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Good in Bed (Cannie Shapiro #1)

by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads Author)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 164,278 ratings · 4,300 reviews

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But

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Paperback, 376 pages

Published April 2nd 2002 by Washington Square Press (first published 2001)

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Nov 30, 2012 Kimmay rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

Well by reading some of the reviews below, I guess I am the only one that really did NOT like this book. I thought it was quite IRONIC That Violet loved the screenplay because the lead character didn't need to be rescued... unlike Cannie.
She seems so winey and down on not only herself but everyone else. To me this was NOT an uplifting book, It was actually rather depressing and I only finished it because it was the book selected for my book club so i felt obligated to finish it. It was a chore...more

26 likes · like · see review

Jan 03, 2008 Tabitha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, adult-fiction

Sometimes a person needs a light read. A fun read. A pick it up and put it down (finished in a day) read. This book is all of these things, but it also carries an important message in an accessible format. We meet many people in our lives and love many be eternal or fleeting. Regardless of the time that love is shared, or held on to, the depth, the intensity, the interwoven sense of purpose can vary. We may not always love the person that we love now. We may not always remain with the person tha...more Sometimes a person needs a light read. A fun read. A pick it up and put it down (finished in a day) read. This book is all of these things, but it also carries an important message in an accessible format. We meet many people in our lives and love many be eternal or fleeting. Regardless of the time that love is shared, or held on to, the depth, the intensity, the interwoven sense of purpose can vary. We may not always love the person that we love now. We may not always remain with the person that we love and yet we may love them forever.

I, personally, love many people. I love them in different ways. I love them to different depths. I'm the type that always loves. If I love you today, I will love you tomorrow. There is nothing that you can do to stop that love. I may not like you if you hurt other or myself, but love and like are not the same thing. Like can change; love remains. Needless to type, I do not throw the word Love around lightly.

I do not tell my husband that I love him every time that we part: in person, on the phone, into slumber land. I tell him that I love him when I am consciously aware of how present that love is, when I am embraced and caught up in it, when I am fully in that moment. This can occur when I see him act kindly in a moment when I may not, when I remember something that he has said that I may not have appreciated fully at the time, when I hear about another relationship, another partner, that purposely does something hurtful and realize that Jim is such a good person, when I remember past relationship, past hurts and know that he is kind. Sometimes this can happen simply because he squeaks when he laughs or because his dark lashes frame his clear blue eyes in a certain light. There is a depth to that love. Intensity. A texture. Love goes beyond people, for me anyway, and encompasses ideas. Sometimes, I have learned, that people are mere reflections (positive or negative) of the ideals that what frame them within. Sometimes they are not the people that we imagine them to be – fairly or unfairly.

This story reminds me that there are different kinds of love and that time and changes in relationship status do not diminish it. I loved some that came before JIM. I still love some that hurt me badly – badly, but this is a different kind of love than what I share with my incredible husband (who does leave balls of socks all over the house and wonders why the dogs eat them). I told him last night that there is nothing in the world that I would trade for him and there is nothing, nothing that could ever compare to him, but this incredible love does not remove the past loves (the past-current loves) and that is what I liked most about this book.

This book shares the story of a "larger woman" and her search for love from herself, from partners, from day-in-day-out-family, from her father (post painfully reminiscent of my own life), from her dog, and from society. She struggles, she shares humor and rage. She shares hope and she embraces – she embraces.

Memorable passage (and words to live by): "I will love myself, and my body, for what it can do-- because it is strong enough to lift, to walk, to ride a bicycle up a hill, to embrace the people that I love and hold them fully, and to nurture a new life. I will love myself because I am sturdy. Because I did not--will not--break." (p365)(less)

58 likes · like · see review

Feb 13, 2009 SmarterLilac rated it 2 of 5 stars

The third worst book I have ever read. I just cannot stand main characters who portray themselves as perpetually victimized, while refusing to take any responsibility for removing themselves from the victim-state. It didn't help that I felt the author intentionally 'crafted' her characters to be as pathetic as possible, then framed the story in such a way as to imply the reader has no right to condemn any of them for their decisions. Insultingly bad, even for a genre (I refuse to call this anyth...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jan 11, 2008 Camie rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was an interesting book; I read it for an on-line book group. I did like reading it, but at the same time, it's definitely not one I would recommend or would be on any "must read" list I would write.

The thing I think Jennifer Weiner did well was writing in a way that I did get sucked into Cannie's life and her pain. I think anyone who's had a lost love can really relate to that kind of misery, and I think she did a great job describing it. So much so, that my mood was somewhat muted days a...more

28 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2007 Carmela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-favorites

This was so good that when it ended I felt like I had lost a friend. I got so attached to Canny, that I just wanted to call her and chat with her about her life. I would read this book again and again...in fact, I have.

