The Day I Ate Everything I Wanted: Stories
by Elizabeth Berg
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 734)
Read in August, 2008
Reading ELizabeth Berg is kinda like eating apple pie a la mode: while you enjoy the flavor and guilty pleasure and rationalize that because it has apples it is nutritious, deep down inside you know you should be partaking of something more substantive. Nonetheless, we all need some dessert sometimes. This collection of short stories made me laugh out loud - particularly the title story, which should be read by anyone who ever tried to diet or "cut back" or went to Weight Watchers. (An...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Toni
I am not a fan of the short story genre. I don't like becoming emotionally invested in characters only to have them leave me a few pages later. (No, I do not have abandonment issues.) But, heck, I'd read the back of a cereal box if it was written by Elizabeth Berg. Fortunately, I was not disappointed and only a bit miffed at the brief time spent with her characters.
This is most definitely a women's book but it is NOT chick lit. The collection of stories are not light, romantic fluff. Rather ...more
This is most definitely a women's book but it is NOT chick lit. The collection of stories are not light, romantic fluff. Rather ...more
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Read in June, 2008
There are thirteen stories in this collection. I enjoyed reading all of them. My two favorites were:
Rain, about a guy who gives up the rat race to live a simpler life.
The Only One of Millions Just Like Him, about letting go of a beloved elderly dog.
With Elizabeth Berg, I always find something to enjoy, even in the stories I can't relate to. She makes observations about humans and life in general that are amusing or profound or both. You think to yourself, "Oh...more
Rain, about a guy who gives up the rat race to live a simpler life.
The Only One of Millions Just Like Him, about letting go of a beloved elderly dog.
With Elizabeth Berg, I always find something to enjoy, even in the stories I can't relate to. She makes observations about humans and life in general that are amusing or profound or both. You think to yourself, "Oh...more
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Read in July, 2008
I enjoyed listening to the author read these stories. As with most short story collections, some of the stories were better than others. In particular, I enjoyed the story that was a letter reading a recipe for making apple pie and the story about Michael. I think I enjoyed listening to these stories more than I would have liked reading them -- the author reading them aloud made them feel like a conversation with a favorite aunt or an old friend.
I also was glad to hear a shout out to Nora...more
I also was glad to hear a shout out to Nora...more
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Read in May, 2008
this book was defintely not as "chick-lit"-y as it looks, which was a pleasant surprise. granted, it was mainly about women, their relationships, and body image issues, but it had substance to it. i really found myself relating to the characters in these stories. my favorites were "rain" and "mrs. ethel menafee and mrs. birdie stoltz." i've never read anything by elizabeth berg before, but i definitely plan to read more of hers.
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I guess I'm learning to love short stories. I reserved this title because I read Berg's "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" and absolutely loved it. This had wonderful stories. Another reviewer wrote that Berg writes about ordinary people doing ordinary things and this hits it right on. She writes with such an easy, flowing manner and it is such a pleasure to read.
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Read in August, 2008
This is the book that I had hoped I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron would be.
Laugh out loud funny, honest, and spot on - these short stories completely capture what it feels like to be a woman.
My favorite stories were:
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted
The Party
Double Diet
Truth or Dare
What were yours?
Laugh out loud funny, honest, and spot on - these short stories completely capture what it feels like to be a woman.
My favorite stories were:
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted
The Party
Double Diet
Truth or Dare
What were yours?
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9 comments
Read in September, 2008
recommended to Dotty by:
Joanna Bell-Schmid
Short stories do not thrill me and this is the first book where I got through all of them.
All in all, a bit depressing. All of the stories are about overweight, aging women that are trying to feel alright about themselves. There were moments of goodness but I do not recommend.
All in all, a bit depressing. All of the stories are about overweight, aging women that are trying to feel alright about themselves. There were moments of goodness but I do not recommend.
