The Guy Not Taken: Stories
by Jennifer Weiner (Goodreads author!)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3472)
Read in February, 2007
The Guy Not Taken is not chick lit, and is an interesting departure from the witty romantic comedies I've come to expect from Jennifer Weiner. None of the stories is really funny, and as a whole the collection is kind of depressing. The theme of each story seems to be that one of the characters is going through life feeling like something is missing and they're desperately trying to figure out how to get it back: sometimes it's an old flame, sometimes it's self-confidence, and--in many cases, it...more
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Read in May, 2008
Eh. It wasn't terrible. What it boils down to is this: I'm not a fan of short story collections, and I'm particularly not a fan of those written by authors I'm familiar with who bring a certain expectation with their name.
With Weiner, I expect at least a modicum of lightness and humor -- I was saddened to see that she, like most short story writers, tried a little too hard to fill the brief pages with meaning and substance. The result is the feeling that it's all a little forced, each story ...more
With Weiner, I expect at least a modicum of lightness and humor -- I was saddened to see that she, like most short story writers, tried a little too hard to fill the brief pages with meaning and substance. The result is the feeling that it's all a little forced, each story ...more
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Read in June, 2006
recommends it for:
women, mothers, divorcees (and children thereof)
I enjoy Jennifer Weiner's writing normally, but I was disappointed with this collection of short stories. Many of them have the same set-up: we meet a single career girl, flash back to the guy who hurt her (and the supportive family/friends who warned her not to get involved), then flash back to the current situation with the new guy who might be the one. I enjoyed seeing Cannie and her dog Nifkin reappear in one of the stories.
My favorite story was the one from which the book gets its tit...more
My favorite story was the one from which the book gets its tit...more
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Read in January, 2007
Although I flew through the book (very easy reading), the short storylines all seemed to have the same gist. I really did enjoy listening to "Good in Bed" by Jennifer Weiner, but the style of these short stories is extremely reminiscent of that book and each other. The relationships of the main characters did not differ enough to really keep me captivated through to the end of the book.
My scale (since the speed of my reading is directly proportional to how well I like the book): ...more
My scale (since the speed of my reading is directly proportional to how well I like the book): ...more
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Read in June, 2008
The book states it's a series of short stories... but the book really isn't a series of short stories. The book itself is really a short story but rather a story that's told in episodic chapters but all the stories are chronologically accurate and follow the same story line. I always assumed short stories would be unrelated.
Anyway, so far the book is... ok I like the main character but her sister Nicki over shadows her and is really a complete narcissical bi!#h !!!! Everything abou the litt...more
Anyway, so far the book is... ok I like the main character but her sister Nicki over shadows her and is really a complete narcissical bi!#h !!!! Everything abou the litt...more
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Read in December, 2007
I started to read this because I thought that it would be chick lit. I was in the mood to read a fun book with little substance. The book title/cover, along with Weiner's other books, just screamed chick lit. This collection of short stories most definitely is not chick lit. This is a really strong collection of stories on a broad range of topics.
The standouts in the collection...
Swim- About a college graduate who is having trouble putting her English degree to good use. Deals with misco...more
The standouts in the collection...
Swim- About a college graduate who is having trouble putting her English degree to good use. Deals with misco...more
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Read in June, 2008
I enjoyed this little collection of short stories, mostly because I generally like Jennifer Weiner's writing style, as well as her typical subject matter of the urban, but geeky smart-girl who just wants to be happy while learning to accept/embrace her relationships with slightly disfunctional family members. Her style is very realistic and easy-flowing chick lit. I also liked the short story format, which allowed me to keep coming back to this book for a little diversionary enjoyment. It is w...more
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Read in September, 2007
I actually waited quite awhile before purchasing this book. I loved the first book by this author, Good In Bed, but her last few novels were just yuck. This book is a collection a short stories, and I think they ranged from really, really good (Buyer's Market, The Mother's Hour) to just ok (Just Desserts, Travels with Nicki). My favorite story was by far The Mother's Hour - you could relate to the main character and her conflicting feelings.
I wasn't a huge fan of the title story, but I thoug...more
I wasn't a huge fan of the title story, but I thoug...more
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Read in August, 2008
2.5 I picked up this book optimistically - I liked Weiner's first three novels, and while I'm not typically a fan of the modern short story, I thought it might be fun. However, the stories in the collection, while technically well-written, are generally unhappy and depressing, each focusing on at least two of several themes that surface repeatedly throughout the book: infidelity/abandonment/divorce, absentee fathers, the restorative effects of swimming, and self-loathing/low self-esteem. A few...more
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Read in January, 2008
I started reading this on the airplane on the way from Tampa to New Orleans, and finished it on the way from Baton Rouge to Tokyo. Great book to read on a plane ride since it's short stories.
I thought this was a pretty good book. They are stories Jennifer Weiner wrote at different times in her life, and at the back of the book you can read about how/why each one was written. The first three stories in the book actually read more like three chapters of the same book (they all have the same...more
I thought this was a pretty good book. They are stories Jennifer Weiner wrote at different times in her life, and at the back of the book you can read about how/why each one was written. The first three stories in the book actually read more like three chapters of the same book (they all have the same...more
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Read in May, 2008
Jennifer Weiner brings back a few of the characters from her previous novels in this collection of short stories. Her style is smart but down to earth. My favorite story of the batch was "The Mother's Hour".
