Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer | 
| Author: Jen Lancaster
Publisher: NAL Trade
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.28
You Save: $6.72 (48%)
New (39) Used (34) from $5.34
Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 1813
Media: Paperback
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0451223896
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780451223890
ASIN: 0451223896
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A NOTE FROM JEN LANCASTER:
"To whom the fat rolls I'm tired of books where a self-loathing heroine is teased to the point where she starves herself skinny in hopes of a fabulous new life. And I hate the message that women can't possibly be happy until we all fit into our skinny jeans. I don't find these stories uplifting; they make me want to hug these women and take them out for fizzy champagne drinks and cheesecake and explain to them that until they figure out their insides, their outsides don't matter. Unfortunately, being overweight isn't simply a societal issue that can be fixed with a dose healthy of positive self-esteem. It s a health matter, and here on the eve of my fortieth year, I've learned I have to make changes so I don't, you know, die. Because what good if finally being able to afford a pedicure if I lose a foot to adult onset diabetes?"
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| Customer Reviews: Read 78 more reviews...
 Screw Jenny Craig...spend your hard-earned money on Jen Lancaster books! May 20, 2008
Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States)
41 out of 44 found this review helpful
Jen Lancaster just may be the funniest writer ever! I've read all three of her books, and each of them made me laugh so hard that I nearly wet myself. (I guess you really didn't need to know that, did you? Too late.)
In Jen's most recent memoir, "Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer" (love those ridiculously long titles!), Jen tackles her biggest challenge yet: her weight. Screw unemployment and psychotic Chicago neighbors: Nothing is scarier for a woman then stepping on the bathroom scale. In Jen's case, she wasn't happy with the numbers she saw on that scale, so she decided to do something about it. Well, actually, she sold a book proposal about trying to lose weight, so she kind of HAD to do something about it. But that's not the point. Jen never used to be the type of woman who would go to the gym every day (or at all). However, she decided to face her fears and give her physical well-being the same kind of attention she devoted to other important aspects of her life: her husband, her pets, her drinking, her shoe fetish, etc.
"Such a Pretty Fat" is a very honest look at what it took for Jen to get herself in shape. Nobody said it was going to be easy. She stumbled plenty of times along the way and gave nearly every diet plan a try, from Atkins to crash dieting to Jenny Craig to Weight Watchers. In the end, Jen finally realized that most diets are B.S. The key to losing weight and being healthy is to make responsible choices and (duh!) exercise. And that's exactly what Jen did.
I think "Such a Pretty Fat" is Jen's best book to date. (My only complaint is that certain chapters gave me monstrous cravings for things like ribs, Twinkies, and Olive Garden bread sticks...damn you, Jen!) Not only is the book chock full of Jen's snarky humor (and the footnotes...I LOVE the footnotes!), but it's also an inspiring true story about a plus-size woman's determination to lose weight. I really admire Jen for her honesty, her dedication, and her results. In addition to losing a lot of weight, she became a fitter person and felt much better about herself, which is really what being healthy is all about.
Highly entertaining May 12, 2008
K. Huff (New York, NY)
28 out of 31 found this review helpful
Such a Pretty Fat is Jen Lancaster's third memoir. In it, Lancaster takes on weight loss--through eating right and exercising. At first, it seems like your typical weight loss memoir, except for the fact that its Jen Lancaster writing it, with her trademark good humor and see-the-forest-through-the-trees approach to her subject matter. Jen's not an expert, but she definitely knows how to entertain, which is why I keep coming back to her work time and time again.
What I love about Lancaster's work is that she knows when to laugh at herself, and at others' foolishness, without going over the top. For example, there's brilliant scene in Such a Pretty Fat where she goes to Jenny Craig and then Weight Watchers, where the meeting participants discuss of the evils of food in the work place. Birthday cake is always, always mentioned, and Jen harps on that theme mercilessly.
In all, I thought the authors' message was a positive one for people struggling with their weight (though I'm not one of them). The message that some weight loss programs endorse is that food is evil; but Lancaster challenges that theory outright, saying that food is not, in fact, the enemy; food is in fact good for you if you eat right. Jen's weight loss resulted as a result of wanting to feel and look good, not because of outside pressures, which I also thought was an important message.
 Funny but annoying June 7, 2008
Jana Dvoric
15 out of 20 found this review helpful
Jen Lancaster has a deft comedic touch. That much is clear. She is unwaveringly honest and has no reservations about poking fun at herself, which makes this a very funny read at times. I will give her that.
However, the sheer self-centeredness of this book, and the constant whining can be overbearing. I grant you that I should have known and expected this since Lancaster openly admits to being a narcissist in the title. However, I was not prepared for just how narcissistic she was, and was hoping that she would open up the book to a larger perspective on why she's doing what she's doing and the whole health movement in general. Instead, we get page after page of her saying she's going to try, then not trying, then complaining. Rinse and repeat.
This sort of read like a blog gone completely haywire, then put onto the written page. I would recommend reading it in small doses, because Lancaster is very funny at times. But if you try to read it all at once, you will find it extremely annoying.
Third time really does Charm! May 8, 2008
Gretchen Laskas (Virginia)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
Both of Jen Lancaster's previous memoirs have been enjoyable and compulsive reading, but this one has a charm all its own. Perhaps its the ever appealing (if sometimes appalling) subject of growing up (and not out) that made this book endearing, or perhaps its the wit and winsome way the tale is told. Perhaps it is simply all the references to cheese! Lancaster's tale offers readers a glimpse of womanhood and its possiblities at 40, and unapologetically tells them to embrace it.
 Such a bad Book: Or why Jen Lancaster should stop whining. May 17, 2008
preppieblonde
14 out of 52 found this review helpful
Loved the first memoir, dislike the second, loathe the third. The real question here is why she's STILL fat after writing an entire book on her "weight loss" (since she never gives actual numbers we'll never really know if she lost weight- no before/after photos, and only a outdated b/w author photo. Get a real job Jen...And please, someone...SAVE FLETCH!
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