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May 25, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

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, " More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2008

Bonnie rated it:

Either thought this below her standards or else the topic simply didn't interest me. Did not finish reading.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2012

Jane rated it:

My feelings while reading this: sadness, regret, loneliness, loss of loved ones, bittersweet reminiscing, pleasant comfort.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This book has about thirteen short stories. One has stories within a story. Each story is about different, unrelated people. Almost every story has sadness – in different ways. In most stories someone is dying or will die of cancer, leukemia, brain tumor, or similar. In one story, someone regrets that she was cruel and mean to a date More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 21, 2008

E rated it:

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...

6 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2008

Sarah rated it:

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. More...

4 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jul 10, 2008

Joanna rated it:

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 More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2009

Ariela rated it:

Berg has an uncanny ability to draw you so deeply into her character’s lives that you feel as if you know them. I often found myself smiling as I read about them, loving how Michael (in the story “Rain”) left his high-powered city job for life in the county. Berg describes everything from how he built his home, to the spaghetti sauce his friends made using the riches in his garden, to the minute ways in which Michael changed when the uncertainties of life finally took their toll. Berg’s stories More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 09, 2009

Evanston Public added it

Berg’s wonderful short stories—witty and droll yet expressing a knowing sympathy for her characters—are perfectly crafted gems of self discovery, change, and renewal. The stories contain a broad range of personalities and situations: the pre-teen on the edge of puberty whose self image as a cute girl is devastatingly changed when she overhears a cousin call her a fatty; the older couple reduced to ridiculous displays grief and wondering if life’s worth living when their aged dog is dying; a reci More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 11, 2009

Becky rated it:

This book is a series of shorts (both fiction and non) that revolve around women and their small acts of personal liberation. Some stories were okay while others were a real gem.

I especially liked the first short of Berg's day where she ate whatever she wanted. I cheered her the whole way through (even to her next day weigh-in at Weight Watchers.) If you don't really like Berg's writing style, the book is still worth a pick up if ONLY to read this first story. The other story tha More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 21, 2009

Jodi rated it:

A collection of short stories about women at various stages in their lives. Many of the stories dealt with how we as women, tend to deny ourselves things we would like because we are so busy taking care of others. 3 stories in particular stand out in my memory and I will mention them below.

"The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted" and "The Day I Ate Nothing I Wanted": In a culture so obsessed with appearances women are often so concerned with their weight and are const More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Rachel rated it:

I thought that the appeal of this book would be lost on me due to the fact that I am not yet a middle aged wife and mother. It was something I picked up and sort of thumbed through while visiting my parents for Christmas, and I just ended up borrowing from my mother and reading the whole thing. As with all collections of stories, some parts are better than others, but overall, this was a pretty solidly entertaining book, with a couple of truly excellent stories.

I think the best t More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Casey rated it:

Couldn't figure how do do a half a star - as in 2 and a half - so I went with 2. That being said, some of the stories in this book were fun, enchanting and/or sad. Others were totally annoying and made me crazy. But now that I've finished I couldn't give you the names of any of the stories, or what the plot of a particular story was. Sad. Easy to see that this book just didn't stay with me, it was something to read (and was for my book discussion group) so I read it. I doubt that I would suggest More...

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Jan 19, 2009

Bella rated it:

With a title like this one, how could I pass it up? Actually, the title is what drew me to the book. I was at the library, checking out the books I had on hold, and I saw this one. I thought it looked interesting, so I checked it out as well.

I'm so glad I did. These stories were really good. Told from various women's perspectives, the common theme through each one seems to be about women standing their ground and making their voices or choices known. Very empowering. Definit More...

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Dec 20, 2008

Mangy rated it:

This book is a collection of short stories about women (mostly middle-aged and older) who make small attempts (intended and unintended) to change from some behavior that is considered normal or common for them, and what happened as a result.

To be completely honest, as I read through the first handful of stories, I began to wonder why I was wasting my time. Though the characters were deep and very endearing, and the writing was at times quite delicious, the tales seemed to be about wo More...

