Scan barcode
andrea0301's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. It had a great initial plot..A 50 year old black southern woman who has had 3 sisters die from diabetes, gets an invitation to her college reunion and uses it as a motivation to lose the 100lbs she has gained since graduating(and to not end up the same fate as her sisters). She also has a preacher husband whom she suspects is cheating on her. The path towards losing weight I enjoyed, including some of her low-calorie treats and de-stressors she creates for herself. However, the book tends to drag on. And then*warning spoiler alert*, she confronts 4 women she suspects cheated with her husband (why not confront the husband I am screaming), finds out none of them have cheated with her husband, and thus, she goes on a romantic vacation with him. Before she leaves her vacation spot, she tells us her college crush is dating her daughter now! Are you kidding me? After they reconnected and had dinner and everything. And to top all that off, she tells us there was a 5th woman she does not confront after all because she just KNOWS and she just assumes her husband won't do it again. I lost total respect for her character at this point. Not only is she still not having good communication with her husband (which started their joint problems to begin with) but after finding herself and losing the weight, she is just going to accept these issues and never bring them up. She has that much faith that her husband won't cheat again? Maybe I am cynical or have seen too many couple's fall apart, but this seemed too cookie cutter for me, especially the last 5-10 chapters(especially since her and Preach seem to have a serious lack of communication which is exactly the source of most couples' demise IMO). This book had such potential, but came up short in the end. Still worth a read(at least from a weight loss perspective), but definitely a frustrating ending.
flashettejohnson's review against another edition
3.0
When Ada receives an invitation to her college reunion, she embarks on a weight loss journey. She wants to shed the excess pounds that she has accumulated over the last 25 years. Ada is a preacher's wife who had been accustomed to looking after everyone else. Now she would have to turn the tables and begin looking out for herself.
I applaud the author for introducing middle age characters, aging parents and tackling the problem of obesity. However, I didn't know if this was supposed to be a weight loss book or a novel. Each chapter is a weight loss rule/tip. So, the author wrote each chapter in response to its title. In that sense, it seemed as though she created a series of stories about the main character in order to fit the chapter titles. Therefore, the plot seemed rather disjointed instead of cohesive.
I applaud the author for introducing middle age characters, aging parents and tackling the problem of obesity. However, I didn't know if this was supposed to be a weight loss book or a novel. Each chapter is a weight loss rule/tip. So, the author wrote each chapter in response to its title. In that sense, it seemed as though she created a series of stories about the main character in order to fit the chapter titles. Therefore, the plot seemed rather disjointed instead of cohesive.
bkdarlingone's review against another edition
4.0
Very good story about self-love, romantic love and lifestyle changes! Highly recommended.
tonireads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun book to read. Ada Howard has just received an invitation to her college reunion and, like most of us, uses it to motivate her weight loss journey. But there are other reasons as well: her marriage has hit a sort of roadblock as she has to share her preacher husband with his flock (and is he sharing too much?), taking care of her aging parents and running a daycare business is taking its toll, and she wants to be a better example to her two adult daughters.
So Ada comes up with some rules for shedding the pounds and balancing her life. We follow her successes and failures as she strives to set up a healthy life for herself, physically, emotionally, and even financially. The best thing about this book is that the rules really work. So if you are looking for a great novel and a weight loss book in one, this is the book for you!
So Ada comes up with some rules for shedding the pounds and balancing her life. We follow her successes and failures as she strives to set up a healthy life for herself, physically, emotionally, and even financially. The best thing about this book is that the rules really work. So if you are looking for a great novel and a weight loss book in one, this is the book for you!
gonza_basta's review against another edition
3.0
Non è male questo libro, una specie di manuale di auto aiuto per dimagrire attraverso 52 piccoli passi, raccontati dalla storia di Ada, la moglie di un pastore battista del sud degli Stati Uniti, di colore come tutta la sua famiglia e che attraverso un viaggio di riscoperta personale arriva a capire un po' meglio sia se stessa che gli altri.
hilarymercer's review against another edition
2.0
I am def not the target market for this book (skinny and white), however I thought the book was very well done. It is basically a 'how to lose weight' guide, disguised as a novel.
This was sometimes to the detriment of the story.
What REALLY bugged me (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT)....
She was so desperate to find out if her husband had cheated that she went around asking people. They all said no. It turned out he had cheated, yet he never owned up to it, and she never said anything about it. It just irritated me. He is a preacher, and if he can't be honest and admit his mistakes and ask for forgiveness, then I think he is a complete hypocrite. And Ada should have said something. Instead it was all about the unspoken, and how she knew he was sorry, blah blah blah. She went out of her way to make herself extra sexy for him, dying her bloody pubes for christs sake, and he had been shagging someone else. It seems like Ada did all the work to fix something that Preach did, and he just pretended it never happened.
