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    The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: Stories
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    The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: Stories
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    The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: Stories
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: Stories

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Exhilarating short stories of women breaking free from convention

    Every now and then, right in the middle of an ordinary day, a woman rebels, kicks up her heels, and commits a small act of liberation.

    What would you do, if you were going to break out and away? Go AWOL from Weight Watchers and spend an entire day eating every single thing you want-and then some? Start a dating service for people over fifty to reclaim the razzle-dazzle in your life-or your marriage? Seek comfort in the face of aging, look for love in the midst of loss, find friendship in the most surprising of places?

    Imagine that the people in these wonderful stories-who do all of these things and more-are asking you: What would you do, if nobody was looking?


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 15, 2008
    ISBN9780739331910
    Unavailable
    The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: Stories

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    Reviews for The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted

    3.5/5

    237 ratings30 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Every now and then, right in the middle of an ordinary day, a woman rebels, kicks up her heels, and commits a small act of liberation. What would you do, if you were going to break out and away? Go AWOL from Weight Watchers and spend an entire day eating every single thing you want - and then some? Start a dating service for people over fifty to reclaim the razzle-dazzle in your life - or your marriage? Seek comfort in the face of aging, look for love in the midst of loss, find friendship in the most surprising of places? Imagine that the people in these wonderful stories - who do all of these things and more - are asking you: What would you do, if nobody was looking?
    • 4/5
      What a delightful book of TRUTH! This middle-aged, female reader laughed out loud more than once and nodded in agreement too many times to count.

      Which story did I love the most? Goodness! I loved the title story, and the sad truth that it is, indeed, not as fulfilling as you think or hope it will be when you throw caution to the wind and eat it all.

      I loved the story of the 50 year friendship between two ladies who were still so playful with one another that they had a very difficult conversation using a Ken and Barbie doll.

      I loved the closure the woman received when the very man who walked into her dating service turned out to be a long, lost love with no memory of her. The closure...and the new beginning with her own husband.

      Every story was a good one, a true one, and I highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      Dear Elizabeth Berg,It's not you. It's me.Sincerely,BookczukI love Elizabeth Berg's writing, but, try as I might, it's a rare short story that appeals to me. I guess I want more depth. If I'm going to invest in a character, I want the character there for more than a few pages. That was my problem with this book. The writing was up to Berg standards, but I had my typical short-story-disappointment to contend with. Even though the book came highly recommended, and even though there were phrases and moments of delight, I came away without feeling satisfied.
    • 4/5
      Erma Bombeck may have started the trend but Elizabeth Berg definitely refines it with this book. There should be a new "catch-phrase" for this genre - "chick-lit" for the over 40 crowd.

      I have never read Ms. Berg before but was compelled to pick this one up by the title.

      It is a collection of short stories featuring "mature" women who decide, for either an hour, a day or a week to let their hair down and do something they have always wanted to do (that would seem totally out of character observed by those who know them best). This book is definitely a "light read" and does not pretend to be anything different. I enjoyed it immensely and would definitely recommend it to any women in the 40 age group (you will laugh and sigh - I promise). Might not be a bad read for any men or offspring out there wondering why that 40 woman in their lives suddenly broke into tears and hurled a coffee cup across the room.

    • 2/5
      Interesting read of short stories by this author. I'm not sure if it works. She has a unique way of writing what people are thinking which works well over the course of a novel. These short stories feel like disorganized digressive ramblings in need of a story.
    • 2/5

      Tamer and less inspiring than I hoped.  Not bad, mostly, but I just can't bring myself to recommend cliches & irrelevancies to any of you, my followers.

      I was especially pissed about the title story, in which our heroine gets all judgmental on another client of Weight Watchers because she's blind.  She's all, 'she can't see herself in the mirror, so why does she care what she looks like?'  Um, wtf?  Being overweight is something *others* see and despise, and it's unhealthy, and it's uncomfortable.  If a woman has only her mirror telling her she's too heavy, she is *not* (yet?) in need of Weight Watchers.

      That's typical of the stories.  They tend to make big deals out of minor things, giving these supposedly mature women excuses to be catty & melodramatic like they were when they were teens.  Get over yourself, girlfriend.  Or, when a woman does behave herself, fate conspires to add drama to her life.

      It's a quick read.  If it's already on your list, don't take it off.  I'm sure it's a personal read, meaning different things to different folks.  But I was disappointed.