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May 15, 2008

Annette rated it:

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.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jun 01, 2011

Booksintheburbs rated it:

This is a wonderful book of short stories that every woman has either experienced, imagined, or knows of someone who has had that experience. The short stories are actually detailed enough to know the character, the issue/dilemma, and be satisfied with the ending despite it not being a novel. I laughed out loud reading some of the chapters, cried a few tears, and found myself really understanding and appreciating the journey these women experience. With every book I read, I tend to read prett More...

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Aug 27, 2008

melanie (lit*chick) rated it:

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?

12 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2012

Cass rated it:

I actually checked this book out from the IF library on my Kindle! It was free and I have it for 14 days. Then I guess it just disappears from the Kindle.

This was a collection of short stories that were written about more mature (older) women . The title story was about rebelling against a weight-watchers diet. I got the book because of the title and my feelings about the diet I'm on right now. Other stories had some offensive material in them and some language so I don't really rec More...

0 comments like

May 21, 2009

Cara rated it:

I need fluffy, escapist reading! This should do the trick.

...

Having read most of this book now, it turns out I was wrong in the above assessment. Well, there is some fluff in there, but overally, the book is better and a lot less happy than I expected.

First of all, it's a short story collection, not a novel. This fact somehow escaped my notice when I picked it, so for the first few stories, I kept waiting for the connections among the characters to be reveale More...

0 comments like

Sep 12, 2008

Dotty rated it:

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.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 29, 2008

Cindy rated it:

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.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 12, 2009

Arapahoe Library District rated it:

I always enjoy Berg's novels, but I wasn't sure how her collection of short stories, The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, would be. As always, Berg delivers sharp and funny prose. Berg asks what would the different characters in each story do if they could have the courage to change something in their lives. There is a delightful slice of life in each and every story. The characters are like a more interesting, pithy ( but real ) version of people we know, or want to know.This CD version, read by El More...

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Sep 15, 2011

Pam rated it:

I don't normally read short stories; much prefer novels, but something about this one intriqued me and anything by Elizabeth Berg is readable. I would have preferred to just read one story at a time instead of reading the whole book at once but I've found that if I only read one or two stories in a book of short stories, I never get back to finish the book so this time I read the whole book before starting a new novel.
They were interesting stories and didn't leave me frustrated like most s More...

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May 06, 2008

Jess rated it:

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.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 21, 2011

Laura added it

The other day I was scheduled to read from my own work at a book signing, and I wanted so much to read the title story of this book aloud to everyone. These stories, most of them, took me back twenty years to the way I felt when I was reading short stories all the time in graduate school and wishing desperately--DESPERATELY--to do what those writers did with experiences both mortifying and profound, to find just the right metaphor and tone to tell the truth, such as it was, and make the truth f More...

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May 12, 2008

Jane rated it:

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.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 08, 2011

Caren rated it:

It is hard to write a review on this book. I loved reading it, but the stories are varied and rarely have repeat characters. Some are laugh out loud funny, others are bittersweet. There are two in the middle that just kind of dragged. Each gives an insight into how women think. I noticed myself in several of the stories, even though I am younger than the women in the book. I take that back there is a young girl in one story. Most, but not all, center around food and weight. Could women r More...

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May 31, 2011

Mary rated it:

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Readers Circle! Thank you - this was an awesome book!

This book would definitely make for a good book club discussion. There are 13 stories highlighted. The stories are about "real" women with real problems. They are imperfect, are fighting a few extra pounds and are carrying regrets from their past. They are also about accepting who you are, accepted those you love and being accepted by those who love you. What More...

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Jun 03, 2009

Jkdaun rated it:

While there were a handful of short stories worth reading in this collection, I found most to be sad. To think that these were some of the things women did to "liberate themselves and breakout" (as the author puts it) is heartbreaking. Their actions possessed no joy it for most of them, only regret. At best these women received a small measure of enlighenment. What is the point of "breaking out" and doing something you consider extreme or at least out of the norm in your l More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 13, 2009

Jac rated it:

These short stories mostly center around characters in their late fifties - sixties who pride themselves on homemade cooking and living the prime of their lives in a much simpler time. Maybe by sheer proxy of my age (late 20's), I found them to be charming and sassy, but also a little sad. They seemed to carry around great sorrow with them that shone through even happy or silly moments. They lived full lives: husband, children, grandchildren and are now at an age where they feel they can final More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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