"Pretty" Memoirs

I finished Jennifer Lancaster's Such a Pretty Fat in the wee hours of morning today. Let me just say "aahhhhh". It was so refreshing and so well-written and just darn good! It is the opposite of what I go looking for on a library or bookstore shelf (my go-to musts are southern/ female author/ modern fiction), but I am so glad I have discovered her.

I read her newest book Pretty in Plaid a week or so ago because it was on the "new book" shelf at my local library; well, that and it was so cute with it's pink and green argyle tights on the cover. It was hilarious and fantastically written. I placed a hold on Such a Pretty Fat the day I turned Pretty in Plaid back in.

Such a Pretty Fat was so captivating I found myself sneaking glances at red lights and straight stretches of long roads... Don't call the highway patrol, please. I pay attention to the roadway, and I'm an excellent driver. I just need some entertainment every now and again during those boring parts of driving. Lancaster's escapades definitely offer her readers entertainment. From tales of her personal trainer Barbie (yes, that is her name... and don't think Barbie dolls & ball gowns... think Jillian from The Biggest Loser) to tales of the mole on her Jenny Craig counselor's chin, Lancaster hits the nail on the head each time. I laughed uproariously (even when other people in the room looked at me strangely), but she isn't outrageous. She's the girl-next-door, your best friend from the office, saying all the things you wish you could say.

As she writes in her footnotes (a personal-writing-style plus, in my opinion, because they often deliver the funniest lines in the book), all these books and more "are available now at your local booksellers. Purchase your copy today!" Now having read Pretty in Plaid and Such a Pretty Fat, I'll have to purchase the other two: Bitter is the New Black and Bright Lights, Big Ass.

If you finish all the books and you're left feeling utterly Jen-less, you can always visit her blog Jennsylvania for continuous updates and humorous stories.

Just to brighten your day, here's a look at Jen herself talking about the book (and you get a glimpse of the real-world trainer Barbie!):