26 likes · like · see review

Oct 20, 2007 Nicole P rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am rating this as an OK, based only on the fact that the plot was intricate and well thought out. The book itself was very well written and easy to follow. However, it will not go on my list of favorite books. Basically it was about a plus sized 28 yr old woman, Cannie Shapiro (she was decribed as a size 16, I thought that plus didn't start until size 18, but what do I know??) She was a reporter, had friends, an apartment, a dog, etc. She had recently asked her boyfriend of 3 years for a break...more

14 likes · like · see review

Dec 04, 2008 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2003, chicklit, fiction

I am haunted by this book. There is a scene in it that I think about all the time. I don't know if the writing was that good or if something about it just resonated with me - Either way I seriously think about it alot. Has it really been almost 6 years since I read this?

8 likes · like · see review

Feb 09, 2009 Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

My first grader can sound out words and takes great interest in what I'm reading. He didn't understand the title of the book, so I told him that it was about someone who sleeps all night and never gets up to get in their parents' bed.

My husband wanted to know if it was fiction. He was hoping not.

I liked this book because I liked the character and cared about her. She's likable and funny and she means well. My major criticism about this book, however, is that the unrealistic twists and turns riva...more

16 likes · like · see review

Jun 18, 2008 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book made me second guess my judgmental stance on "chick lit." It's a genre I usually avoid, mostly because I tend to be a pretentious asshole. But I really, really enjoyed this book. Weiner is smart, witty, and insightful. I laughed outloud. Much to my surprise, I couldn't put this one down.

13 likes · like · see review

Apr 19, 2012 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It's interesting to think about how this book helped set the standard for "chick lit" as we know it today because to me the quality of writing and subject matters in "Good in Bed" are above and beyond some of the smut that's classified as chick lit today. The story is downright dark and depressing at times and I thought she nailed the emotional reactions to every major topic (e.g. her father's selfishness and lack of love for his kids, Bruce's callousness and consistent immaturity, and finally t...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 31, 2011 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars

The title of this book is a little deceptive. It does have some sexual scenes in it, but that is not what the book is about. The main character breaks up with her long time boyfriend. She is a plus size girl. He writes in a magazine about how it is to “love a larger women.” She is devastated by this, justifiably so, and thus begins a path to learn to love herself. She is a great character with a great sense of humor. She has had a rough life. Her father leaves the family early on and before he l...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 09, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: chick lit readers

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Katie

Shelves: chick-lit

This is the third book I have read by Jennifer Weiner. I first read Goodnight Nobody, which I really enjoyed, and then Little Earthquakes, which was also really good. This was good too, but in a different way...I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as much as those, but it was still a great story and I am happy to have read it.

While I adored Cannie in so many ways (her wonderful sense of humor, loyalty to her family and friends, and her ambition) I also found myself perturbed by her, at times, as well as...more This is the third book I have read by Jennifer Weiner. I first read Goodnight Nobody, which I really enjoyed, and then Little Earthquakes, which was also really good. This was good too, but in a different way...I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as much as those, but it was still a great story and I am happy to have read it.

While I adored Cannie in so many ways (her wonderful sense of humor, loyalty to her family and friends, and her ambition) I also found myself perturbed by her, at times, as well as other situations in the book. Being overweight myself, I know that you're always at least subconsciously aware of your size, especially in certain situations or around certain people, but Cannie seemed to think about it (her size) incessantly. I also think she had a tendency to really overreact to a lot of things, which, hey, I am sure I have too...like when she just left the guy in the restaurant who wanted to be friends. I found that a little silly and overly dramatic, but I could also sympathize and even feel her embarrassment. As they say, "been there, done that".

Bruce was so lackadaisical and it was hard for me at times to see what Cannie even saw in him, but then there were glimpses of happiness in her flashbacks of them together. When they had sex after the death of his father, I just knew it was a huge mistake, which oh so many women make (sympathy sex). Part of me was thinking, "why do you want to be with this guy?!" Then another part of me was hoping he'd take her back and she wouldn't be heartbroken. But, we know he isn't the right man for her in the grand scheme of things, and so does she.

