Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Results Not Typical

by Catherine Ryan Howard (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 86 ratings · 29 reviews

Through their Ultimate Weight Loss Diet Solution Zone System, Slimmit International Global Incorporated claim they’re making the world a more attractive place one fatty at a time. Their slogans “Where You’re Fat and We Know It!” and “Where the Fat IS Your Fault!” are recognised around the globe, the counter in the lobby says five million slimmed and their share price is as...more

Paperback, 408 pages

Published October 1st 2011 (first published September 8th 2011)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 374)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jun 29, 2012 Christy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don't really like to give books less than three stars, but I have to be totally honest if I'm going to review this book.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was appealing, the summary sounded interesting, so I delved right in. However, once I was several chapters into the novel, I felt my interest beginning to wane. The characters were pretty shallow for the most part, and I didn't really care about the majority of them. Emmy was interesting, and her mother was a mess. The introdu...more

like · see review

Jun 15, 2012 Jenn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Oh boy. This book was a train wreck, but not for the intentional reasons. The author is Irish. I didn't know until I finished the book, but, reading it, there were too many mistakes for the author to be from the US. We don't say CV here, we say Resume. And we don't spell Labor with a U. There was another flub, but I can't remember what it was now. The story was supposed to take place in the US. The CV error was made by someone who lived in NY and FL before that with no hint that she was an expat...more

like · see review

Apr 30, 2012 Ainy Rainwater rated it 5 of 5 stars

Catherine Ryan Howard's first novel (she's previously penned travel fiction) is a broadly satirical chick lit novel taking on the weight loss industry. Although weight gain and self esteem are issues dealt with in a number of other chick lit books, this comes at it from an entirely different angle. At the center of the book is Slimmit, a sort of fascist mega-corporation devoted to weight loss, and even more to profit. The book opens with a man stealing their latest product and the trade secret i...more Catherine Ryan Howard's first novel (she's previously penned travel fiction) is a broadly satirical chick lit novel taking on the weight loss industry. Although weight gain and self esteem are issues dealt with in a number of other chick lit books, this comes at it from an entirely different angle. At the center of the book is Slimmit, a sort of fascist mega-corporation devoted to weight loss, and even more to profit. The book opens with a man stealing their latest product and the trade secret it holds. From there we plummet into corporate espionage, backstabbing, and bitchiness with our protagonist Emmy caught up in the corporate chaos. Emmy is, she realizes, fat, not just over weight, not chubby, not plump, but fat. The F-word --- fat --- gets bandied around a lot in this book. Emmy is also the daughter of the head of the corporation and is a bit of an embarrassment to everyone. She was on the corporate fast-track, but after gaining weight, she's been relegated to the Travel department in the basement. When "Mum" has a crisis...she pulls Emmy in to help. (The author gives "Shapewear" a hilarious much-deserved take-down.) Emmy, who is blatantly loathed by everyone because she is not frighteningly thin as everyone else is, is not a corporate cheerleader. She wants out. In fact, she's secretly joined a competitor, Fat Club. In addition to the internecine corporate warfare, there is another battle going on in this book: fat versus thin. Which in some cases equals sane versus crazy as Slimmit corporate culture is like something out of a dystopian science fiction novel. (Weight is displayed on employee's name tags and humiliation part of the weight loss program.) If Slimmit ruled the world, this would, in fact, be a dystopian science fiction novel, albeit a funny satirical one because no one could really come up with things as crazy as Slimmit's weight loss regimen and corporate policies...could they? For anyone who has ever eaten a low calorie meal for no other reason than that was low calorie (it certainly couldn't be for flavor), or anyone who has ever dieted (every woman in America, including those who don't need to) or who has tried various structured weight loss programs with meetings and a line of food products (the book's author has), the outrageous fiction of Slimmit with its line of foods, pills, and dictums will hit close to home. Fast-paced and written with a wry sense of humor, this should appeal to those who loved The Devil Wears Prada. You'll never look at a low-cal muffin --- or a weight loss program --- the same way again! (Disclaimer: The author gave me this ebook, but that did not affect my review. I loved it and would've written the exact same review if I'd bought the book. In other words: it's good!)(less)

like · see review

Jun 23, 2012 Leslie Langtry rated it 5 of 5 stars

From my review at bookendbabes.com:

http://www.bookendbabes.com/2012/04/0...