    • 5/5
      This is an amazing collection of short stories. Elizabeth Berg has a knack for tapping right into the secret thoughts of women, I believe. The stories are all vastly different, yet all are about small acts of taking charge of ones own life...from the day one character eats whatever she wants (and feels hugely guilty), to another who is living a "half-life" (half a muffin, half a banana, half prices sales....)yet makes a decision that she will NOT remain in the old-age stereo-type trap any more. I found myself nodding and smiling; crying at a few. What a wonderful collection of stories this is!
    • 5/5
      Elizabeth Berg never, ever, disappoints me!!!!
    • 4/5
      Some wonderful character sketches!
    • 4/5
      I got this book unexpectedly in the mail from Random House, which was a nice surprise because I have read many of Berg's novels. I usually am not a big fan of short stories, but this book was just what I needed for reading during a busy time.It was refreshing to read about characters who aren't young, who aren't the perfect weight, and who still struggle with daily life--women just like me. Some of the stories made me laugh and want to share a passage with a friend. Others are more poignant. I think my favorite is "Mrs. Ethel Menafee and Mrs. Birdie Stoltz. " I loved the friendship between the two elderly women as they struggled to maintain independence.
    • 4/5
      I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Readers Circle! Thank you - this was an awesome book! This book would definitely make for a good book club discussion. There are 13 stories highlighted. The stories are about "real" women with real problems. They are imperfect, are fighting a few extra pounds and are carrying regrets from their past. They are also about accepting who you are, accepted those you love and being accepted by those who love you. What an awesome collection. The women in these stories were so relateable and they felt like any one of my friends. I especially loved the stories "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted" and the story about "The Day I Ate Nothing I Wanted" If you have ever been a member of weight watchers or been on a diet, you can defintely relate to these stories.
    • 3/5
      This is a fun read, especially for women of a "certain age". A story collection with humor.
    • 5/5
      Nothing really ever disappoints with Elizabeth Berg. She writes so well, and with such honesty, heart and realism I have ever experienced. I love her books, and look forward to the next one.
    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Berg excels at portraying the everyday. These stories cover life, death, relationships of every kind. Some tales brought a smile to my face. Others were heartbreaking. I cried. All the stories deal with the real emotions of life. If you read to escape real life, don't read this.
    • 5/5
      This was an excellent book of short stories. As a woman with weight issues who has sometimes (not often) felt 'trapped', I really related to many of these stories. I took a lot longer than usual to read this book because these are the kind of stories that need to be read slowly and savoured rather than skimmed over. So what are my top three stories from this collection?Third place goes to The Day I Ate Nothing I Even Remotely Wanted. Those of us who struggle with our weight will know what this is like. The tastiest foods all seem to be the ones that are worst for you. It doesn't seem fair really, but that's the way it goes. This story is about eating everything you're supposed to eat and none of the yummy stuff.Second place goes to Rain. This is a very sad story that had me in tears. It is about opportunities lost and friends dying and the tragedy of happy, vibrant, independent individuals becoming ill and losing their dignity. It was a very close call between this and another story for first place.My absolute favourite story in this collection is How to Make an Apple Pie. This is another story that had me in tears. Not because it is in any way a sad story, but because it got me to missing my grandmother so. This story is written in the form of a letter from and elderly lady to her former neighbour's daughter. The purpose of the letter is to relate how to bake an apple pie, but the recipe is relayed amongst reminiscences and feelings about food. It is a wonderful, powerful story and one of these days, I am going to try out the recipe lol.The other stories in this collection are all very much worth reading. There was not a single story I didn't like. I highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      The thoughts and actions in this book are so totally conventional that I found the whole thing rather dull. How can eating Dunkin Donuts be liberating?
    • 4/5
      I liked this work very much, but I can see that it wouldn't appeal to everyone. It largely comprises stories about older women - over 50, I guess. Hearing E.B. herself reading the stories added a whole new dimension for me. She made the characters come alive as real people, perhaps in a way that might not be so apparent if I read the book myself. I listened to these stories as I did my Sunday morning jogging - they really made the miles fly past.
    • 3/5
      I'm a big Berg fan so I was ready to tackle this one. It started out slowly as I really didn't care for the first story. Made me think that these were stories from the cutting room floor, even though they had a central theme. After the first, each story carried its own weight and a couple of them could be the basis for a good novel. Recommended, but not all that highly.
    • 2/5
      I did not enjoy this book. I've read Elizabeth Berg before and always liked her, but this format of differing stories just seemed abruptly chopped up. I wasn't interested in very many of the characters. This was disappointing, because I wanted to know more about many of the characters, but was simply shuffled along to the next set.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed listening to the author read these stories. As with most short story collections, some of the stories were better than others. In particular, I enjoyed the story that was a letter reading a recipe for making apple pie and the story about Michael. I think I enjoyed listening to these stories more than I would have liked reading them -- the author reading them aloud made them feel like a conversation with a favorite aunt or an old friend.I also was glad to hear a shout out to Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck. That book kept coming to mind as a great parallel read with this one.
    • 3/5