This was sometimes to the detriment of the story.
What REALLY bugged me (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT)....
She was so desperate to find out if her husband had cheated that she went around asking people. They all said no. It turned out he had cheated, yet he never owned up to it, and she never said anything about it. It just irritated me. He is a preacher, and if he can't be honest and admit his mistakes and ask for forgiveness, then I think he is a complete hypocrite. And Ada should have said something. Instead it was all about the unspoken, and how she knew he was sorry, blah blah blah. She went out of her way to make herself extra sexy for him, dying her bloody pubes for christs sake, and he had been shagging someone else. It seems like Ada did all the work to fix something that Preach did, and he just pretended it never happened.
samstillreading's review against another edition
3.0
Ada’s Rules is subtitled ‘A Sexy Skinny Novel’ which is apt. This book is novel, taking the journey of one (fictional) woman’s weight loss, combining weight loss tips (some good, some I’d doubt the scientific validity of) with the problems of ailing parents, a husband who might be cheating and daughters that might be taking the wrong path.
Ada’s motivation for losing weight is a common one – the dreaded school reunion and meeting of a former flame. However, this girl is determined with a capital D. Organising herself with a diary/food journal and an ever-growing list of rules (every chapter is titled with one of Ada’s rules), she begins to kick butt. Some of these rules are common sense – such as exercising - but I’m not too sure that the diet based on your DNA has much supporting evidence.
But it’s not just excess weight plaguing Ada. She’s worried that her husband might be cheating. She’s worried that she might cheat with a former flame (especially as he likes ‘skinny girls’). Her daughters are starting to put on weight and all her sisters died from complications relating to diabetes. Her mum doesn’t recognise her, living in an alcoholic delirium. Her business is trying to stay afloat to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Despite all this, Ada manages to stay positive and on the weight loss wagon most of the time. I found this book to be inspiring in places (telling me that it is a good idea to walk up 10 flights of stairs or ignoring work morning tea goodies) but sometimes some of Ada’s positive steps rubbed off on me the wrong way, leading me to think, ‘I deserve that ice cream!’ Not so good.
It’s definitely a unique idea to wrap self-help tips for weight loss around an interesting, light novel. I wonder if this book could be treated as some cognitive behavioural therapy? (I did lose 1kg while reading it!) I also thought it was good that Randall brought to light the complications of diabetes and their consequences, as I feel this isn’t something that it widely known or taken seriously in the general media. The overall positive tone makes you feel that weight loss is achievable, whether it be 1kg or more than 20kg – it’s just a series of small steps.
It’s an easy and fun read, but you’ll take away some important messages about food and exercise. I really like books that teach while entertain and if you do too, you’ll be cheering Ada on the whole way.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Ada’s motivation for losing weight is a common one – the dreaded school reunion and meeting of a former flame. However, this girl is determined with a capital D. Organising herself with a diary/food journal and an ever-growing list of rules (every chapter is titled with one of Ada’s rules), she begins to kick butt. Some of these rules are common sense – such as exercising - but I’m not too sure that the diet based on your DNA has much supporting evidence.
But it’s not just excess weight plaguing Ada. She’s worried that her husband might be cheating. She’s worried that she might cheat with a former flame (especially as he likes ‘skinny girls’). Her daughters are starting to put on weight and all her sisters died from complications relating to diabetes. Her mum doesn’t recognise her, living in an alcoholic delirium. Her business is trying to stay afloat to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Despite all this, Ada manages to stay positive and on the weight loss wagon most of the time. I found this book to be inspiring in places (telling me that it is a good idea to walk up 10 flights of stairs or ignoring work morning tea goodies) but sometimes some of Ada’s positive steps rubbed off on me the wrong way, leading me to think, ‘I deserve that ice cream!’ Not so good.
It’s definitely a unique idea to wrap self-help tips for weight loss around an interesting, light novel. I wonder if this book could be treated as some cognitive behavioural therapy? (I did lose 1kg while reading it!) I also thought it was good that Randall brought to light the complications of diabetes and their consequences, as I feel this isn’t something that it widely known or taken seriously in the general media. The overall positive tone makes you feel that weight loss is achievable, whether it be 1kg or more than 20kg – it’s just a series of small steps.
It’s an easy and fun read, but you’ll take away some important messages about food and exercise. I really like books that teach while entertain and if you do too, you’ll be cheering Ada on the whole way.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
afro8921's review against another edition
1.0
I hated the phrasing in this book. Using made up terms like healthing and other weirdness turned me off completely. I thought I'd find a tale of redemption in these pages, but I only found recriminations.
emp1234's review against another edition
2.0
There must have been something that kept me reading since I finished it, but I won't pick up anything else by the author and I won't be recommending it. I liked how she combined self help with a novel, but there were parts that definitely felt preachy and like an infomercial for certain products.