Emmy’s life might be the penultimate conundrum. Struggling with her weight for years, she works for Slimmit – a company who’s slogan is, “You’re Fat, and We Know It!” Hidden away in the basement where no one will ever see her because of a performance review that stated she was ‘unacceptably beyond Appearance Policy parameters,’ Emmy handles travel arrangements for a fleet of stunningly (and weirdly – glowing) thin waifs w...more From my review at bookendbabes.com:

http://www.bookendbabes.com/2012/04/0...

Emmy’s life might be the penultimate conundrum. Struggling with her weight for years, she works for Slimmit – a company who’s slogan is, “You’re Fat, and We Know It!” Hidden away in the basement where no one will ever see her because of a performance review that stated she was ‘unacceptably beyond Appearance Policy parameters,’ Emmy handles travel arrangements for a fleet of stunningly (and weirdly – glowing) thin waifs who would make any Stepford Wife commit sepulchu out of shame.

Slimmit – a leader in the weight-loss and regret industry is run by two women who mainline an impressive array of questionable chemical diet pills and purge as if it were their chosen, artistic medium.
Marianne is Slimmit’s Director of Slimming. Thin and beautiful, with a weird penchant for using furniture polish on her hair to make it shine, Marianne’s one goal in life is to make Nicola Darcy, Slimmit’s CEO, fat and miserable.

Nicola Darcy is struggling to keep it together – and by “it” I mean the contents of her stomach and the control of her company. For some reason, she’s taken up binge eating on the weekends – which she tops off with a dose of humiliation and ill-fitting shapewear on Monday morning. This self-made woman is literally coming apart at the seams.

Who hasn’t been through this? The other day, I did a tv interview – which I regretfully dvr-ed and watched (which was followed by complete deletion and a string of expletives that startled the cat). My once, thin (dare I say ‘swanlike?’) neck was missing – in fact, a puffer fish (fully inflated and slightly less lethal) with a goiter appeared where my neck and head had once been. I looked fatnormous.

Women struggle with weight issues – it’s a fact of life, dammit. And that’s why I loved this book – it’s a clever satire on the weight-loss industry with lots of twists and turns and some damn good surprises in the end. There’s corporate espionage, sexual intrigue, celebrities, and a heroine who, like me, enjoys the occasional (okay, okay! Frequent,) pint of Ben & Jerry’s and says, “Tomorrow I’ll eat right and exercise” into a mirror without crying (or swearing creatively).

Catherine Ryan Howard’s book is funny, thought-provoking, suspenseful and utterly relatable. And right now, it’s only 99 cents, sinfully good and 100% calorie free…that is, unless you eat ice cream while reading it…which I did.

Oh well. It was worth it.
(less)

like · see review

Dec 10, 2012 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-the-kindle

This book surprised me no end. Billed as chick lit meets corporate satire, I am not into the former and find that the latter is rarely done well. But Catherine Ryan Howard nails it! The chick lit is easy to swallow and the corporate satire is spot on. The plot is well developed and the characters are very well drawn. They are designed to be caricatures of real life and they fit the bill perfectly. I laughed out loud and even shed a tear of quiet triumph. As a first novel, there are some minor im...more

like · see review

Nov 01, 2011 Mia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having enjoyed Catherine Ryan Howard's previous books, I was excited to test out her first work of prose. It was a fun story, lots of tongue-in-cheek that left me smiling to myself. I really liked the voice, the pacing... it was a well constructed story and I would recommend it to friends. It gets a bit soap opera-ish in the last 1/3 where there were twists! twists! twists! I think a couple of them might have been overkill, although I suspect this was intended to be part of the humor. In my humb...more

like · see review

Oct 03, 2011 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, books-read-2011

