Béatrice Gartenberg Book order (chronological)

"..Starts with Eve Ensler's tortured relationship with her own "post-forties" stomach and her skirmishes with everything from Ab Rollers to fad diets and fascist trainers in an attempt to get the "flabby badness" out. As Eve hungrily seeks self-acceptance, she is joined by the voices of women from L.A. to Kabul, whose obsessions are also laid bare: A young Latina candidly critiques her humiliating "spread," a stubborn layer of fat that she calls "a second pair of thighs." The wife of a plastic surgeon recounts being systematically reconstructed - inch by inch - by her "perfectionist" husband. An ageing magazine executive, still haunted by her mother's long-ago criticism, describes her desperate pursuit of youth as she relentlessly does sit-ups." "Along the way, Eve also introduces us to women who have found a hard-won peace with their bodies: an African mother who celebrates each individual body as a sign of nature's diversity, and an Indian woman who transcends "treadmill mania" and delights in her plump cheeks and curves. Then there is the veiled Afghani woman who is willing to risk imprisonment for a taste of ice cream. These are just a few of the inspiring stories woven through Eve's global journey from obsession to enlightenment. Ultimately, these monologues become a personal wake-up call from Eve to love the "good bodies" we inhabit."--Book jacket

Adrian Mole is a household name. THE SECRET DIARY has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and is a modern classic. Now in Penguin for the first time, it is brought bang up to date for the 21st Century with an amazing new look, ready to make a whole new readership roar with laughter all over again.In THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE Aged 13 3/4 teenager Adrian writes candidly about his parents' marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and 'misunderstood intellectual'. His painfully honest diary makes hilarious and compelling reading.'Townsend's wit is razor-sharp' Mirror