I loved Dr K. and don't agree with the notion that a Dr. would be incapable of liking a woman who is overweight. Big surprise, but there are men in this world who actually are able to look beyond someone's physical appearance, and I happen to have one of them, so I should know. Thin girls don't have the monopoly on good relationships or handsome guys. ;P

***spoilers***

The scene where she goes into premature labor seemed not very realistic to me, but I am not an expert. I just know I fell both times while I was pregnant and nothing happened except me having a backache, and usually you have to fall pretty hard to have a placental abruption, and her pregnancy had been great until that point, but I digress...I really felt so much for Cannie during that part of the book, where she blamed herself for the baby's prematurity and having to be in the NICU. I could totally understand the overwhelming feelings and postpartum depression. She had a hard time reaching out to anyone, because I think deep down she was so afraid of trusting someone and then having them hurt her. So, she won't let anyone help her or comfort her even in the most simple of ways. I found my heart just aching for her during that time and I cried throughout the end of the book.

It took her some time to get herself together, but then she had adjusted to new motherhood and was doing well. I was happy she and Dr K. were together at the end. She deserved a good ending!

(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 25, 2008 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit, february2008

So I don't forget it, I have to share a super funny line:

"He'd had a few turn-downs in high school, when he'd had really bad skin, and before he'd discovered that pot and a ponytail could reliably attracted a certain kind of girl."

I'm kinda struggling with this one. I had high hopes, but it's not quite what I expected from the blurb on the back. I'm getting distracted by her LENGTHY flashbacks of her life, which are meant to give background and context to the current issue, but is instead drawin...more

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2008 Janet rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

Blah. What is up with these 20-something books? The I-don't-like-my-job, I-can't-find-a-mate, I'm-almost-30 angst books? They are all written in the EXACT same voice, and even hit the same highlights (in both this book and Girls are Weird, a father's funeral results in a hook up with an ex--I guess I really dodged a bullet there).

In the interview after the book, the author seems very proud of herself that she wrote an anti-fairy tale, meaning the protagonist does not end the book skinny (this is...more

12 likes · like · see review

Nov 21, 2007 Annalisa rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: good vacation book

Recommended to Annalisa by: Lucy

Shelves: chick-lit, romance, contemporary

The first 100 pages seemed to be the manual for what every fat girl wants to say instead of a story. I also had a hard time visualizing a personality for Cannie, she seemed more an alter ego for the author. When I have to be told she is funny, she is a good person, and I'm not reading these qualities, that is never a good sign.

But then we delved into the character's childhood and I started relating to her, and then she did start to be funny and lovable. The quirky actress never seemed real and...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2012 Danielle rated it 1 of 5 stars

this book had a lot of things going on---none of it was interesting.

it starts off with this ross-and-rachel-"break" situation and a (semi) harsh column about dating a 'large' woman, and then it turns into a soap opera (i expected an evil twin to appear)! it was just bad. real bad.

also: she was a size 16, at 5'10, with big boobs!! lord. really. cry me a river.

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Lisa Kay rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-chick-lit, reviewed-by-me, authors-w, authors-j

I have to be honest and say that this book is not my cup-of-tea. So, consider that when you see the one star rating. I don't like reading a book with what feels like a lump in my throat the whole time. I like a release from the pressure at least every once in awhile. I didn't particularly like Cannie and yet I disliked what happened to her. I ended taking this book to work and putting it in the 'free if you want pile'. Someone I worked with picked it up, read it, and gave it a few more stars tha...more

7 likes · like · see review

Feb 04, 2009 Ashley rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book hurt my soul. I found that I couldn't put it down... It's not well written, completely mindless and the story is nonsense.

9 likes · like · see review

May 19, 2008 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was typical "pink lit" and I wasn't overly impressed. From reading the authors bio you learn that admittedly it is a based on her life, except it's a highly unlikely fantasy she once had when a boyfriend broke up with her. And it does read like self-indulgent wank, that is until the part where she goes crazy. That was a bit interesting, though it was self-indulgent wank on the characters part there.

It was a decent, quick mindless read on a hot day if you feel the need to read a romance pack...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2007 Lindsey rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those looking for a rainy day book

It's been a while since I read this one, but it was really good. She goes through complete humiliation and has her own self-hatred thrown up in her face in a national magazine. She learns to move on and when she thinks that she can finally make it, the rain really pours down on her. She eventually finds love for herself as well as someone to love her for who she is. It's the old 'you have to love yourself before you can expect anyone else to love you' story. Great book. I think it is definitely...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 10, 2011 Ellen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, romance, reviewed, read-2011

Whiny and self-indulgent wish fulfillment. This book left a bad taste in my mouth. I should've just reread Bridget Jones's Diary.

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 27, 2008 Lightreads rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, romance

Snarky, plus-sized heroin deals with life and love and all that. There's a fair amount to criticize here -- the vast over reliance
on coincidence as a literary device, the unevenness of an author who started out to write a funny book and then realized halfway through that she had more
here to work with so maybe she should get a little serious. But that's just the thing, there's more here to work with. The endnotes to this book explained
a lot of my more spectacular eye roll moments; this is a first...more

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've been on a light reading kick, and -- after discovering Marian Keyes -- have really been enjoying myself. Keyes deals with dark themes -- like addiction, infidelity and depression -- while managing to be incredibly funny. I mainly picked up this book because I'd run across a comparison of the two authors somewhere.

