Customer Reviews

Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs has been compared to the writing of Erma Bombeck. It seems that publishers and publicists feel obliged, when pushing an author who is funny, to compare women to Erma Bombeck and men to Bill Bryson or Dave Barry. Sometimes they awkwardly compare a woman to Bill Bryson -- "a female Bill Bryson!" They never compare a funny male author to Erma Bombeck -- "a male Erma Bombeck!" But I digress.

Cheryl Peck has a voice that is all her own. These short pieces are not hysterically funny. They would not make a good stand-up routine. But they are very well-written. Peck turns seemingly mundane subjects such as growing tomatoes and her first chocolate malt into compelling essays. The pieces about her cat, Babycakes, wander precariously close to the edge of precious, but, to my mind, never go too far. The essay about not coming out to her father was thoughtful, and powerful in its understated style.

I especially love the story of how this book came to be. Friends of Peck convinced her to write down the amusing stories she told them and she finally did, and another friend helped her self-publish it as a book for her family and friends. And now here it is, doing quite well on Amazon.com and at my neighborhood bookstore and at the local library. Well done!

Peck writes an astonishingly hilarious book! I laughed outloud so many times while reading this book!

It is a rare find to read a series of mini-essays, in the form of an autobiography, written by an individual who is so comfortable in their own skin and accepts themselves and their life experiences the way Peck has. She holds nothing back - and is genuine in the process. The author certainly has a delightful sense of humor and the mere reading of her book reminds us that we all need to laugh at ourselves from time to time, especially if we want to be happy in our lives.

The style of prose is quite humorous and the imagery very vivid. I intend to have my students read chapters of her book and analyze the writing style - for it is an outstanding model for such a task.

Be forewarned, though, not every essay is as intriguing as the others. Regardless, the book is an excellent read.

I've had this book for less than 24 hours and have read it laughing out loud, with tears in my eyes, and soaking it up like rich conversation with a dear old friend. I even read one story over the phone to my mother, another to my girlfriend, and still another to one of my sisters. Reading Peck's book left me wondering if she's been looking over my shoulder in my own life!? It'll be the give-away book of the year from me to my bestest of friends!

What a wonderful book! And...it's about time. Ms Peck has such a unique and delightful way of looking at life. It's a great read from beginning to end. The only thing better than reading Ms Peck's words is hearing her read them in person. I look forward to reading many more books by this author.

This collection contains many very funny stories and a few that are quite moving...The final entry is a poem "Starbright"..It cannot be read wihout tears...One hopes that Ms. Peck has many more books in her.

It's been a long time since a book has made me break out into all out laughter. If not the photo on the front of the book, the words themselves will have you rolling on the floor laughing.

If you're a cat person, you'll definitely enjoy the stories about "Babycakes" like I did. This is something everyone can identify with for sure!

Wonderful insight, great stories, funny & thought provoking!

I read the second book first, finding it on a bookstore discount table. Enjoy first person stories of rural families. Didn't realize until I read first book that it is a collection of articles written for a small publication over time. So, a lot of facts are repeated throughout both books that if written as a book, would not need repeating. Still found the childhood stories relatable and the cat stories very funny.

When i started this book, i never figured it for a "5-star" book. I read tons of books...if you love to read - especially non-fiction - i say read it. And especially if youre a woman.

The writing is personal, and from the heart. It's not necessarily life-changing, but as her first work - i think it's great; and entertaining. I love reading about people's lives, backgrounds, and childhoods - i'd love to read a book like this about SOOO many people i know. I really, really enjoyed it. Yayyy Cheryl!

I read revenge of the paste eaters first and it was hillarious. This one is O.K. Less laughting but still O.K.