Something on the Side [Hardcover]

Carl Weber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2008

Carl Weber--the New York Times bestselling author of The First Lady and So You Call Yourself a Man--represents with a straight-up novel about friendship and love, sex and betrayal, and how getting some on the side is never as simple as it seems...

Meet Tammy, Egypt, Isis, Nikki, Coco, and Tiny--the bodacious women of the Big Girls Book Club. There's only one rule to being a member. You must be at least a size 14...

BGBC president Tammy loves everything about her life--her two kids, her fierce friends, her BMW. She especially loves taking care of business for her husband, Tim, for whom she'd do anything. This year, she intends to top all his past birthdays by having a threesome with her best friend, Egypt. Now, if only Egypt will agree to grant them this very special favor...

Isis's boyfriend, Tony, romances her every chance he gets--and he knows how to turn up the heat, which makes Isis willing to lay down and die for him. That is until a man from her past steps back into her life--with only one goal in mind: win back the woman he's never been able to forget.

But not every BGBC member is lucky with men. Once upon a time, single mom Nikki would have made love to her man in the middle of Times Square for the entire country to see. Now that he's her ex, it takes everything she has not to kill him (or let her roommate, Tiny, do it for her), especially since he has a way of disappointing their son every chance he gets--and then making her look like the bad guy.

And then there's hot-to-trot Coco Brown, who has a habit of messing around with married men. It doesn't bother her, as long as they don't try to deny it. But now that she's hooked up with a man who makes his living being every woman's fantasy, all she cares about is making sure he doesn't stray.

As insatiable about books as they are about love--or lust--these friends are about to discover how tough it is to keep it real when they all have Something on the Side.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The only requirement to joining the Big Girls Book Club is all ladies must be at least a size 14. Another unofficial rule appears to be having something going on in one's love life that's a little bit dangerous. But in Weber's raunchy romantic comedy, these babes find there's a consequence to every freaky action in or out of the bedroom. The BGBC president is Tammy, a sexy egomaniac whose marriage suffers after she persuades her best friend Egypt to participate in a threesome as a birthday gift for her hubby, Tim. Egypt's sister, Isis, must face the truth about her fiancé, Tony, while Egypt learns keeping secrets from the girls isn't wise. Coco, BGBC's aggressive single, finally meets her match. And the trouble Nikki is having with Tiny, the woman she left her jealous husband for, gets intense after Nikki meets a new flame. Weber keeps things tight and funny; readers with a bent for the bootylicious will certainly want to pick this one up. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

The only requirement to joining the Big Girls Book Club is all ladies must be at least a size 14. Another unofficial rule appears to be having something going on in one's love life that's a little bit dangerous. But in Weber's raunchy romantic comedy, these babes find there's a consequence to every freaky action in or out of the bedroom.... Weber keeps things tight and funny; readers with a bent for the bootlicious will certainly want to pick this one up. ----Publishers Weekly

In SOMETHING ON THE SIDE you ll fall in love with the members of the Big Girls Book club (BGBC). Besides loving a good book, there's only one other requirement to join: You have to be at least size 14. Tammy, BGBC's president, has as much drama going on as any of the books her members are reading. Consider this: Tammy loves her husband, Tim, so much that she wants to give him a threesome for his b-day. The other woman? Her best friend, Egypt, who, like you, will think homegirl has lost her mind. As he did in previous page-turners, Weber keeps the action moving while giving us some surprisingly touching moments that will make you pause just long enough to reach for a tissue. ----Essence

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation (January 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758215789
• ISBN-13: 978-0758215789
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BECOME A FAN OF MY FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. READ THE FIRST 4 CHAPTERS OF MY NEWEST BOOK THE FAMILY BUSINESS, CO WRITTEN WITH ERIC PETE IN STORES JANUARY 30TH 2012. COPY & PASTE THE LINK BELOW IN YOUR SEARCH BAR AND LIKE THE FAN PAGE.

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Carl Weber is a New York Times and #1 Essence® bestselling novelist.

