Description from Audible…
“Cannie Shapiro never wanted to be famous. The smart, sharp, plus-sized pop culture reporter was perfectly content writing about other people’s lives in the pages of the Philadelphia Examiner. But the day she opened up a national women’s magazine to find out that her ex-boyfriend has been chronicling their ex-sex life is the day her life changes forever.
Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world, Bruce has written. And Cannie – who never knew that Bruce saw her as a larger woman, or thought that loving her was an act of courage – is plunged into misery, and into the most amazing year of her life.”
At 53, I thought I was still a huge sucker for a happy ending, Yes… still.
At least I have the decency to blush?
For several years now, I had set a goal to read more. In 2022, I am finally prioritizing it as one of my daily success habits, those little, non-negotiable things that I enjoy and can fit into my day. I believe in the Butterfly Effect and that small acts will have affects amplified by many orders of magnitude.
I’m guessing I’m in good company here, that my yet-to-be-read book collection doth spilleth over. And I’m weak. I just keep buying more. Though I’ve actually now read more books already so far this year than I did in all of 2021, so I suppose it’s fair to say I’ve finally developed a strategy that seems to be working for me.
I’ve given myself permission to have two books on the go at once. One audiobook. One physical paperback. One, educational or self-help in nature. The other… pure entertainment.
I haven’t allowed myself to read what I would categorize as fluff in years. Considering the individual challenges of the last two years everyone has endured… I’ve decided this form of escape is basically an act of self-preservation here; my personal effort at countering burn-out, by choosing rest and simple pleasures more often.
In that vein, Good In Bed paired perfectly well with my other current choice: Caroline Dooner’s Tired As F*ck. Which I may review another day, but overall would recommend. Especially if you would list self-improvement as your hobby, and if you’re exhausted from the overall hustle and the grind of pursuing your (perfectionist-leaning?) version of success, on top of the incessantly loud noise of diet culture.
I had read a couple other Jennifer Weiner books in the past, and watched In Her Shoes. Several times, in fact. So I had a fair idea what this author would deliver, including the promise of some genuine LOLs. Throw in a love/love gone bad story with a fat girl main character… Well, I was an easy sell for me to choose this one.
So, while I enjoyed the listen on Audible and the story for what it was…
Spoiler Alert:
What I’m about to say may not even constitute a true spoiler alert. I mean… why on earth was I caught off guard and more than mildly disappointed when a book by an author known for a substantial collection of books where the characters follow the prescribed, tried-and-true story arc that ultimately culminate in a happy ending… delivered a perfectly textbook happy ending?
Had I honestly expected a radical deviation or anything different?
…or is it entirely more possible that I have just become that deeply, fundamentally cynical in my middle-age and considerable contrary life experience?
How can even your most innocent entertainment choices and favourite escapes cause one to over-analyze, ffs?
So much for balance, after all? 🤣
What’s your literary genre of choice? What’s your current read? Let me know here if you love it, if you’d recommend it, and why?