Reading/Book Pet Peeves

[Bexx27]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

[Ms_Cellany]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.

[mbbored]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.

Even Bet Me's main character obsesses over her weight and thinks she can't be truly pretty. She ignores her sister and best friends on the topic for years but Prince Charming comes along and changes her mind within a few weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I really like this book, but it doesn't exactly fit what Slartibartfast is looking for.

[lilfox]

Re: average to plus sized heroines.

This is going to drive me crazy until I google-fu the title, but I remember reading a romance novel where the main character is an average-sized female with "average" looks who doesn't change who she is and still gets the good-for-her Cute Guy at the end.  I believe she's a writer who goes on a retreat or something, which is where she meets the guy, and there is at least one other female who is the traditional Hot Girl, but the main character isn't any more than passing envious of her.  In fact she just observes everyone else's interactions in the vein of "oh I bet Cute Guy goes for the Hot Girl" not "why can't I be hot like Hot Girl."  At least, I don't remember any angst, just that she was a bit matter-of-fact about herself and her less than perfect love life.  Turns out Cute Guy is attracted to the main character's personality and finds her beautiful to boot.  Shocker!

Also, Amelia Peabody of the Elizabeth Peters' Egyptology series is often described (self-described) as unfashionably proportioned with sharp features, and she placidly resigns herself to a life of spinsterhood* rather than lament or "fix" herself.  (* She finds love by the end of the first book but never changes.)

[Morrigan]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

Well, it's a vampire series, but this:

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Vampires-Curves-Glory-Clair/dp/0425220966/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377288887&sr=1-1&keywords=real+vampires+have+curves

(Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlet).  It's about a vampire who was changed when curves were in style.  Good series, IMO!

[Mel the Redcap]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

Kerry Greenwood's series with a baker as the main character - Earthly Delights, Heavenly Pleasures, Devil's Food, Trick or Treat, Forbidden Fruit and Cooking the Books are the ones I have. There's probably at least one more by now. They're pretty good. 

[Mollie]

The no.1 ladies detective agency. The heroine is of "traditional" build.

[Slartibartfast]

Lisa Kleypas has a fantastic series I just finished re-reading - the first is this one.  It kind of straddles the line between romance and women's fiction and all three books are absolutely fantastic.  The heroine in the first one is biracial without any sort of awkwardness about it, and the heroine in the third one (which I just finished) is definitely average-shaped but happy with her weight.  Her mother harps on her (toxic relationship) but that's the only time it really comes up - and she's got the backbone to shut her mother down when necessary.

I don't normally read contemporary romances, or anything set in Texas, but these books are seriously amazing.  Go read the Amazon preview of the one I linked above and I guarantee you'll be hooked 

[Bexx27]

Thanks to Mel the Redcap, Mollie, and Slartibartfast! I am already a fan of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books and I'll definitely check the other ones out.

[pierrotlunaire0]

3) Said adventures, instead of being interesting or titillating or even fodder to be parodied, were all exactly the same.  If I'd had a dime for each guy who lightly circled the same portion of her anatomy with his pinkie finger I could have bought a hard cover novel edition of a better book.

 

The above just made me snort coffee through my nose.

In general, I hate references to current (very) minor celebrities.  I don't know who this person is, and guess what?  I could care even less!

[cwm]

3) Said adventures, instead of being interesting or titillating or even fodder to be parodied, were all exactly the same.  If I'd had a dime for each guy who lightly circled the same portion of her anatomy with his pinkie finger I could have bought a hard cover novel edition of a better book.

 

The above just made me snort coffee through my nose.

In general, I hate references to current (very) minor celebrities.  I don't know who this person is, and guess what?  I could care even less!

I don't even like references to major celebrities. Someone writing and comparing a character's looks to Sean Connery fifty years ago is going to have a completely different character look if someone reads the book today and doesn't pay close attention to context.

If you (general author) have to resort to using other people to describe a character's looks, maybe you should re-think your choice of character or vocation. Just a thought...

[Tabby Uprising]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

The Savannah Reid mysteries star a confident curvy private investigator.  She loves her figure and is considered very attractive by other characters she encounters.  What I also enjoy about this series, apart from the mysteries themselves, is that chocolate loving curvy Savannah has a gorgeous, slim, health conscious best buddy. There's no fat or skinny shaming between the two of them.  It's much more about loving the body you have without disparaging the appearance of anyone else. 

http://www.goodreads.com/series/56346-a-savannah-reid-mystery

[pierrotlunaire0]

Come to think of it, there are a series of mysteries by PJ Tracy (the first one was Monkeywrench), where one of the characters is extremely curvy, extremely confident, and it is generally agreed by the people they meet that she is as sexy and gorgeous as she sees herself.

[daen]

Come to think of it, there are a series of mysteries by PJ Tracy (the first one was Monkeywrench), where one of the characters is extremely curvy, extremely confident, and it is generally agreed by the people they meet that she is as sexy and gorgeous as she sees herself.

I have greatly enjoyed the Monkeewrench series so far. I'm a book or two behind, and just waiting for the end of my contract and my move back home so I can go to the library and start placing requests...

[Elisabunny]

I'll admit, I always think more of an author when she can have a plus-sized heroine and just . . . not make a big deal of it.  No big angst over dress sizes, no agony that the hero couldn't possibly find her pretty, no obsessing by the hero about how he happens to be one of the tiny minority of guys who find curvy girls attractive, just an acknowledgement that she's bigger than the norm and maybe gets some flak over it from minor characters but then that's it.  I'm pretty thoroughly average-sized myself (bigger than I'd like but not unhealthily so) and I really like reading about heroines who can be happy in their own bodies without the body having to be perfect.

Sadly, I have never come across a book like that. Any recommendations?

The Savannah Reid mysteries star a confident curvy private investigator.  She loves her figure and is considered very attractive by other characters she encounters.  What I also enjoy about this series, apart from the mysteries themselves, is that chocolate loving curvy Savannah has a gorgeous, slim, health conscious best buddy. There's no fat or skinny shaming between the two of them.  It's much more about loving the body you have without disparaging the appearance of anyone else. 

http://www.goodreads.com/series/56346-a-savannah-reid-mystery

Love Savannah Reid!