And this book does deal with some darker themes. And, there is some attempt at humor -- although for the most part, it falls flat. Weiner is at her best when writing witty comebac...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Abbi Kay rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. If Cannie had ended up with Bruce, I would have given this book 1 star.
Mercifully, she didn't. I'd say it deserves anywhere between a 3-3.5.

Cannie's natural humor and wit made this book enjoyable. I was laughing out loud every other page! On some level, I could easily relate to her...actually on many levels, she and I matched.

I couldn't stand Bruce though. I knew he was a douchebag from the beginning even though some characters insisted he was a "a good guy."

Whatever.

Possibly the most selfish,...more

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Sep 26, 2012 V. L. rated it 1 of 5 stars

I did not like this book at all. See at first you gotta laugh at Canny's little antics and how horrifide she feels when she reads that first editorial from her ex-boyfriend... You go along for the ride and think about what YOU would do if you were in her shoes... But after a while her antics drove me crazy - the book was predictable and the Oh poor poor little me routine becomes old after awhile... Maybe I got the wrong impression when I bought the book and I was looking for something funny, hil...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Hillary rated it 2 of 5 stars

I knew going in that this would be light, beach-read chicklit, and that's ok. I thought the premise was interesting and amusing, i.e. protagonist Cannie finds out ex-boyfriend got a job writing a sex column at Cosmo-esque magazine and starts laying out their intimacies for millions of readers. The characters were decent enough and believable, at least to start. Then things started going off the rails for me. First of all, a fat woman named "Cannie"? Please. Secondly, Cannie is supposed to be a j...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Shauna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would have passed this over as total fluff or a hyped up romance novel had it not been for the fact that my best friend brought it to my house & suggested I read it. After a slightly embarrassing moment in which I had to tell my 60's something male surgeon that I was reading a book called Good in Bed, I dug in and stayed there for 2 days.

While touted as, "a contemporary Cinderella tale told with intelligence, wit, and style," it was not at all the romantic fluff I expected.

The heroine- Ca...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 D. VonThaer rated it 2 of 5 stars

I only gave the two stars because I feel like she spelled everything properly and her editing team is fabulous.

In my opinion, this book was supposed to be: fun, anti-skinny, anti-establishment, overweight but smart and witty girl finds herself in a low place and does some shady things to boost her self-confidence. In the meantime, she digs herself into a hole and pulls herself right out of it with wit, charm, and a little bit of good luck. She is the heroine to her own story! Yeah! Girl-power!

W...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 22, 2012 Kristyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

What is it with wanting the one who doesn't want you anymore? If you were ever unsure of a relationship, broke it off, and then changed your mind, only to find out he's not interested anymore... only makes you want him more?
This is exactly how Cannie felt when she broke it off with her boyfriend Bruce. She found out the hard way that you should always listen to both your mind and your heart, oh and your best friends! Add daddy problems to the situation and you've got yourself a good book. They a...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Michelle Powers rated it 1 of 5 stars

At page 50ish I thought “I don’t think I like this book” but I kept reading (why do I do that?!).

At page 98 I was talking to a friend on the phone and said “I think I’m going to stop reading this but let me get to page 100.

At page 110 I starting skimming/reading. By the time I got to the end, page 370something I thought “Why did I do that?!” Well I know why I did that…I felt I should read the book because Karen Grimwood, a friend who I had way-way-way back when, told me it was such a good book...more

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About Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner was born in 1970 on an army base in Louisiana. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Princeton University. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Central Pennsylvania, Lexington, Kentucky, and Philadelphia, before the publication of her first novel, GOOD IN BED, in 2001. She is the author of the novels IN HER SHOES (2002), which was turned into a major motion picture; LITTLE...more

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Quotes from Good in Bed

“I've learned a lot this year.. I learned that things don't always turn our the way you planned, or the way you think they should. And I've learned that there are things that go wrong that don't always get fixed or get put back together the way they were before. I've learned that some broken things stay broken, and I've learned that you can get through bad times and keep looking for better ones, as long as you have people who love you.” — 356 people liked it

“When I was five I learned to read. Books were a miracle to me - white pages, black ink, and new worlds and different friends in each one. To this day, I relish the feeling of cracking a binding for the first time, the anticipation of where I'll go and whom I'll meet inside.” — 220 people liked it

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Good in Bed (Cannie Shapiro #1)

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