracelet, and hops on a plane to Las Vegas with no prior planning. On the way she meets a new gentleman friend and her life changes forever. Sometimes, we need to splurge on ourselves to make ourselves feel better. After all we take care of everyone else, so why not us?
I need to remember to take care of myself and enjoy life a little more like the characters finally did in two of the stories I mentioned above. Moderation is the key to happiness!"
"Berg has an uncanny ability to draw you so deeply into her character's lives that you feel as if you know them. I often found myself smiling as I read about them, loving how Michael (in the story "Rain") left his high-powered city job for life in the county. Berg describes everything from how he built his home, to the spaghetti sauce his friends made using the riches in his garden, to the minute ways in which Michael changed when the uncertainties of life finally took their toll. Berg's stories tug and your heartstrings, each in a different way.
As a foodie I also must mention how much I appreciated Berg's attention to culinary detail. She doesn't simply tell you that Michael and his friends enjoyed spaghetti sauce, she shows you how it was made and invites you to taste it in your mind's eye: "onion and garlic... were sauteed in olive oil, basil and oregano and tomatoes still warm from the sun," the main character writes. "I added a little honey and a little red wine and we let the sauce cook down, and then we ate outside, watching the sky redden, then purple, then go black and starry. Maybe it was the wood burning stove, but I have never tasted better marinara."
My favorite story in the collection is titled "How to Make Apple Pie." It's told from the perspective of an 86-year-old woman, named Flo, writing a letter to a women who grew up next door. The way Berg characterized this narrator was so endearing I found myself wishing I was the recipient of her letter, which describes her prized recipe with instructions like: "The filling is a matter of sniff and add a bit of this, sniff and add a bit of that." Overall Flo's tone made me laugh, being both specific and vague at the same time, and reminding me so much of how my own grandmother outlines her recipes. "Add just a touch of nutmeg, nutmeg must always work undercover, where you taste it but you don't know what it is. Like mace in sweet rolls or coffee in chocolate cake," Flo continues, then cautions: "Your nose is your guide... Now if you have a cold, forget about making pie or anything else. Go over someplace like the Olive Garden and load up on all the garlic, that you will taste."
I could go on and on about Flo - that's how much I liked her - and while not all the stories in this book touched me so deeply, I have to say, I plan to buy the book just for this one story.
In addition to "Rain" and "How to Make and Apple Pie," other stories I particularly enjoyed include: "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, " "Full Count," and "The Day I Ate Nothing I Even Remotely Wanted.""
"I need fluffy, escapist reading! This should do the trick.
...
Having read most of this book now, it turns out I was wrong in the above assessment. Well, there is some fluff in there, but overally, the book is better and a lot less happy than I expected.
First of all, it's a short story collection, not a novel. This fact somehow escaped my notice when I picked it, so for the first few stories, I kept waiting for the connections among the characters to be revealed. About every other story is about someone from Weight Watchers, so I just assumed it they were all from the same group or something and their lives were interconnected in clever and interesting ways to be revealed soon. I like that kind of thing. No such luck, though; just stories.
The weight watchers stories didn't interest me too much. They just seemed sad in a fairly shallow way. But interspersed among them were more serious stories: love, life, death, that kind of thing. Those were surprisingly good.
This book kept me from going nuts while I was waiting for the movers to load all my stuff onto the truck with excruciating slowness, but did not make me cry in front of them, so I guess it served its purpose.
My favorites were the last two: "How to make an apple pie" and "Sin City." Those were the most real to me."
"This book is a series of shorts (both fiction and non) that revolve around women and their small acts of personal liberation. Some stories were okay while others were a real gem.
I especially liked the first short of Berg's day where she ate whatever she wanted. I cheered her the whole way through (even to her next day weigh-in at Weight Watchers.) If you don't really like Berg's writing style, the book is still worth a pick up if ONLY to read this first story. The other story that was wonderful was Double Dieting (I think that's the title.) It's a story of a woman who has been on a diet her whole life and her husband of many years decides he wants to lose a few himself. They diet together. It's hysterical! I especially loved the ending with a cake for dinner with side of pizza for dessert. There is real comfort in being married to a friend and lover for so many years. The other exceptional piece was a letter from an elderly widow to a young married about how to make an apple pie. It's has just the right touch of emotion.
It would make a great beach/pool book. Sample the stories you like and pass on the others you don't - kind of like eating at a good restaurant."
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