The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg; Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (April 15, 2008); ISBN-10: 0739331906; Read by Elizabeth Berg
Rating: 5 0f 5 STARS
Source: Randomly picked up at the public library
This is a perfect example of why I check out audio books from the public library. I would never, ever have chosen this book to read. I think I remember looking at it in a bookstore and found the cover to be...well....tacky. The audio version at our library has a plain cover with just the title of the book. I probably wouldn't have even tried it as an audio if it had the same cover as the book. Just a big turn off for me. Good lesson not to judge a book by its cover. :o)
Oh, but what I would have been missing! Berg wrote 13 beautiful short stories about women and their relationships and lives that will speak to any woman's heart. She writes about long marriages, about regretted divorces, about friendships, about old boyfriends, about favorite old pets, about being a widow, about dying....and every story is sprinkled liberally with FOOD. Is she writing from a Christian worldview? No. Are there some things that some might find offensive? Yes...but not much.
Frankly, I was sad when I reached the end of the last CD. I even bought the book last week (tacky cover art and all) because from the point of view of someone who wants to write, I think I could learn a lot about the craft from Ms. Berg. I want to take these stories apart and figure out how she did it....She made me laugh, she made me cry, she made me think, "Yes, that's the way I feel sometimes, too."
And then there's the whole thing with Berg being the reader of her own audio book. I've never liked that - an author who reads their own book. I've never seen it done well. I mean, just because you can write a book doesn't mean you can "perform" it in audio. It's two totally different creative gifts, I think. Well - apparently Berg is gifted in both areas. She does a fabulous job of reading. Totally believable and enjoyable to listen to.
Here's the list of stories:
1. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted 2. Returns and Exchanges 3. The Party 4. Over the Hill and into the Woods 5. Full Count 6. Rain 7. The Day I Ate Nothing I Even Remotely Wanted 8. Mrs. Ethel Menafee and Mrs. Birdie Stoltz 9. Double Diet 10. The Only One of Millions Just Like Him 11. Truth or Dare 12. How to Make an Apple Pie 13. Sin City
My favorite? Hmmm....that's really hard to say. Maybe How to Make an Apple Pie. It's an older woman writing a letter to a younger woman to share her family apple pie recipe. But really it's about her passing down some hard learned life-wisdom. Or maybe Full Count, the story of a little girl who painfully realizes she's overweight. Or maybe Returns and Exchanges, about a woman who discovers that her old high school boyfriend doesn't hold a candle to her husband of 30-plus years. Really, they were all excellent.
Read it....Or listen to it, I'm turning in the audio book to the library today. Check it out - I think you'll really enjoy! Oh - and here's some "Good Words" from the book here and here.
Rating: 5 0f 5 STARS
Source: Randomly picked up at the public library
This is a perfect example of why I check out audio books from the public library. I would never, ever have chosen this book to read. I think I remember looking at it in a bookstore and found the cover to be...well....tacky. The audio version at our library has a plain cover with just the title of the book. I probably wouldn't have even tried it as an audio if it had the same cover as the book. Just a big turn off for me. Good lesson not to judge a book by its cover. :o)
Oh, but what I would have been missing! Berg wrote 13 beautiful short stories about women and their relationships and lives that will speak to any woman's heart. She writes about long marriages, about regretted divorces, about friendships, about old boyfriends, about favorite old pets, about being a widow, about dying....and every story is sprinkled liberally with FOOD. Is she writing from a Christian worldview? No. Are there some things that some might find offensive? Yes...but not much.
Frankly, I was sad when I reached the end of the last CD. I even bought the book last week (tacky cover art and all) because from the point of view of someone who wants to write, I think I could learn a lot about the craft from Ms. Berg. I want to take these stories apart and figure out how she did it....She made me laugh, she made me cry, she made me think, "Yes, that's the way I feel sometimes, too."
And then there's the whole thing with Berg being the reader of her own audio book. I've never liked that - an author who reads their own book. I've never seen it done well. I mean, just because you can write a book doesn't mean you can "perform" it in audio. It's two totally different creative gifts, I think. Well - apparently Berg is gifted in both areas. She does a fabulous job of reading. Totally believable and enjoyable to listen to.
Here's the list of stories:
1. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted 2. Returns and Exchanges 3. The Party 4. Over the Hill and into the Woods 5. Full Count 6. Rain 7. The Day I Ate Nothing I Even Remotely Wanted 8. Mrs. Ethel Menafee and Mrs. Birdie Stoltz 9. Double Diet 10. The Only One of Millions Just Like Him 11. Truth or Dare 12. How to Make an Apple Pie 13. Sin City
My favorite? Hmmm....that's really hard to say. Maybe How to Make an Apple Pie. It's an older woman writing a letter to a younger woman to share her family apple pie recipe. But really it's about her passing down some hard learned life-wisdom. Or maybe Full Count, the story of a little girl who painfully realizes she's overweight. Or maybe Returns and Exchanges, about a woman who discovers that her old high school boyfriend doesn't hold a candle to her husband of 30-plus years. Really, they were all excellent.
Read it....Or listen to it, I'm turning in the audio book to the library today. Check it out - I think you'll really enjoy! Oh - and here's some "Good Words" from the book here and here.
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1 comment:
Thank you for this review...I always see this one in the bookstore but don't have a strong enough interest to read it but I never thought of checking it out in audiobook form. I'll have to give it a try.
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