Good in Bed

By: Jennifer Weiner

Narrated by: Laura Hicks

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Cannie Shapiro never wanted to be famous. The smart, sharp, plus-sized pop culture reporter was perfectly content writitng about other people's lives in the pages of the Philadlphia Examiner. But the day she opened up a national women's magazine to find out that her ex-boyfriend has been chronicling their ex-sex life is the day her life changes forever.

Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world, Bruce has written. And Cannie - who never knew that Bruce saw her as a larger woman, or thought that loving her was an act of courage - is plunged into misery, and into the most amazing year of her life.

Radiant with wit, bursting with surprises, and written with bite and bittersweet humor, Jennifer Weiner reaches beyond Cannie's story and into the heart of every woman. Gut-level real and laugh-out-loud funny, Good in Bed celebrates the courage of the human spirit and features an unbelievably funny cast of supporting characters, the strangest dog you'll ever encounter, and a heroine you'll never forget.

©2001 Jennifer Weiner (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Funny, zippy, and unflinchingly honest, Good In Bed is a powerhouse debut for Jennifer Weiner. I consumed this extra-large portion of a book in one sitting, rooting for Cannie the heroine and willing horrible atrocities on her ex-boyfriend. Some big surprises kept the pages flying; I grinned the whole way through. Good In Bed can only be described as deeply satisfying." (Valerie Frankel Author of Smart vs. Pretty)

"[Good in Bed's] Cannie emerges as one of the most engaging realistic female characters in years...Weiner's smoothly written novel is stuffed with dialogue that rings with humor and truth." ( Entertainment Weekly)

Really slow

I'm sorry but this story just moved really slow for me. I felt like it could have been about half the length. It was a decent read but just didn't grab me.

Excellent book for women of all sizes!

I loved this book. The author should do stand-up comedy.

Witty, heart-warming and inspirational. A must read for any woman who has ever struggled with her weight and self image.

Funny, beautiful story, loved it!

the title is deceiving, awesome, lovely story, narrated perfectly,
will tell my four daughters and my friends to read it!

Overall Good

Cannie is someone I want to hug and slap at the same time and I think even the character would agree with me. Her reactions and views were hard to read. Cannie’s disparaging thoughts about herself and bitter, hypercritical thoughts of others was exhausting. I’ve always thought that… no one gets taller from making someone else feel small. So at first, I couldn’t empathize with her. Even though I’m plus size and we have had similar happenings.
Then came Cannie’s childhood… the trauma that she went through with her father and society (because society gives all fat people trauma). Her avoiding it all. I realized that Cannie was going through something so much more complicated. This character was going to have to overcome society’s views, her father’s judgements, her mother’s lack of gumption (why didn’t she do anything about her mentally abusive husband?), and all the psychological repercussions of never seeing yourself as enough. And not knowing how to fix it or ask for help.
That, I think a lot of us can empathize with.
Then add in a bit of romcom-chickflick-fairy dust and you have this fun, complicated, self-love story. Overall it was funny, deep but simple. I was frustrated, laughing, cheering and smiling by the end.

A Story About Pregnancy and Motherhood

The first part of the book was interesting, about a large woman struggling with her size, but it turned into a book about pregnancy and motherhood. Chapter 13 was list after boring list and I almost stopped there. Then there was a hard to believe section about her hobnobbing with the Hollywood elites, before it went back to motherhood. There are some other hard to believe parts, like her walking so much right after a C section and hysterectomy.

She does eventually lose the weight (spoiler alert: by eating less and exercising more), but the story never regains its appeal. The last chapter or two were nauseatingly sweet, complete with baby coos voiced by the narrator.

Triumphant

I loved this story from beginning to end. More than a love story by far. It is a story of a woman who triumphs over all and falls in love in the end. I laughed out loud, cried tears of sorrow and felt - at times - that I was experiencing déjà vu... As a "big boned girl" I also learned that I don't fit in this world from a very young age. This story, and Canny's journey to self acceptance and self love felt like the beginning of my journey to do the same. I am inspired by her. Thank you Jennifer - what a wonderful web you wove.

Loved the story

I loved the characters, they weren’t perfect, they had their flaws like we all do. I enjoyed it from beginning to end!

Great, Real, and Inspiring Story

This was my 2nd Jennifer Weiner read. I loved the story, as I'm a bigger woman myself. However, I thought the story was a bit boring in parts, and dragged on in others. However, overall, the story was altogether good and exciting.

My only complaint was the reader. Her deep voice and characterizations weren't really something that went with the story. It was almost stereotypical, and seems as though they were indicating that all "bigger" women have masculine voices.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one

Hard to put down. The book conjures up feelings we have all had at one time or other. Our insecurities, our families, our view of the world, not sugar coated. At the same time it's funny and honest. Not my typical genre but so glad I picked it up.

all the feels. .

Wow! I was wrong to think that this was a light hearted read.. while I did enjoy the sarcasm, you could feel the pain it covered. Some of the surreal moments lighted things up a bit but really this book is VERY emotional. real life.