When I read that Catherine Ryan Howard was going to be releasing a fiction novel, I was excited. I’d enjoyed her non-fiction book Mousetrapped and I felt she had a real flair for writing, which was confirmed when I read Backpacked, the sort-of sequel to Mousetrapped. It was another brilliant read and when Catherine asked me if I’d like to read an early copy of Results Not Typical, I jumped at the chance. It sounded entirely different to anything I’d ever read before so when it arrived I couldn’t...more When I read that Catherine Ryan Howard was going to be releasing a fiction novel, I was excited. I’d enjoyed her non-fiction book Mousetrapped and I felt she had a real flair for writing, which was confirmed when I read Backpacked, the sort-of sequel to Mousetrapped. It was another brilliant read and when Catherine asked me if I’d like to read an early copy of Results Not Typical, I jumped at the chance. It sounded entirely different to anything I’d ever read before so when it arrived I couldn’t wait to dive in.

Results Not Typical is not a typical (har-har) Chick Lit novel. Catherine herself confirmed that, but if you ask me where it should go, I wouldn’t know where to put it. I’ve never really read anything like it before; the closest I’ve come is E2 by Matt Beaumont, which is somewhat similar. It’s really a satirical novel (though please don’t ask me what satirical means), but Chick Lit fans will enjoy it. Results Not Typical spans just one day – I’m not joking, the novel – all 410 pages of it – covers a mere 24 hours in the life of the people who work at Slimmit – Where You’re Fat And We Know It! It’s an impressive feat, actually, but it’s incredibly fast paced so the book never lags and although you could perhaps say that everything that happens is a bit farcical, a bit unbelievable, well that’s the entire novel in a nutshell really. It’s ALL a bit farcical – in a nice way. It’s not (I hope!) a novel you’re meant to take entirely seriously.

The novel is very much plot-driven rather than character-driven as most of the characters are rather despicable Cruella De Vil types. The plot is excellent, as Slimmit find themselves in a bit of a scandal – or rather, they will find themselves in a bit of a scandal, if word gets out that their new product Lipid Loser has been stolen. The novel follows Slimmit CEO Nicola Darcy, Slimmit’s Director of Slimming Marianne Brand, and Nicola’s daughter, Emmy, who works in the Travel Support department because she’s not thin or pretty enough to work anywhere but Level -1. I found it fascinating following each woman throughout the day. Emmy as she struggles to try and avoid food temptation; Nicola as she tries to bring herself back from the brink after a heavy weekend and Marianne as she plots and plans and schemes. It was great to see things unfold before the characters did, as we saw it all occurring without anyone else knowing.

The novel is very on point. I mean, how many people around the World are part of a diet group? Part of WeightWatchers or Jenny Craig or one of the many other diet groups around and I reckon Catherine Ryan Howard has hit the mark with Results Not Typical. It’s just brilliant. I loved how stupid the assistants at Slimmit were, I loved the villainous nature of everyone at Slimmit, except Emmy it seemed. It’s very on the button and Catherine has perfectly tapped into what life may well be like at companies like Slimmit. (Though hopefully not.) It’s a novel that’s larger than life, that’s hard to pigeon hole. I’d love to say something clever about the novel because it is more high-concept than I’m used to reading, and the goings-on and happenings are head-spinningly dizzy but I don’t actually know what to say that would/could be clever.