In addition to his writing, Weber is the founder and publisher of Urban Books and in 2005, he was named Blackboard's Publisher of the Year. He is the owner of the Urban Knowledge chain of book stores and a past recipient of Blackboard's Bookseller of the Year award.

Weber graduated from Virginia State University and holds an MBA in marketing from the University of Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh No She Didn't!, February 16, 2008

By 

J.C. Wallington "jnettefrommi" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Something on the Side (Hardcover)

The master of drama, Carl Weber, is back with a new novel, Something on the Side. This time he takes us into the lives of the women of the Big Girls Book Club, better knows as BGBC. These women not only read and discuss books, but they live their lives to the fullest, regardless of their full-figured stature. Never let it be said that a big girl has to sit quietly on the side and watch the skinny ones get the man.

Tammy has it all, a husband who loves her and provides her a very lucrative life style. Tammy loves him just as much so she makes arrangements to fulfill his fantasy. The fantasy is fulfilled, but can the marriage survive such a giving gift? Tammy's cousin, Coco, is out to use every man she meets. Men are good for sex and money. Just when Coco meets a man who will financially take care of her for life, she also meets a man that can steal her heart. Now, she must make a decision on how she wants to live her life. Nikki and Tiny's lesbian relationship is in trouble because of Tiny's jealousy. When a new employee, Keith, at Nikki's job befriends her, Tiny becomes enraged and her anger escalates out of control. Isis' has her boyfriend, Tony, just where she wants him, following her rules in hopes that it would lead them to the altar. Everything is going well until her ex, Rashad, shows up proclaiming to still be in love with her. When Tony and Rashad show up with engagement rings at the same time, Isis makes her choice and dreams of getting married, until the truth about her relationship hits her in the face. Egypt, finally gets a man in her life and is keeping everything about him and their relationship a secret because the discovery of Mr.Right's identity can ruin family ties.

I had many "is she crazy" moments while reading this book. Screaming at the girls as they made one bad decision after another. Nikki was the only one I could actually cheer for as she made strives to become a stronger person. I was so outdone with Tammy, that I could have reached into the book and smacked some sense into her. The drama may seem to be a little over the top, but if you think about it, I bet you could find one of each of these women in your circle of friends. And if not like these particular women, I bet members of your bookclub have some interesting drama of their own. Pick up this one for your entertainment reading.

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly one of the best books I've ever read ;-), June 16, 2008

By 

Little Miss Cutey (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Something on the Side (Hardcover)

This book is more than fantastic. I loved it and truly couldn't put it down (I sometimes forced myself not to read it because I wanted it to last longer). I have read Carl Weber books before, but he absolutely outdid himself here. Firstly, I must say how refreshing it was to read about women who are plus sized, and also how these plus size women are in relationships (good and/or bad).
There are four (really five) main characters he puts focus on; Nikki, Tammy, Coco and Isis (and Egypt who we never read of in the first person). All of them are great in different ways and the stories they tell are of the men they love and the relationships they have. Parts are predictable and other parts will have you in disbelief. I laughed through this and cried in parts and honestly, honestly, honestly couldn't put this down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and if you are a fan of African American writing, then you'll love this I'm sure. It's definately spicey here and there, but that's another great aspect to this amazing book that I can't rave highly enough of. Go grab a copy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a HOT Start to the New Year!!!, January 31, 2008

By 

Denise Bolds "Lion Who Reads A Lot!" (New York United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Something on the Side (Hardcover)

Mr. Weber has done it again! OMG! This story belongs on an HBO special!!! I LOVE the BGBC women! Tiny, Isis, Nikki, Tammy, Coco and Egypt are something else! The drama! The action and the hot, steamy sex = I could not put this book down!!! There are so many points where I just busted out laughing because Mr. Weber is also a comedian as well as a writer! Great story with women focused issues that certainly keep the reader turning pages well into the night! It also helps to have that special someone near by to help you get through the hot & steamy scenes too! Oh - yes YOU TOO CAN USE THIS BOOK AS A BOOK CLUB SELECTION!!! :)