      For the women in popular novelist Berg’s second collection of short stories (after 2002’s “Ordinary Life”), dieting is hard, food is both comfort and adventure, true love is a myth except when it isn’t, and there’s nothing like talking to a close girlfriend over dinner to make everything okay. The title story is a laugh-out-loud day in the life of a compulsive Weight Watchers member who decided that, for one whole day, she is going to indulge every single one of her food cravings and not feel bad about it. It is balanced by the story, “The Day I Ate Nothing I Remotely Wanted,” which is, appropriately a day in the life of a compulsive Weight Watchers member who resolves to eat nothing but healthy foods for one entire day, no matter how unhappy it makes her. Many of the stories revolve around food and dieting, and many, but not all, star middle-aged women who are at least mildly unhappy with their lives. One stand-out story, the quietly heart-breaking “Full Count,” follows an overweight girl just on the cusp of puberty as she realizes exactly how she appears to others and how important appearance can be.Sweet and sentimental without being saccharine, most of the stories in this collection are uplifting, with happy endings. Berg’s women have a knack for finding affirmation in the most mundane of places, for discovering that maybe they like themselves more than they thought, after all.
    • 3/5
      This is my first Elizabeth Berg book. I think the stories are genuine and funny and definitely ring true to life. They run the gambit from family relationships to friendships to marriages, all from the perspective of middle aged or older women. I fall into that category so I related to the stories very well. I thought the characters were likeable and real. My only dissatisfaction with the book was the format. Every audio book I have listened to, all novels, end the disc at the end of a chapter. These stories get cut off right in the middle, abruptly you have to change discs. Other than that I think all ages of wmen will enjoy it - older women will recognize themselves while younger ones will recognize their mothers, grandmothers, and aunties. You can't help but smile at the struggles with dieting, with relating to you rgrown children, with wanting to comfort old friends. I recommend this book to everyone.
    • 3/5
      I thought this book of collected short stories was a little on the uneven side - some of the stories - including the title story and How to Make an Apple Pie were really great - a couple of the stories fell short in my estimation - I could hardly get through The Only One of Millions Just Like Him - I found it so grating. I had the audio book version of the book and enjoyed the author's reading for the most part - though her portrayal of one of the characters in Truth or Dare was so sing song and stupid sounding it made it detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story.
    • 4/5
      I am an unabashed fan of Elizabeth Berg. I've enjoyed every book of hers that I read. Somehow, listening to the audio version of the book on CD wasn't as great an experience as I'd expected it to be. She has a pleasant voice and knows her material better than any other narrator would--it just wasn't the same experience as reading a book, somehow.That said, I loved the stories. Berg does a great job of creating characters that you care about and who seem real. As with her other fiction, I could identify with the characters and wanted to know them more fully. She truly writes characters that you'd want to sit down and have coffee with. Good plots, good writing, great characters--it's a great bit of pleasure in the day.
    • 1/5
      Title: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of LiberationAuthor: Elizabeth BergPublisher: Random HousePublication Date: April 15, 2008 Edition: Audiobook,Unabridged 8 Hours Audio Price: 34.95 ISBN: 0739331906While listening to the audio tapes of Elizabeth Berg's "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted," I felt as though I was eavesdropping on someone's most personal thoughts, or a fly on the wall in a strangers house. Thirteen short stories in total, with very unique characters and situations in all. She took us from the life of a young overweight girl, to the lives of the elderly. Unfortunately I was unable to relate with any of these characters, and felt unable to form a connection with the characters and the stories, It was very difficult for me to get through all 8 hours of audio, and I almost felt a sense of relief when it was over. Although I did not enjoy this book, I will continue to be a huge fan, and am looking forward to whatever is next.
    • 4/5
      I have read most of her novels, and was beginning to think they were too similar. This collection of stories has the same flavor as the novels, and really use the short format to their advantage. Don't miss the apple pie recipe toward the end, it's priceless.
    • 3/5
      I have always enjoyed Elizabeth Berg's books, so I was excited to get this audio book. I'm not sure if it was the fact that it was an audio book (I usually like to read my books) or the subject matter, but it just didn't draw me in. I found there to be too much emphasis on dieting or food. The stories were entertaining, but I found it difficult to get through them.
    • 4/5
      I adore Elizabeth Berg's work. I think she is a strong, beautiful, feminine literary voice. I have yet to be disappointed in a book of hers I've picked up. I was a little wary as I requested this Early Reviewers edition of the Audio Book of The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. It is always an interesting experience to listen to a book instead of read it and I am not usually one for short stories.But I enjoyed it. I really did!First, it was funny. So frank and true and laugh-out-loud funny. The audio book features the voice of Elizabeth Berg as the narrator - which I always love because the author, of all people, knows how the book was meant to be read.Second, it was full of girl-power. All of the stories centered around women coming to face a new facet of her womanhood. Women deciding to break down the walls about the things they thought were true. Women losing people they always thought defined them and finding that they define themselves. Women coming to terms with death. Women defying expectations. And women eating whatever the heck they want!I absolutely recommend this book and the audio version is a perfect way to go about "reading" it. I found myself sitting alone in the parking lot a bit longer listening to one more bit and working out for 5 more minutes to hear the rest of a chapter.
    • 5/5
      I always enjoy Berg's novels but I wasn't sure how her collection of short stories, The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, would be. As always, Berg delivers sharp and funny prose. Berg asks what would the different characters in each story do if they could have the courage to change something in their lives? Specifically, she analyzes older women and their challenges they face each day. I usually steer away from short stories but I would definitely read these again and recommend them to women of any age.
    • 4/5
      Another excellent, creative book by Elizabeth Berg. Tightly written hort stories about life in your 50s and beyond.