Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Skinny B*tch - my review

So I finished Skinny B*tch during my vacation. I promised you I'd write a mini review, so here it is (please keep in mind I went to school for engineering, I'm not exactly what you may call an "eloquent" writer):

The book is an easy and quick read. I think it provides a lot of great information about the benefits and drawbacks of many different types of food. Skinny B*tch provides convincing reasoning behind adopting a vegan diet. However, I don't think the book examined the multiple sides of various food issues. For example (as I noted in an earlier post), they discussed why you shouldn't drink coffee and some of the drawbacks but didn't really address all of the studies that examine the positive impacts of coffee. The book had a big impact on my thoughts about the meat industry. I nearly cried when I read the chapter that addressed the slaughtering of animals. I think one of the more helpful pieces of the book is the list of suggested food products near the end of the book. All in all, its an inexpensive book thats a quick read. I think its worth reading but that you should understand that one persons word isn't the be all, end all. I am now starting to read In Defense of Food, a book Tina recommends.

9 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Great review!! I still think that the authors shouldn't be taken 100% seriously (since their tone is funny, yet off-putting), but at least it's a quick read ;0)

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the review! This is one of those books that is on my list to read someday :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review, Erica! I felt the same way when I read that book - parts of it really opened my eyes and horrified me. And I definitely thought their "bitchiness" was funny - though like you said, there were some aspects of the book (coffee, esp.) that seemed one-sided. But I don't think they presented it as a two-sided book anyway, so it works for them.

Anonymous said...

Great review!

Jenn said...

Thanks for the review! Erin is considering reviewing their cookbook, so this is good info. :)

lizzy said...

I completely agree with your review! i had to put the book down half way through the meat chapter because I was bawling my eyes out in the middle my quiet library at school and could no longer hold back sobs. I still love coffee though...what other parts of the book do you agree/disagree with?

chandra said...

In Defense of Food is my next read after Fit From Within!! Let me know if you like it!

carla said...

Thanks for the review....still a Must Skip for me only because the tone isn't my style....I appreciate your thoughts on it.


MizFit

Erica said...

VG- Thanks :)

Melissa- You should def give it a read, I think it is always great to get as much guidance on the topic of diet as you can and then make your own decisions about how you feel you should eat :)

Jenn- Yes! They were honest from the start about what their point of view was and that they were sticking too it so I guess I should give them more credit :)

Mark- Thanks!

Jenn- I can't wait to see the recipe review! After reading this book and being halfway through In defense of food, I am trying to move towards more of a plant based diet (less meat) so if you guys think their cookbook is worthwhile, I may purchase it!

Lizzy- Thanks for your comment! The other section I had issues with was the milk section. I think that they def had a lot of good backing on their claims, but humans have been harvesting milk forever...seems odd that they would discount that need so hard core...I need to do more research on this before I completely agree or disagree with it though!

Chandra- Let me know how fit from within is!

Mizfit- thank you for the comment :)