I wondered how Results Not Typical would end, why everyone was so worried about the theft of Lipid Loser, just how the rivalry between Nicola and Marianne would end, whether Emmy would ever come to terms with herself and her weight. There were loads of balls up in the air throughout the novel and Ryan Howard handled them marvellously. There wasn’t anything left up in the air come the end of the book and I thought it was a very satisfying read. It’s so nice to read something that’s different, to read something that’s not your regular girl-meets-boy fare. I truly hope this novel does well, Catherine has a natural flair for story-telling and her writing is immense. It’s a novel that must have been well thought-out and Catherine executed it perfectly. It was such an enjoyable read and I thoroughly recommend it.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 15, 2012 A.E. Shaw rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

I found this author through Kindle-trawling, and read her travel memories, which I found most amusing and neatly phrased, which led me to the immediate purchase of this, her first novel, which is similarly pleasingly formed. Set in the world of corporate weight loss companies, anyone who's ever taken any foray into slimming clubs and diet land will recognise...an awful lot of well-observed truth, and cleverly-pointed hyperbolic conclusions to the 'current state of affairs'. Grittier and funnier...more

like · see review

Jul 21, 2012 Debbie Young rated it 4 of 5 stars

The premise of this book was very appealing - the debunking of a top slimming products manufacturer, and it got off to an intriguing start. The plot was full of twists and turns and some clever surprises, with a few laugh-out-loud developments along the way. It was an enjoyable romp and surely not so far from the truth - and a great justification to put off that diet! However, it did get a bit complicated in places and would have benefited from a bit of hard pruning (c. 20%, I'd say) to maintain...more

like · see review

Oct 01, 2011 Talli Roland rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having read Catherine Ryan Howard's non-fiction and enjoyed it very much, I was eagerly awaiting the publication of her first novel... and wondering if Catherine's wit and humour would translate as well in a fictional setting. I'm pleased to report it did -- wonderfully!

'Results Not Typical' is anything but your typical read. Packed full of entertaining characters -- some you can't help sympathizing with and others you'll love to hate -- Catherine's tongue-in-cheek take on the weight-loss indus...more

like · see review

Jan 10, 2012 Julie Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jun 23, 2012 Charissa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

2.5 stars. I like her blog, but this book was hard for me to get through. It was very wordy and I didn't like any of the characters at all, except Emmy. It pokes fun of the weight loss industry, but the story went on too many side trips with the different despicable characters. It was easy for me to set down and hard for me to pick up, because I really didn't like the characters enough to want to be inside their head.

like · see review

Jan 11, 2012 Starla B rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book. It was pretty funny, if a little odd. As a bigger girl, I have gone through or at least tried many of the diets or "lifestyle changes" out there: Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, etc. This book pokes fun at all of them. Most of the main characters are despicable people. If it wasn't for Emmy, I would have given this book only 3 stars. However, she was worth a star all by herself.

like · see review

May 30, 2012 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes the sentences are a bit runny and I could do without the excessive descriptions of food in the book, but on the whole I just couldn't put it down! Every character you met had a layer underneath their layers underneath their masks and it was riveting to put it all together. Great summer read, especially if you're engaging in a "get ready for beach season" regimen at the same time!

like · see review

May 23, 2012 Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Have you tried to lose weight? Have you tried various weight loss programs? This is a rather hilarious look at a behind the scenes of a fictional, yet Im sure at least some of it is pretty close to the truth, weight loss program that has reached the top of the pile and then self destructs. Wickedly funny.

like · see review

Jan 23, 2012 Terrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting that as I was reading this I was thinking it was reminiscient of Maxx Barry, and in the author's end note she indicates that's what she was going for! An unusual marriage of chick lit and satire, enjoyed it immensely, especially as an Amazon Prime freebie.

like · see review

May 23, 2012 Cindy marked it as stopped-reading

I got about 15% done with this book, and just decided "life's too short"! I didn't like one single character at that point, so I really didn't care what happened to them. Not a bad book, I guess, just not my thing.

like · see review

Sep 29, 2011 Orla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very funny book. Read it very quickly and enjoyed it. And it maybe should deserve 5 stars but just towards the end I felt the story was wrapped up a bit too neatly and conveniently.

