Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful [Paperback]

Regina Barreca (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000

A popular columnist comments on life from an often humorous perspective.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

5 1/2 x 8 1/2 trim. LC 00-102357

About the Author

Editor of The Penguin Book of Women's Humor (1996), REGINA BARRECA's numerous books include Sweet Revenge: The Wicked Delights of Getting Even (1995), Fay Weldon's Wicked Fictions (1994), Perfect Husbands (and Other Fairy Tales) (1993), and They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted (1991). Very popular on the media circuit, including 20/20, The Today Show, and Oprah, with speaking engagements throughout the country, she is Professor of English Literature and Feminist Theory at University of Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 505 pages
• Publisher: Bibliopola; 1st edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939883066
• ISBN-13: 978-0939883066
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,333,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deemed a "feminist humor maven" by Ms. Magazine and "Very, very funny. For a woman" by Dave Barry, Gina Barreca is most recently the author of It's Not That I'm Bitter: How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World (St. Martin's, 2009/ppb. 2010). She has appeared on 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, the BBC, The Today Show, CNN, Joy Behar, and Oprah to discuss gender, power, politics, and humor. Her earlier books, include the bestselling They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor, as well as Perfect Husband and Other Fairy Tales: Demystifying Men, Marriage and Romance, Sweet Revenge: The Wicked Delights of Getting Even, and Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in the Ivy League; her books have been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, and German. She's the editor of seventeen books, including The Signet Book of American Humor and The Penguin Book of Women's Humor as well as The Erotics of Instruction and A Sit-Down With the Sopranos. She writes for the "Brainstorm" section of The Chronicle of Higher Education and blogs for Psychology Today, does a weekly column for The Hartford Courant, a monthly column for Principal Leadership, and occasionally spars with her former co-author (of I'm With Stupid: One Man. One Woman. 10,000 Years of Misunderstandings Between the Sexes Cleared Right Up) Gene Weingarten in his "Below the Beltway" column in The Washington Post. With degrees from Dartmouth College, Cambridge University, and the City University of New York, Barreca is Professor of English and Feminist Theory at the University of Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Much of a Good Thing (Really Is!) Wonderful, July 24, 2000

By 

Sarite (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful (Paperback)

Deemed a "Feminist Humor Maven" by Ms. magazine, Dr. Regina Barreca once again delights us with another jaw-dropping, wise and witty collection of essays. Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful tackles the dangerous issues that affect us all, but that we have been afraid or unsure of how to discuss. If you or someone you know is moving back home after college, raising step-children, changing careers, facing surgery, starting/ending a relationship, is Italian-American or has immigrant parents, you will love and appreciate Barreca's clarity, honesty and animation. She inspires and empowers women (and men!) of all ages, because she finds deeper meaning behind daily routine, and you will never diet, precisely apply lipstick, watch a horror movie, tune-in to what amounts to "house porn," despise the woman having an affair with your husband, view the "good girl" reputation, think about your father, mother, or brother in the same way again. Barreca's essays are provacative and life-altering. They will evoke tears and laughter (but mostly tears from laughter). I could (and have) read the book again and again!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Much of a Good Thing..., April 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful (Paperback)

Insightful, intimate, and funny. I feel as though I know Regina - on a first name basis! As she traces much of her life through a series of personal essays that cover everything from ottoman shaped aunts in the kitchens of her youth to sleepless nights in a lazy Connecticut town, Regina shows how complicated, scary, yet beautiful life can be. I would recommend "Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful" to anyone who has ever loved, lost, feared or conquered. In other words, I would recommend it to everyone.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughed out Loud, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful (Paperback)

I laughed aloud at so many phrases/sentences/paragraphs, the pages are worn out. One of the funniest things, though, was unintentional, I'm sure. I was using a large paper clip to keep the pages from falling out of her book, when on page 101 Regina refers to pages falling out of an old paperback book with cheap binding...same publisher?

Regina is an inspiration to all writers, published or not.