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Read in April, 2008
242 pages but written so as to be a fast read. A collection of short stories with middle-aged women as the main characters. Many of these women could be me! Not only are these stories liberating, they also validate my thoughts, feelings, concerns, etc.
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i've never read Berg before, so these stories were a pleasant surprise. she has a wonderful simplicity, and creates universal truths out of the most ordinary of situations. plus she's hilarious.
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Read in May, 2008
I like Berg. Period. She writes about ordinary people doing ordinary things, so ordinary people can relate. She has a nice easy style. Quick, enjoyable, enlightening, validating.
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Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
Elizabeth Berg fans
Anyone who has noticed what I've been reading since joining Goodreads knows that I like Elizabeth Berg A LOT! I enjoyed these stories, although I think I liked the title story the least. I thought it was kind of silly. All of the stories have to do with women and the changes and challenges they face in life. What I admired about Elizabeth Berg in these stories is the way she portrayed the male characters. So many times in books about women, the men are real jerks, so it was refreshing to re...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommends it for:
Other Berg Fans, maybe some Weight Watchers, leaders & participants
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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an enjoyable collection of short stories - i laughed, i cried, i craved a krispy kreme donut
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Erma Bombeck may have started the trend but Elizabeth Berg definitely refines it with this book. There should be a new "catch-phrase" for this genre - "chick-lit" for the over 40 crowd.
I have never read Ms. Berg before but was compelled to pick this one up by the title.
It is a collection of short stories featuring "mature" women who decide, for either an hour, a day or a week to let their hair down and do something they have always wanted to do (that would ...more
I have never read Ms. Berg before but was compelled to pick this one up by the title.
It is a collection of short stories featuring "mature" women who decide, for either an hour, a day or a week to let their hair down and do something they have always wanted to do (that would ...more
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I loved Berg's early novels, however the last several have not been nearly as good. So when Josh picked this up for me at work, I wasn't that exicited and put off reading it for a while. I was pleasantly surprised. These short stories are so well written - they remind me of her early stuff. I laughed. I cried. I was sad when I finished because I wanted more.
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recommends it for:
Women Walking Fast
A great quote from the last page of the last story: "But time does not hold still, and Rita thinks now that it's a blessing, she thinks that what it means is that your life is free to make or unmake every day." The women in these short stories all consider making or unmaking their average lives in some way - a widow changes the course of her life by trading in orthopedic shoes for kitten heels and a trip to Vegas, a woman tries desperately to hide from her grown family in a closet at T...more
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This is the first book I've read from this author, and made me want to read more of her work. A collection of short stories, all about women and womens' concerns. Berg has a way of getting into my head and heart that I find remarkable. One of her characters remembered something from her childhood, which was one of my memories too. She also expressed some feeling that I thought were mine alone until I read that the character in the book felt the same way. I want to read all Berg has to offer, and...more
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Read in April, 2008
I'm just not a short story person. Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers but even she, with her considerable talents, cannot make me one. This was an enjoyable book though the pace was sort of uneven. Some stories were great, some good and a couple just OK. I found the great ones: Full Count, Rain, Mrs. Ethyl etal, and Truth or Dare frustrating because my time with the characters was too short. I wanted them to have their own books. As for the rest, I guess I would just rather be en...more
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Read in May, 2008
For some reason, I had this idea in my head that Berg had ventured into non-fiction and this was a collection of essays by various authors. Perhaps this was a factor in my extreme disappointment in this book, but I owe it more to the indiscriminate nature of the charachters. Several stories referenced Weight Watchers, which made it feel like an advertisement and dated. Only the last story really moved me in any way.
Elizabeth Berg is a fast read-I don't go in looking for substance. Had it ...more
Elizabeth Berg is a fast read-I don't go in looking for substance. Had it ...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.55 (379 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 0.0 (0 ratings) number of reviews: 160
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"Do you think that people ever really do believe they will die, that the world will just go along as always without them? I wonder if we aren't all a little surprised at the moment of crossover, if we don't look back over our shoulders saying, Now hold on."
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