This collection moves us a few years down the road from her previous novels -- now many of her characters are transitioning from single career women trying to find the right guy to the next phase of life as moms of young children trying to balance their kids' needs, their hu...more
This collection moves us a few years down the road from her previous novels -- now many of her characters are transitioning from single career women trying to find the right guy to the next phase of life as moms of young children trying to balance their kids' needs, their hu...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Andrea by:
friends, womenrecommends it for: friends
Julie let me borrow this book. So far it has been a quick read and I am enjoying it. Following the life of a young woman and her middle-aged, divorced mother, angst driven sister, and quiet brother, the tale is chopped into short stories which are seemingly all connected to this point.
After the first three stories; however, the book splits into unconnected short stories. The tales are moving and are pretty easy to get into. I don't believe I am a real short-story fan, however. I want mor...more
After the first three stories; however, the book splits into unconnected short stories. The tales are moving and are pretty easy to get into. I don't believe I am a real short-story fan, however. I want mor...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
no one
I love all of her books, but I am having such a hard time with this one. Its not interesting, and i keep debating returning it to the library before finishing it. ill keep it one more week, and if i havent gotten into it, back it goes, unread!
so i finished it on the pane and it was pretty bad. im so saddened, because i like everyhting she writes. i was planning on reading swapping lives next but i think ill hold off. the first thtree stories in this book were utterly painful. the next couple...more
so i finished it on the pane and it was pretty bad. im so saddened, because i like everyhting she writes. i was planning on reading swapping lives next but i think ill hold off. the first thtree stories in this book were utterly painful. the next couple...more
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Read in February, 2008
I love all of Jennifer Weiner's novels so I was curious as to what to expect from her short stories. While I still prefer her novels to her short stories, I found this to be an easy and entertaining read with really great insight into family and relationship love. But what I loved most about the book was her explanations about each story at the end. It really made me respect her as a writer - some of these were written when she was just 17! - and it was interesting to follow her progression as a...more
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Read in June, 2008
I liked this, but it certainly wasn't one of Jennifer Weiner's best. My favorite was her first novel, Good In Bed.
This is a collection of short stories, each with different characters. It was entertaining to read, but at the end of many of the stories, I was kind of saying "that's it?" because it felt like there should have been more. But I guess that's why it's a short story and not a book?
I enjoyed Weiner's endnotes about each story in the section at the end of the book. Her ...more
This is a collection of short stories, each with different characters. It was entertaining to read, but at the end of many of the stories, I was kind of saying "that's it?" because it felt like there should have been more. But I guess that's why it's a short story and not a book?
I enjoyed Weiner's endnotes about each story in the section at the end of the book. Her ...more
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Read in May, 2008
I listened to this one on CD. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, which may have colored my rating a little, but I did enjoy some of them. I just always feel as if they end so arbitrarily, and these were no different- I'd feel as if I was finally getting into the characters and then the story was over, and there were a couple where I just plain couldn't like the characters, which is a turn-off (the one with the NYC apartment, for instance - lord, that girl annoyed me!!). I really liked the &...more
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Read in March, 2007
I am not a short story kind of reader - except for Jeffery Archer and Jhumpa Lahiri, I struggle with short stories. I did struggle a bit with this one, but I really enjoy Jennifer Weiner so much that it was worth it. She has such a way with words that really capture the moment and make you feel as you are THERE. She also tends to depict characters that feel familiar - real. Not archetypes.
One aspect that I absolutely enjoyed about this book is that she included notes on each story - whi...more
One aspect that I absolutely enjoyed about this book is that she included notes on each story - whi...more
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Read in August, 2008
In the world of American "chick lit" or popular fiction, nobody does it better than Jennifer Weiner. I'd give this collection of short stories a higher rating, but the stories are uneven. Doesn't mean, however, that I didn't read it a single sitting or that I didn't enjoy it. I'd actually give it 3 1/2 stars, but goodreads doesn't seem to be set up for that. It's a great book for a long car trip or a day at the beach or basically when you want some entertainment that isn't precious, pr...more
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While it's still fun to read tales of love lost and found, especially in the hands of a master like Weiner, we've heard many of these tales before ("oafish" big sister victimized by the sexy younger sis, the slacker boyfriend who can't deal with growing up, the young mother who obsesses over her lost life). Add to that the continuing theme of escape from reality via swimming throughout the collection, and it feels like we've read all of these before.
If you don't mind reruns, you'l...more
If you don't mind reruns, you'l...more
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Read in August, 2008
This is my first book by Weiner and I was a little disappointed. Not because of the writing, because that was very good, but because I was hoping to get one of her novels, but the library I go to only had the stories. 11 captivating stories that keep you wanting more and are written very well. The only thing I didn't like was once I got to know the characters the story was ending and the next one would be learning new characters only for the story to end. I'm hoping to get my hands on one of her...more
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