Oh my. If the cover doesn't clue you in to what kind of book this is ~ check out the cat in the wig & specks ~ then you're in for a wild ride. This book is a trip. Ms. Peck has a sharp sense of humor and isn't above poking fun at anyone, including herself.Originally self-published for her friends, her family, and her cat (a woman after my own heart!), this book is a fun romp through someone else's life. She pulls no punches in recounting the way she terrorized her younger sisters and peers by being driven to be the "first, fastest, loudest and best" in everything, and it's so refreshing to read about an overweight woman who isn't trying to fit into the heroin-chick mold everyone else strives to fill. She has no qualms telling it like it is, makes no excuses and offers no apologies, and you can't help but love her for that.In regards to the title, she says, "No self-respecting fat girl ever really trusts a lawn chair." She tackles everything from weight issues to peeing in the woods ~ nothing is sacred to her, nothing is out of bounds. And cat lovers will enjoy the few essays written from the point of view of Babycakes, her spoiled feline friend.One of the better memoirs I've read in a while. So many women will relate to Ms. Peck, regardless of their own personal sexuality. I look forward to reading more of her work.
This is something I came across when I searched for "fat" in my library catalog. A lot of the books that came up were (obviously) about losing fat, this was another that was about being fat. It was not activisty, which is good and bad. It started slow, but there are bits in there worth reading, like the title piece, as well as the one about the bat in her house, and the cat using Skinnerian psychology on her housemate. I'd look forward to reading her next offering (Revenge of the Paste Eaters), but I don't think I'd buy either one of them - my memoir/humor money will be spent on Laurie Notaro.
Do You like book Fat Girls And Lawn Chairs (2004)?
Maybe I was expecting too much, but Iwasn't crazy about the book. An essay here and there was wonderful,but there were too many that just seemed like the ramblings of thattalkative person seated next to you on the plane who won't let youget back to your book. Perhaps she needed a better editor.The essays I liked, however, I really liked. My favorite essay fromthe book was questionably "The Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company". Inthis essay, Peck tells about her grandmother with such love that Iwish I'd known her. Well, I suppose in a way I have.
—Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance
the whole dont judge a book by its cover thing.. i got this book because i love that color green, and orange cats. then i realized it was a memoir by an author i already didnt like her last book. i enjoy short story memoir funny whatever books but didnt like cheryl's writing style. i kept this in my work desk drawer for reading emergencies, when i had nothing else to read, but i finally realized i havent read it in probably a yr and im just not going to ever finish it, despite the cute cover. something about her writing style, or her life, or i'm not sure, but it just never appeals to me, while similar books by other authors really do.
—Merredith
