Good in bed was depressing!
There was a Paula Danziger book I can't remember the title But the girl was fat and she wrote Ofcourse in the sequel she was thin
that paperbackswap sounds good!

The Danzinger book was "The Cat Ate My Gymsuit" and the sequel (where the main character was thin) was "There's a Bat in Bunk Five."

Ok. I am seriously not liking Jemima J. At 204 # she says that she is a "lump" with several chins and can hardly move. Also, the calories that the character is consuming in a day at her highest 217 sounds to be about 4,000 which is impossible and then at 210 she loses 10# in 2 weeks.
That is all impossible and unrealistic. And I am seriously insulted that the author describes a 204# woman as a gross lump who people can hardly look at.

"The Next Big Thing" was good. Sorry I can't remember the author.

Elisabeth

I flipping hating Jemima J. Hated. HATED! :)

But I loved Good In Bed.

Jill-- It is not just how the character feels about herself, it is also how the narrator describes her. I found it to be extremely insensitive. Also, the problem I had with the calorie intake and weight loss was with her weight. At 204, if one were to eat 4,000 cal. a day you would gain like mad! Also, at 204 she loses waaaayyyy to much weight for it to seem feasible. I calculated it and she would definately have to be eating under 1,000 cal. a day and that doesn't seem to be what the narrator describes as her daily food intake. I mean, the character Jemima loses 100# in 6 mos. (from 217-117). Maybe 100# in 6 mos (from 317-217) might be a reasonable plot line, but I am not buying this whole story.
If anyone who is/was much over 217# wants to feel badly about themselves, I would recommend this book.
I just really found the book to be personally insulting. But, then again, that is just me. Plenty of people seem to have enjoyed it.

I adore paranormal romances and one of my favorite authors has a book where the heroine is overweight and the guy she hooks up with this muscle bound hunk! Lovely romp! He thinks shes hot and loves her no matter her weight *awwww* (reminds me of my hubby in that aspect!) *grins*

Sherrilyn Kenyon http://www.kinleymacgregor.com/were/niplay.htm to read an excerpt, if you are into a thrilling H-O-T read... then check this book out that features a real woman.

shrinkingchica, I agree with a lot of what you're saying. For pure entertainment, I enjoy Weiner's books. BUT...as a Big Woman, I think that a LOT of what she says in all her books reinforces many societal images of overweight/fat women as being undesirable and that you must lose weight in order to be accepted/loved/liked/successful, whatever.

NOT about weight loss, but featuring a hysterical Big Woman who doesn't lack for confidence are the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. Lula plays a secondary--but not to be forgotten--role in bounty hunter Stephanie's escapades. For pure fun, this series is hard to beat (and hey, evey my MOTHER cracks up just talking about the books). I think Lula first appears in the 2nd book, but treat yourself at a used bookstore to the series--in order-and have a good laugh.

2 books (I haven't yet read either) are The Afterlife Diet by Daniel Pinkwater and Thinner Than Thou by Kit Reed.

Lynn

This is a GREAT book! As I was reading through this thread, I was trying to remember the name of this book. I just looked it up online at our library and the author's name is Patti Massman. If you do a search at Amazon, you'll find the book faster by searching for the author's name. I wonder what ever happened to my copy??

Kimberly

I enjoyed Pretty Woman by Fern Michaels. The story depicts a woman who struggles to lose weight, gain self esteem and deal with an abusive relationship.

I absolutely loved Lady Oracle; I think it did such a great job of showing that sometimes overweight people have a reason for being that way-- emotional insulation, needing to blend in, etc. Such a complex character.

However, I absolutely loathed She's Come Undone. I thought every single character was absolutely dispicable and I felt no sympathy or compassion for the main character.

Anyone notice how Nora Robert's characters are always willowy with subtle curves? I think once she even gave the weight and height of her female lead: 5'7" and 115. What is it, Nora? Only freakishly skinny women can get the guy? Honestly, someday I'm going to have to write the Fat Girl's romance novel.

'she's come undone' is a wonderful read. so are 'edible woman' and 'lady oracle by margerat atwood.

for a good funny read i like erma bombeck. i don't think there's anything specifically about weight loss but it's all tied together with family, raising children, sububarn living and weight issues. any of her books are a good laugh indeed.

Sorry to ressurect such an old thread but I couldn't let it go without mentioning Thinner by Stephen King. It's rather old -- I think it may have come out in the 80s? Interesting read, though, at least it was back then! :lol:

Basic premise: Morbidly obese man finds the Magic Bullet and voila, weight just starts dropping off! Woohoo!!!!! Life is GOOD! However, as is generally true with Stephen King novels (at least, for the older ones), it's not all good news and things take an odd turn for this guy.

Can't go much further without spoiling it, so I'll end there.

I'll have to pick up some of the suggestions made in the above posts. Thanks, al!