What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate! [Hardcover]

Donna L. Barstow (Author), Rose Levy Beranbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

What do women really want? Chocolate! But you already knew that, right? Everyone knows the delicious anticipation of dipping into a fresh box of chocolates...and so it is with this charming collection of cartoons by New Yorker cartoonist Donna Barstow.

Chocolate is on the minds of many ladies most of the time, and we're lucky that cartoonist Barstow has been willing to share her own obsession with it. Why do women crave it, anyway? Why is it more important than love? How many uses can one find for it? These and other questions may be answered - or not - in these cool cartoons about women and their not so secret madness.

Ranging from "laugh out loud" to "I gotta send this to a friend," the over 120 drawings here are New Yorker-type cartoons with a distinctive girly slant. The pen-and-ink line drawings with wash are reproduced well in this medium-sized hardcover. Quotations on chocolate from authors like Mel Gibson to George Bernard Shaw are also included, and an amusing foreword by Ruth Levy Beranbaum (author of "The Cake Bible,") proves she's a chef who can laugh at her own delicious words.

Chocolate! is the perfect gift or collectible for foodies, cartoon lovers, and, of course, collectors of all things chocolate.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a calorie-free way to indulge in chocolate and feed your funny bone...chocolate is the answer." -- Family Circle Magazine's Book Circle

As a magazine devoted to chocolate, we recognize and depend on the fact that almost everyone loves chocolate. However, we also understand that women have a particularly strong predilection for it, which is why we're so excited about What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate!, a collection of Donna Barstow's cartoons. Barstow's irreverent cartoons are laced with truth; while poking fun at women's love of chocolate, she legitimizes and even celebrates this adoration. With simple line drawings and limited words, Barstow captures the bliss and insanity that is the relationship between women and chocolate. Pair this book with a box of you-know-what and you've got the perfect gift for any female chocolate-lover! -- Chocolatier Magazine

Donna Barstow can get away with the title because, well, she is a woman. And she does like chocolate. What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate!, (NBM, $12.95) is a punchy cartoon book, and Barstow can get away with that because she's a cartoonist who has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, and Glamour magazines, among others. She has a knack for touching the nerve that drives many women, and a lot of men, to chocolate - like the cartoon "Sundae Drivers." From the cover cartoon to the illustration on the back of the book, Barstow nails the feminine sweet tooth. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Now that both chocolate and laughter have officially been deemed beneficial to health, it only makes sense to team the two, in this book. Barstow's cartoons - many of which are food and dining-related - appear in newspapers and magazines across the country, with the recent addition - picking up on her edgy food focus - of Weight Watchers magazine. Check out the illustrations of her wit and wisdom. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

These cartoons are a calorie-free way to indulge in chocolate and feed your funny bone. Enjoy her yummy collection... -- Family Circle Magazine's Book Circle, February 15 2005

From the Publisher

Here's a collection of 128 cartoons (and some choice quotations) about chocolate and the women who love it. All manner of things decadent and chocolate are included, even chocolate soap!

This is the first volume of a series of 4 books exploring what women really do want. Stay tuned to find out what the other 3 things are! We can't wait.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 129 pages
• Publisher: NBM Publishing (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561633836
• ISBN-13: 978-1561633838
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,393,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Love Me or Go to Hell; True Love Cartoons
The first question I ask a married woman is, "Where did you meet your husband?" I must know this! What are the secrets and signals of love, and how do you know this is the right one for you? This issue is always coming up in my cartoons.

Note the second part of the title: True Love Cartoons. Because we all love men! That, plus the eye-catching cover are probably why it went into a 2nd printing the first week out.

Most of these cartoons are mine, but the other cartoonists added some important perspectives, too. As I edited it, I used categories like romantic cartoons, cute meet, sexy, cuddly, exciting, and so forth. Over 216 cartoons make this almost twice as long as most cartoon books, and an interesting study of how 5 women draw love! Funny, plus Attitude. And it fits perfectly into your purse for Girls Night Out.


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What do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate!
A one of a kind book of cartoons on the sweet life. Family Circle named it book of the month. Brownies, cupcakes, ice cream, it's all here, and it's not vanilla any more. Very handsome, with tons of reviews from food writers and critics who like a good laugh.

I think about chocolate every day. Maybe not consciously, and certainly not just candy, but chocolate is a part of my life, even if it's just an ingredient in a dessert. Apparently quite a few other people feel the same way, including editors, because I've certainly sold a lot of cartoons about it!

These cartoons were so much fun as I worked on brand new chocolate-based ones for the book. Not the real thing, of course, but close. I had edited and produced a calendar for Barnes and Noble entitled: "What do Women REALLY Want? Cats, Chocolate, Shoes and Love!" Yes, it's a long title, but isn't it lovely and true? The publisher at NBM loved the title, too. But he wanted to do an entire book on each subject, and he picked Chocolate as the first book. Good choice!

The chocolate-brown cover is smooth, almost silky. The publisher decided it had to be a hardback, to be a real collector's item. Readers often tell me it looks like a chocolate bar. And in contrast, the pages are thick and super-white. This is a quality production. There are over 120 fullpage cartoons about ice cream, cake, brownies, cookies and of course chocolate. And the foreword is by the famous author of 9 cookbooks, Rose Levy Beranbaum. She had never written a foreword before, but thought chocolate and cartoons made this book special! Delicious.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift idea, December 7, 2004

By 

Marybeth Menaker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate! (Hardcover)

Perfect gift for the chocoholic. Clever. Artistic. And very funny. I not only laughed, I could practically taste the chocolate.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mmmmmm Good!, July 15, 2004

By 

GinaLoren (SoCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate! (Hardcover)

Cartoons for chocolate lovers! Elegant little drawings with a fresh, sophisticated humor. Bon Appetit!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Talented cartoonist, July 13, 2004

By 

David Seidman (West Hollywood, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate! (Hardcover)

Donna Barstow has hit on a subject that hits both women and men. This book would make a great gift. And it's funny, too!