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samnoel's review against another edition
1.0
to be honest, i didn’t finish this book. i maybe made it 50 or so pages in and i just couldn’t. it felt like trauma dumping and i’m not here for that, with this book or any. as a plus size woman, i already have my stories, i don’t need to dwell on and live out yours too.
kry_yang's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
rounding up to 4 stars because i really respect the author and stand by the message in this book. some sections felt like there could have been a bit more nuance (esp more analysis of race/class/intersectionality) and some of the tales felt kinda obvious in 2024 but maybe i’m not exactly the target audience of this book
jessicaessica's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping to find something that would make me laugh or make me say ‘Hey I know EXACTLY what that is like’ – something other then bored. Didn’t happen. Being a fellow fat chick I was hoping so much for that all.
I received this book from netgalley.com for a honest review.
I received this book from netgalley.com for a honest review.
lporto's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you Jes Baker for your honest view of life in our beauty obsessed culture.
zlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Blogger Jes Baker may be familiar to readers and social media users that are already clued in to the body positivity movement. Over the years, Baker’s blog The Militant Baker: Lose the B-------, Liberate Your Body has featured vibrant, joyful photos of herself in bikinis, fitted dresses, shorts, and other clothes that the manners-free like to tell fat people not to wear.
Baker’s Mormon childhood and family life are complicated; while she has a loving, supportive relationship with her mother, the father she loves just as dearly projects his own conflicted feelings about weight when he repeatedly warns or scolds his daughter about being “lazy”. Fat=lazy in mainstream American culture, no matter how many jobs a working-or-middle-class person may be holding down. With those seeds of self-doubt sown early, Baker experiences depression and strained personal relationships, not to mention verbal abuse from complete, shouting strangers.
But the creative, empathetic love for life at the heart of Jes wins out. Baker’s evolving relationship, friendships, family communication, and nascent activism begin to bear fruit. Her blog readership grows, and eventually she’s sought after as a public speaker. The audience love isn’t universal, of course: she experiences vicious online harassment and public insults during the question-and-answer portions of her speaking engagements; she develops her own coping strategies. Baker blocks, talks back, and leaves the hateful, nameless commenters to their own echo chambers. Perhaps the trolls will someday understand that some poisons corrode the vessels they are stored in.
Approximately three-quarters into the book, Baker briefly refers to some writing/publishing advice she was given -- bloggers writing book manuscripts should avoid including previously published blog content. Wise advice, especially for aspiring authors who may themselves be polishing their writing craft in various online publication formats. However, its placement so late in the book felt a bit jarring, and may make the book feel somewhat dated years from now. It seems better suited to the introduction. Other aspects of the pacing and content are similarly awkward; although one understands that Baker believes in ethnic diversity and inclusion, women of color in the body positivity movement are mentioned late in the book. It would be interesting to read about how Baker’s Mormon childhood and young adulthood may have resulted in limited exposure to difference.
As a librarian, I’d recommend this to social sciences faculty, individual readers seeking engaging quick reads, and people unfamiliar with body positivity (both pro and con).
Baker’s Mormon childhood and family life are complicated; while she has a loving, supportive relationship with her mother, the father she loves just as dearly projects his own conflicted feelings about weight when he repeatedly warns or scolds his daughter about being “lazy”. Fat=lazy in mainstream American culture, no matter how many jobs a working-or-middle-class person may be holding down. With those seeds of self-doubt sown early, Baker experiences depression and strained personal relationships, not to mention verbal abuse from complete, shouting strangers.
But the creative, empathetic love for life at the heart of Jes wins out. Baker’s evolving relationship, friendships, family communication, and nascent activism begin to bear fruit. Her blog readership grows, and eventually she’s sought after as a public speaker. The audience love isn’t universal, of course: she experiences vicious online harassment and public insults during the question-and-answer portions of her speaking engagements; she develops her own coping strategies. Baker blocks, talks back, and leaves the hateful, nameless commenters to their own echo chambers. Perhaps the trolls will someday understand that some poisons corrode the vessels they are stored in.
Approximately three-quarters into the book, Baker briefly refers to some writing/publishing advice she was given -- bloggers writing book manuscripts should avoid including previously published blog content. Wise advice, especially for aspiring authors who may themselves be polishing their writing craft in various online publication formats. However, its placement so late in the book felt a bit jarring, and may make the book feel somewhat dated years from now. It seems better suited to the introduction. Other aspects of the pacing and content are similarly awkward; although one understands that Baker believes in ethnic diversity and inclusion, women of color in the body positivity movement are mentioned late in the book. It would be interesting to read about how Baker’s Mormon childhood and young adulthood may have resulted in limited exposure to difference.
As a librarian, I’d recommend this to social sciences faculty, individual readers seeking engaging quick reads, and people unfamiliar with body positivity (both pro and con).
dsuttles's review against another edition
4.0
I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. I would give it 4 for the message, 3 for the writing (Baker's style is a tad informal for me). I'm going to go with 4 because Baker and I have so much in common as white women growing up in religious households with problematic fathers. I was most impacted by her essays on 1) visiting the Wizarding World of HP at Universal Studios - because I had pretty much the exact same experience*, 2) dealing with facial hair when you're femme (I thought I was the only one), and 3) finding the grey as a community when a person in our circle or someone we look up to decides to get WLS. She's careful to explain that she doesn't have all the answers (which I appreciate), but her writing is still thoughtful and insightful. I would say it's definitely worth the read, even for folks well-versed in radical body liberation and fat acceptance.
I haven't seen much recent work from Jes Baker. It seems like her social media and blog have been quiet for some time. I hope she is thriving and doing well. Her light is bright and she deserves to shine.
*I'm sure there is no love lost between Baker and HP now that Rowling has revealed herself as a complete and abominable transphobe. Of course, her work vilified fat characters too.
I haven't seen much recent work from Jes Baker. It seems like her social media and blog have been quiet for some time. I hope she is thriving and doing well. Her light is bright and she deserves to shine.
*I'm sure there is no love lost between Baker and HP now that Rowling has revealed herself as a complete and abominable transphobe. Of course, her work vilified fat characters too.
ravencourt23's review against another edition
4.0
This book is really hard to rate. There were some chapters I absolutely loved (like The Fat Cowgirl Position), but there were a few chapters in the end that I didn't really connect with, probably because I haven't shared the same experiences with fatness. Overall a great book and worthwhile for anyone wanting to learn more about body image or hear some experiences that many fat people go through.
beeshep's review against another edition
4.0
After seeing this book on the recently released pile and being curious about the title, I picked it up with zero expectations. I loved Jes's honest view into the world of how deep fat-shaming really goes and what it is like to experience it. Such a real and honest book that allows people to better understand the culture that we ourselves do not know we are a part of.
dejahentendu's review against another edition
I really liked her chat about the mind-body connection. It's something I struggle with, and I may follow up on her recommendation for acupuncture. Also, I liked her closing take on not giving a shit about other opinions rather than self-love, as self-love may not be attainable if you still worry what others think. Otherwise, I found it pretty pedestrian. Other people in other places their journeys may find it more mind-blowing.
https://wordforsense.com/2018/08/03/book-review-landwhale-by-jes-baker/
https://wordforsense.com/2018/08/03/book-review-landwhale-by-jes-baker/