Does My Bum Look Big In This? - Arabella Weir

Bridget Jones has a lot to answer for. In the last few years, book shops across the country have started to groan at the seams with copycat 'Bridget-alikes', all frantic to catch a piece of the action. The smug papers call this new genre 'ChickLit' - cos it's aimed at us women, and it's always nice to be able to slot something into a handy category. As I walk into my local Waterstones', and am assailed on all sides by bright, pastel covered books with HA HA HA hilarious titles (like the one I am going to review) I wonder - if these books could talk... what would they say? I think it would be something like: Choose ...  Read the complete review

Chic lit. What a funny term. However it is big business in the publishing industry. All a girl needs to do is create an intelligent but ditzy girl with perhaps a silly name and write about her supposed weight problem/boyfriend problem or whatever else her problem might be. The original was Bridget Jones? Diary and a load of spin offs that I call sub Bridget Jones Diaries have been printed so beware. Some of them are not too bad whilst others are terrible. The one I have just finished was Does My Bum Look Big In This and it was either a true work of genius parodying all the books in this genre or a completely dire diary full of drivel, neurosis and half baked ...  Read the complete review

The title of the book is "Does my bum look big in this?" but frankly my dear I don't give a damn. The main character is a 33 year old - no sorry 34.. or is that 35.. year old senior conference organiser called Jacqueline Pane. Believe me she is a pain!! The book follows a year in her life in the form of a diary where you can read everything she does and think. Personally it is too much information for me. I was so glad that I paid a grand total of 69p for it from a charity shop. Jacqueline is just an absolute pain. She is neurotic, paranoid, hugely unconfident and whines constantly. Her main problem in life is the size of her bum ...  Read the complete review

This book is so-o-o funny, and anyone who has ever asked themselves the question that is the title should definitely read this! It’s the diary of a woman who suffers from an extreme inferiority complex. As the title suggests, she is obsessed about the reading on her bathroom scales, and believes that true happiness, success and popularity will come as soon as she loses weight. She constantly puts herself down, but without a trace of self-pity, which is what prevents the reader from becoming irritated with her. She’s actually quite cheerful through her insecurity! As she writes, we realise that one of her work colleagues (Andy) is attracted ...  Read the complete review

i think most women would be able to identify with this title and wow what a book......a few chapters in and a shiver went down my spine....'this is me, someone has written a book about me and my life'.....but that's why it is so good...i identified with it as the author wanted and what woman would't.....this is one of those hip diary non-fiction books, following a year in the life of a 30 year old single woman, stubbling over relationship, weight problems, friends, family and work......i trualy laughed aloud and am now looking for another....as mentioned there are many of these 'diaries, around but this is quite unknown and sadly under marketed..much ...  Read the complete review