It's a hoot...

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted
Elizabeth Berg

Genre: short story, chick-lit
Pages: 270
Rating:****

I have checked out many books by Elizabeth Berg....but never got around to reading them.  Well, I came across this book and I had to read it.  All because of the title: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.  Who can resist a book with that title!

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted is a collection of short stories.  The stories are centered around the lives and emotions of women.  The subtitle is And Other Small Acts of Liberation.

It is hard to write a review on this book.  I loved reading it, but the stories are varied and rarely have repeat characters.  Some are laugh out loud funny, others are bittersweet.  There are two in the middle that just kind of dragged.  Each gives an insight into how women think.  I noticed myself in several of the stories, even though I am younger than the women in the book.  I take that back there is a young girl in one story.  Most, but not all, center around food and weight.  Could women really spend that much time thinking about their weight and food?  Probably so.

The draw back to me was the language.  The F-word was dropped more than once, along with other words, but they were in context and fit with the characters.  It was very well written and enjoyable, except for two.  I will definitely check out other books by Berg.

- Caren