like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Frankie Valente rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very funny, but also with a dark edge to it, as it lampoons the dieting industry and the 21st century obsesssion with skinniness. An excellent read anyway, it will be particularly amusing for anyone who ever went on a diet.

like · see review

Oct 05, 2012 Mary Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor

This author has the weight-loss industry pegged...and maybe those of us who struggle...still reading...will let you know when I finish...
Yes...it was sadly realistic, yet still warmed my heart.

like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Peter Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've been a long-time reader of Catherine's excellent blog but really wasn't sure whether Results Not Typical, her debut novel, would be my kinda thing. How wrong I was.

Read almost exclusively in two-minute bursts on my kindle app in various waiting rooms or tube journeys this was a thoroughly enjoyable read - enough to make me feel truly grateful for any delays I had to 'endure'.

Great characters, a fun plot, all woven together with Catherine's trademark sassy narrative style - what's not to lik...more

like · see review

May 22, 2012 Melissa Summers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit

A humorous view of behind the scenes of a diet/weightloss emporium.

like · see review

Jun 09, 2012 Herldine Radley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really funny! The ending is very good.

like · see review

Nov 23, 2011 Betsy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It is a satirical look at the inside world of the weight loss industry. With companies names Slimmit and Fat Club i could not resist this read. It only took me a couple of days to read but i loved every second of it. It had twists and turns and powders , pills and lets not forget the muffins! LOL What a fun book to read!

like · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars

Could be made into a slap-stick comedy Hollywood movie. The characters are perfect for it.

like · see review

Jun 04, 2012 C. Purtill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a fun book! I couldn't wait to get back to my Kindle to keep reading. Fast-paced, clever, a little snarky but really good.

1 like · like · see review

Jun 27, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I discovered this book through Catherine's brilliant blog, Catherine, Caffeinated. Full of humour and witty perceptions, I really enjoyed this novel about a fictional slimming company. The characters are really well described and te plot has some great and very unexpected twists. Would recommend this very highly (especially to any of my friends on the weight watchers wagon!)

like · see review

Jun 06, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This was soooo hilarious! I loved it so much! It got a little confusing in parts, but overall it was a lot of fun to read!

like · see review

Jan 07, 2012 Lenore Kosinski rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, found-b-c-of-giveaway

Ridiculously biting humour....was almost hard to read from the evil person perspectives... Hyperbolic, but at times was almost not as exaggerative as it should have been...black humour? I enjoyed it. :)

like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Alipeli rated it 4 of 5 stars

I usually don't read this kind of books, but I'm really glad I read it. It's really funny book and I've enjoyed it.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 12 13 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Ladies & Lite...: New Goodreads giveaway worth going after	1	11	Sep 29, 2011 06:15am

combine
Other Editions (1)

Genres

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

6 users

Humor

4 users

See top shelves...

About Catherine Ryan Howard

Catherine Ryan Howard is a writer, blogger and enthusiastic coffee drinker from Cork, Ireland. She currently divides her time between the desk and the sofa.

More about Catherine Ryan Howard...

Books by Catherine Ryan Howard

Backpacked: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America

Self-Printed: The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing: How to Use Digital Self-Publishing, Social Media and Common Sense to Start Earning A Living ... or Shouting 'Down With The Big Six!')

Self-Printed: The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing (2nd Edition)

The Best of Catherine, Caffeinated: Caffeine-Infused Self-Publishing Advice

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Results Not Typical

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Results Not Typical
avg rating	preview: Results Not Typical Goodreads rating: 3.59 (86 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12567029-results-not-typical?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315592316l/12567029.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12567029-results-not-typical?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Results Not Typical by Catherine Ryan Howard[/url]

Results Not Typical

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (1)

Genres

About Catherine Ryan Howard

Books by Catherine Ryan Howard

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Results Not Typical

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)