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)

Pretty Serious Stuff....

If you could sum up Good in Bed in three words, what would they be?

Emotional, heavy, well-written

Who was your favorite character and why?

I feel that it's kind of important to like the main charater (which I did) in order to even finish a book, but Maxie was my favorite charater. She's a good friend and a genuine person inspite of her profession and the living in the impossible world of Hollywood.

Have you listened to any of Laura Hicks’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but she was really good! Her performance was dry, which was perfect for Canny's charater. She did an excellent job with her charater voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were alot of moving moments in this book. This story provoked alot of emotion for me, I laughed, cried (well ok, not actually cried), it made me angry, and suprised me. Yes there were a few twists and turns, some "I didn't see that coming" yet I felt a bit misguided by the synopsis and felt the other reviews left out alot about the general feeling of this book.

I personally did not find this book lighthearted or funny (in general), it was a very emotional book, a story about one woman's struggle with how to deal with her abondment issues, her struggle with her body image, and finding love and lasting joy. Canny has a dry witty, sarcastic sence of humor, she has many amusing "one liners" that contributes to the humor in this story, but I would NOT consider this to be a funny book (which is what I was looking for). Yet that didn't didn't keep me from enjoying this story, it's well written, although as another reviewer said, there is quite a long build up; right around chapter 7 I found myself considering if I wanted to continue with the story, and I'm glad I did. I found myself really caring for all the charaters (ok so not so much Bruce or "The Pusher") and really got sucked in. Not a perfect ending, some issues were left unresolved, so I'll say it was an upbeat, positive, realistic ending.

Any additional comments?

I feel that if a story provokes strong emotion in you (good or bad) then the author has done their job. This is just such a story. Yet we all have our reasons for reading fiction. I personally gravitate to stories about the fantastic and magical or lighthearted funny, so this was definatly outside what I usually enjoy so I have mixed feelings about this story. If you enjoy Lifetime movies (I'm esp. thinking about the Drop Dead Diva series) then you'd like this story.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Good Summer Read

This is a great summer read. Light and fun. The narrator did a good job as well. Would recommend to anyone looking for something easy to listen to.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

It kind of happend to my friend. Ore near that.

Where does Good in Bed rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 10 i will think.

What did you like best about this story?

The happy ending is nice, But i think it's where Cannie desice to make it on her one.

What about Laura Hicks’s performance did you like?

I Liked it. But i think this book is better, if you read it your self.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh many times, and angry on the ex-boyfriend.

Any additional comments?

It is a good book. And you falls inlove whit Cannie. She is a fighter a just lovly.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good Storyline slow development

I have enjoyed many of JW books. I didn't enjoy this one as much. She has good characters. The development of the story was slow. It had interesting twists. It was a struggle to get all the way thru this book.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

I love Cannie!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. It's a good read/listen

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cannie. I began to love Cannie for her wit and humor.

Any additional comments?

I bought this book to listen to on my commute. It was so good that I found myself listening to it at home as well! It was a great companion while doing laundry, vacuuming, etc,

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An emotional book!

Would you listen to Good in Bed again? Why?

I plan on reading this book again in the future. This reading moved from body image, to love, to hate, to hope and to moving on in life even through tough times. I normally fall for novels that have a dystopia theme however this novel pulled me in because the main character is portrayed as a strong female who can work through life as it comes at her. A very real life novel on how it is to live in today's world, almost like a reality TV show.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good story, not the best narration

This story was relatable and easy to follow, for the most part. I appreciated Cannie’s sarcasm and found myself agreeing with her perspective a lot, but I felt like she did overreact to a couple of situations.

However, she’s supposed to be in her late 20s and the narrator sounds like a 57-year-old woman with emphysema. Having grown up in the Philadelphia area, it was also hard to get past the gross mispronunciations of “Manayunk” and “Schuylkill.” A simple internet search could tell you how to pronounce them without sounding like an idiot.

Overall, I would recommend this book to a friend, but with a warning that it is not exactly a lighthearted read.

disappointing

started out pretty strong but around chapter 11 it got very predictable. Not a fan

Great...but too long

Really enjoyed this book. I even shedded some tears. However, I feel that the editing could’ve done with cutting a third of the story out. Inspire of that, still a great listen that I finished in about a day and a half.