book data
164 ratings,
3.82
average rating, 28 reviews
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published
March 2nd 2005
(first published 2004)
by Bloomsbury USA
binding
Paperback, 288 pages
isbn
1582345538
(isbn13: 9781582345536)
description
Vibrant, vivacious, and gorgeous, Wendy Shanker is a fat girl who has simply had enough-enough of family, friends, co-workers, women's magazines, even...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 262)
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5 stars (47)
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4 stars (61)
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3 stars (39)
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2 stars (13)
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1 star (4)
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avg 3.82
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in June, 2008
One of my new favorites!
If Wendy Shanker in real life is anything like Wendy Shanker author, I really want to hang out with her. Anyone who writes, “I have no patience for people who won’t eat this and won’t eat that…Three cheers for discipline but, like, stay home and eat.” is someone I want to know. YES! Stay home, indeed. Being a scone/muffin/pastry-a-day gal myself, an immediate sense of camaraderie flooded my senses upon reading these lines and it has stayed. Shanker, ...more
If Wendy Shanker in real life is anything like Wendy Shanker author, I really want to hang out with her. Anyone who writes, “I have no patience for people who won’t eat this and won’t eat that…Three cheers for discipline but, like, stay home and eat.” is someone I want to know. YES! Stay home, indeed. Being a scone/muffin/pastry-a-day gal myself, an immediate sense of camaraderie flooded my senses upon reading these lines and it has stayed. Shanker, ...more
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Another book that is legendary in the Curvy revolution. There were many things as a plus size woman in here I found myself agreeing with, this book came out, just as the revolution was begining, and may or may not have had a hand in shaping it.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
people who look like me or have ever...um...seen someone who looks like me?
What I learned from this book: Ghandi isn't the only preaching the words "Be the change you want to see in the world."
I thought this book was very funny, easy to read, and in my case, very easy to relate to. I enjoyed the stats that would spring up; as well as the way she stressed drawing your own conclusions after presenting new information.
All in all, I liked it a lot but think it's time for a second edition (for example, her example "hot chick" is...more
I thought this book was very funny, easy to read, and in my case, very easy to relate to. I enjoyed the stats that would spring up; as well as the way she stressed drawing your own conclusions after presenting new information.
All in all, I liked it a lot but think it's time for a second edition (for example, her example "hot chick" is...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
fat girls, skinny chicks, moms of daughters
I liked this and think she presented some interesting points about size issues. There were times when her voice irritated me and left me believing that she only thinks it's okay to be fat if you work out regularly. Like, I'm fat but I hit my target heart rate like I'm supposed to but YOU are fat and you just sit around all day with Ben and Jerry so you're a BAD kind of fat.
She wasn't saying it outright, but I saw it in the in-betweens. Still, mostly a good read and made me really thi...more
She wasn't saying it outright, but I saw it in the in-betweens. Still, mostly a good read and made me really thi...more
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Read in January, 2005
Wendy was walking through my head! I thought, does she KNOW me?
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Read in January, 2005
this book is for every woman who obssesses over her weight. It is not about not being healthy, but more about not beating yourself up when all your attempts at losing weight have gone to shit. It's about confronting the myths and lies that people have about big and skinny people. Shanker uses humor to address the way people who obsess over their weight, and those who critisize others about their weight and to find confidence in ourselves just as we are.
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Read in April, 2009
Interesting..very interesting look at what a lot of women deal with.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone with body image isses
"The Fat Girl's Guide to Life" was a very funny true story/memoir about Wendy Shanker. It made me feel good about my size, and not to ever let others get me down. So long as you take care of yourself, and you feel good, you can be happy in your own skin. That is what I feel I learned the most from this book, and I laughed a lot along the way.
She is a very witty and good writer!
She is a very witty and good writer!
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in July, 2006
recommends it for:
girls who are sick of dieting!
This is a hilarious book written by a thick Jewish woman who tells it like it is for us bigger girls out there...she is unfailingly honest, intelligent, and witty, which is a great combination when you're tackling such a sensitive issue. She preaches about living the kind of life you want to live RIGHT NOW instead of waiting for a better, skinnier tomorrow. Amem, sista friend.
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Rachelle by:
Nan Little
This is a very enjoyable and thought provoking book, especially if you suffer from body image issues (even if you're not a FAT girl). Learn to love the body you live in, but keep it healthy. Fit and Fat are not mutually exclusive. This is the second time I've read this book, and both times it reiterates that I have to love the one and only body I will ever have.
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Read in August, 2007
a.maz.ing. seriously. i mean, well, not so much the parts where she's like "i'm so fat and gross i need to go to a hospital and pay tens of thousands of dollars to lose weight," but much of the rest. it's banging to have a girl be all showing how society's relationship to fat is f'ed and a lot more complicated than concerns about your "health" or "happiness."
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I thought it was a funny book. I think it started out really good and had some really good points but by the end I felt like she was just complaining and really does not feel good about herself(when the whole point of the book is to help people feel good about themselves). Overall I thought that it was a good, funny book.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone who is feeling badly about their size
A must read for anyone above the average size - and even for anyone who is of average size so they can get an insight as to how it is to be "the F word". I'd like to give my doctor a copy of this book...maybe she can learn a bit of bedside manner when it comes to speaking to me about my size.
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This book was given to me by one of my best friends. I just like this book because it helps you to feel a little more comfortable in your skin while having a good sense of humor. I have read it more than once and do so whenever I'm having "body image issues".
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recommends it for:
Anyone who has struggled with their weight
Wendy Shanker is not only an amazing author but also a good friend, so I may be a bit biased. However I read this before I met her and was so inspired by it - it totally makes you think about body image issues in a new way, and laugh while you do it
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Girls
A fabulously funny, yet brutally honest book from a Fat Girl to fat girls everywhere. Littered with factoids and statistics, personal stories and anecdotes, I simply couldn't put it down. She's easy to relate to and it was refreshingly non-fiction.
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Read in March, 2008
Ms. Shanker is an intelligent, witty writer. This was a great book about loving yourself despite your weight (no matter if you are thin, average, or overweight). Terrific read. (Just an FYI: she occasionally uses crude language.)
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Read in February, 2008
As much as I agree with a lot of what she says, Wendy Shanker tends to first debunk all health and obesity statistics, and then use those same statistics to support her arguments... still, she's mostly right.
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Really interesting book about living the life as a "fluffy" girl. Some parts were kind of slow, but overall it was written in a witty style. I especially love the ending. It makes the whole book worth the read.
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Read in September, 2006
Basically a "Yeah I'm fat. Get over it." type of book. Brash and really accusatory of nonfat people. Not empowering, and not intelligent. Funny in some parts, but mostly boring bullcrap.
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