Dating Big Bird

Rating:
Summary: A light and funny read
Review: I read this book in a span of two days. I just couldnt put it down. Ellen is such a thoughtful character and the storyline of dealing with an "emotionally unavailable" man is familiar to alot of women. I like the way she stands on her own two feet and doesnt come to rely on a relationship with a man for what her heart truly desires, a child of her own. I recommend this to anyone who likes light, easy reading. A great book.

Rating:
Summary: Guaranteed five laughs per page
Review: I found this book quite entertaining. The characters were funny and zany. Commuters on the bus were looking at me (trying to see what I was reading) as I laughed my way through this book. I recommend it highly. You also don't have to be single to enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Funny summer read
Review: From the title of this book, I figured it would be a light summer read, just what I was looking for. After all, when The Pickle told Auntie La-La that Big Bird was just what the 35-year-old needed when she was lonely at night, I could relate. A three year old sometimes knows what is best for her! It was a mostly funny and sometimes poignant look at the old ticking clock theme with a totally fantasy ending. Ah! Just what we romantics need once in awhile to break up the monotony of all that cynicism.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Animal Husbandry; great summer read!
Review: Laura Zigman writes excellently. Her characters are believable as woman with real-world issues, and she adds just the right about wry humor to the story to make you laugh aloud (I did!) The best thing about Zigman is I can relate to her characters, as I am sure many other woman can, too. This book (though once you get half way through the epilogue it becomes a bit predictable) will keep you wondering what is going to happen to Ellen Franck and will have you believing she is one of us.

Rating:
Summary: Ok, So It's A Genre!!
Review: Yeah I know, another chick book. Another story of single successful sexy women.. ala bridget jones and sexinthecity (I honestly wish I could find as many brutes as those girls, but hey, I'm not here to talk about them!). I won't go into the details of the book because every other reviewer has and you MUST be bored by now. This honestly is so well written and lovely and creative that one just must have it. I love reading stuff like this. It's smart, it's funny, it's REAL life.. It makes me feel like I'm not a freak; single and cute at 36..

Rating:
Summary: A quick and light comedy
Review: Dating Big Bird was a quick and pleasant read. That's it. I would advise against treating the book like a how-to manual aimed at single motherhood. It's not particularly believable, nor did I relate to Ellen, the protagonist, except in the most general "I want to have a baby someday and boy won't it look cute dressed up in little big people clothes" sort of way. I can understand the consternation a single mother might feel upon reading the book, as it's not a realistic depiction of single motherhood. Having said that, however, I still enjoyed the book. As Animal Husbandry, which was great, this is a humorous novel full of fun characters and quick plot and dialogue. My recommendation for Dating Big Bird, as for many of the other books I review, is to not take it so seriously. It seems, oftentimes, that people expect much more from a book than what the author might have intended to provide. So read Dating Big Bird, laugh and enjoy, but don't expect philosophical musings on the meaning of life.

Rating:
Summary: A review from a real single mom. . .
Review: I've just finished reading "Dating Big Bird" and I suppose it would have been fabulous had I been a dreamy-eyed, wistful thirtysomething longing (oh-so-stylishly) for a cute baby/toddler to accessorize my already snappy "KLNY" wardrobe. However I live in the real single mommmy world and I smart enough to know that this book is pure fantasy. Few single mothers I know have a large enough income (from royalties none-the-less!!!) to never have to work again. And, all that money from the word "mammo?" This is the word that inspires "Mother Power" and earns Ms. Franck a multi-million dollar contract with Tiffany's? Every mother knows you don't need a word (one that conjurs up having your your breasts flattened out like pancakes)bejeweled in platinim and diamonds to find inspiration and power -- being a mother is inspiring and powerful as it is. Most single mothers I know did not have ex-boyfriends running back to them when they were 11 weeks pregnant with open arms, hearts and minds saying, "I want us to be together." In most cases the words "I'm pregnant" were barely out of our mouths before the boyfriend (rapidly gaining "ex" status)were running out the door, never to be heard from again. I can't help but wonder if Ms. Zigman added this preposterous, pseudo-romantic touch at the end of her tale because she was struck by a bolt of reality--the reality that there is not much of a market for single moms on the dating scene. For all the current rage over the "chick-lit" genre of "singledom" many single woman cannot begin to imagine how solitary being single is when your a mom on your own. Having a baby is not a cure-all for lonliness. I found this book ridiculous and patronizing. Most mothers (single or otherwise) don't have the time or the vanity to moan endlessly about how fat they are and long for their pre-baby bodies. We don't wear sweatpants all the time and on our birthdays we don't blow out our birthday candles wishing for black sweatpants that help us look thin. As I sit here writing this I'm wearing size 4 jeans from Ambercrombie & Fitch and a small top from the Gap. (That was my minute of vanity for the day--hey we do have a wee bit of time for a little vanity.) It may not be the glamour of "KLNY" but it will have to do. All the ends in this book are a little too neatly tied, it is way too happy ending-ish. Ms. Franck gets plenty of money, gets pregnant, gets her "frozen," "withholding" boyfriend back who finally gives her sex and what seems to be a lifetime of devoted "paternal" support. WOW! That is truly amazing. I have to say I'm glad life is a lot more messy than that. I'm proud to say I'm a 32 year old single mom with a 5 year old little girl who has had to make it on her own. Who has had to face financial struggle and lonliness and who has come out better for it and raised a pretty amazing little girl in the process. Mothers (single mothers in particular) don't deserve a book like this. We work hard at what we do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with very few coffee breaks or paid vacations or sick days for the rest of our lives and we do it out of a passionate and sacred love. If you are a mother, or if you want to be, you owe it to yourself to read a book that shows you some respect.

Rating:
Summary: No different from the other Bridget Jone's knockoffs
Review: Dating Big Bird unfortunately does not distinguish itself from the latest book craze - the SWF struggling through her late 20's, looking for love/arguing with mom/searching for a good job/jealous of her sister... in this case the madcap single is obsessed with having a child (looking for love), although her desire to do so is never really explained beyond the obvious (they're really cute and so are their clothes.) Take your pick from Getting Over It, Welcome to My Planet, Jemima J - they're all desperate to jump on the Bridget Jones bandwagon but the formula used by the authors is desperately transparent. Dating Big Bird is sometimes amusing, but more often infantile - it's cotton candy for the mind.

Rating:
Summary: Dating Big Bird.....It's Not What You Think.
Review: This was one of the best books I have read in a lng time. Finally a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.When 35 years old Ellen Franck realizes something is missing in her life, she goes on a journey of enpowerment. Ellen loves herniece "pickle" and thensuddenly all the women around her are having babies, Ellen finds herself in a relationship that has no ex and little in the way of a future. So what is a girl to do , Ellen decids to have a baby on her own. The path to becoming a single mother is funny to read and Ellen's relatioship with her family ad coworkers are at times funny and emtional.ead this book and enjoy Ellen quest for her own Pickle.

Rating:
Summary: makes a lot of sense
Review: tho' i'm only 19, i feel weary and cynical about the state of things, and i can understand ellen's need to have a child so much she won't mind having one by an unknown sperm donor. big bird would make a really good father, like ellen said, but that does not exist in real life...sigh!